As the World Turns...

Tonight starts a stretch where the Warriors can start to make some good. Philly, Boston at home, at Sacto, NO/OKC, Memphis, then back home against Seattle. Again, these are games that the Dubs should win. 5-1 in this stretch would be great, 4-3 would be acceptable, but 3-3 would be, in my mind, a disapointment.
Its been a while since I last posted, and the Dubs split their Florida swing, losing to the inferior Florida team, but more importantly, losing Monta Ellis for who knows how long. While the beginning of the trip was dissapointing in the losses to Toronto and New Jersey, it was encouraging to see the Dubs win two in a row on the road. I think this will inspire confidence in the team in the road games to come. While it is indeed tough to win on the road in the the Association, an aspiring playoff team such as the Dubs should be able to knock off Sacto and Memphis. Two of the poorer teams in the West.
It will be interesting to see how the Dubs fare tonight without Ellis. Though he has been turnover prone, his 18 per are second on the team to Baron, and his poise, and ability to get to the tin, are second to only Baron. The 76ers are without AI, but have won 2 in a row, and might be starting to find themselves without the volume shooting guard. Regardless, the Dubs have been excellent at home, and a win tonight (if) will be a good sign. I have heard however, Jim Barnett describe the first home game after a long road trip as the eqivalent to another road game. I am hoping that the 3 days off inbetween games will eliminate any homesickness.
On another note, the Daily Dub is off to an East Coast scouting trip and will not be able to view many of these imporatant games with the normal vigor that I would while at home in the Sco.
I only hope that the Dubs don't fall apart and lose the important playoff positioning that they have worked hard to gain in the first 29 games. Hope everyone had happy holiday season.
Prediction: Warriors by 7

Try as they may...

The Warriors just could not give away last night's game. Watching the second half was almost like torture. You could see it unraveling before your eyes. The 10 point half time lead, up to 14 on JRich's last of his 4 made field goal attempts (out of 17). Then.... the turnovers, the missed outside jumpers. The lead was 5 at the start of the 4th and quickly dwindled to 1.
Baron Davis is all the Warriors have on any given night. I was surprised to see that he is shooting a career hight 42% from the field. He has been ballin' and I wonder if all the minutes played (all 24 in the second half) will start to catch up to him and wear him down? Regardless, we needed every one of his 31 last night, and in the end, it was his amazing fadeaway jumper from the left baseline that provided enough of a difference. The Warriors had a shot to increase the lead on their final possession, but predictably, missed. If Boston, and their coach Doc Rivers not been more ineffective than the Dubs last night, it would have been another loss. But instead of calling time out, Doc let the guys play. Paul Pierce didn't have enough, as he was double and then triple teamed at the top of the key. He ended up fumbling, losing, then regaining the ball, only to have it tied up for a jump with .6 seconds remaining. I still thought the Dubs were going to lose at this point. In case you haven't seen David Lee's amazing tip in from yesterday's Knicks-Bobcats game, anything can happen.
But amazingly, the Warriors won. They absolutely needed to win. Today they get a day off before going up against man-child Dwight Howard. The NBA's leading rebounder at 12.7 a game. I can't wait to see how we try to defend him tomorrow. He could easily have 30. Not looking good for the Dubs.

Musings

A lot of happenings in the NBA recently. A fight broke out in New York, AI is reportedly headed to Denver, and the Warriors still suck on the road.

Some of my friends were giving me shit about the title of this Blog. But until we are proven otherwise, the Dubs are headed to the NBA draft lottery. The Warriors have made losing on road part of not only an art form, but inevitable. Last night was classic Dubs. Play super for 3 quartes, tons of fast break points, a swarming defense. Up 3 at the half and 6 after 3, they surrender an 18-2 run to start the 4th, and end up losing by who knows what. What is the deal? I wish I knew. Outside shots that fall for 3 quarters don't in the 4th. Baron continues to play out of his mind, nearly recording his third triple double in as many games. However, it was Jason Kidd who recorded his 81st career trip-dub, and it was the Warriors who fell to 1-9 on the road.
Seattle, Toronto, New Jewsey, Boston, Miami (without Shaq). These are all teams that a supposed playoff aspiring team should be able to beat. I mean, Seattle was without Ray Allen, Toronto without Chris Bosh, and NJ got nothing from Carter last night. All loses.
Part of the problem I see is that the Dubs have no interior presence besides Andris Biedrins. And even AB is only 20, and still growing into his body. He is much improved from last year, and is a dam good shot blocker. But one guy inside is not enough. JRich came back last night to give the Dubs nothing. Diagu has been activated for 3 games now, and has given us nothing.
Is it possible the Warriors can still make the playoffs? Sure it is. Is the season over? Not at all. But seriously, the only way that this culture of losing is going to turn around, is with some wins. I'd like to see less BD in the 4th quarter and more Monta. BD has taken all the tough shots down the stretch since he's been here. He has delivered on occasion like last Thursday against Houston. But sometimes we need to switch it up. Give Dun a shot, give Ellis a shot to make a play.
As long as they continue to settle for shooting jumpers, its going to be a long season.

Inother hoops news:

How do you replace the NBA's leading scorer for 15 games?
Replace him with the NBA's second leading scorer.

Denver has reportedly traded Andre Miller, (former Dubs first pick) Joe Smith, and two first round draft picks in this spring's upcoming NBA draft for Allen Iverson.

I'm really interested to see how Iverson and Anthony co-exist when Anthony returns from his 15 game suspension for punching Mardy Collins in Saturday night's brawl at Madison Square Garden. It has been well chronicled that both guys need their shots to score. It has been well chronicled that AI has never played with any comparable talent in his 11 years in Philly. However, it has been less chronicled that when AI has had even a little bit of talent, he can be an effective distributor of the roundball. Denver traded away their only legit point guard. They have Earl (the pearl) Boykins (also of GSDub fame) but he is more 2 guard in point guard's body. JR Smith is another player who needs his shots. However, almost every championship team from last year back until the Seattle Supersonics won the NBA title circa 1979 has had two super stars on its team, with the notable exception of the 2004 Detroit Pistons. I'm talking about Jordan and Pippen, Shaq and Kobe, Shaq and Wade, Duncan and Ginobli or Duncan and Robinson(to name a few). So in reality, this is a move that should help Nugetts. Not sure its going to happen for them this season, but I think as AI gets older, the Nugetts will become legit Western Conference title contenders.

Lastly: As I only saw the brawl in New York on highlights, i'm not really going to take a lot of time commenting on it. But one thing I've read that I agree with is that when fights happen in the NBA, the outcry from the national media and from the common fan/observer is that the lig is full of thugs. But in hockey or baseball, which are sports that are not predominantly african-american, the outcry is minimal.
Also, how come the NFL doesn't have the image problem with all the various off the field offenses that are committed by some of its players, that the NBA has? I'm just asking.....

Side note: Hope everyone saw Gilbert Arenas requested 70 extra tickets from the Lakers on Sunday, and then dropped 60 on Kobe, including 16 in overtime (to beat the aformentioned Earl Boykins) for most points scored in an overtime quarter.

Warriors at Celtics tomorrow night. Celtics have won 4 in a row.

These Are Busy Times

Never have the Warriors been more in the national media spotlight than they are right now. It seems that various talking head across the country seem to think that the Dubs are the leaders in the Allen Iverson give-away sweepstakes.
Personally I'm torn. I would love to see a superstar, the magnitude of Iverson playing his home games at the O. Iverson brings an unquestioned resume of being one of the toughest/quickest/unstoppable players ever. His career scoring avg. is 28 points a game. He is a former MVP and USA Olympian. Something that the Dubs do not have.
However there are two guys the Warriors have stumbled on recently, Andries Biedrins and Monta Ellis who I think are not worth trading. While its uncertain whether they will blossom to become the caliber of player that Iverson is, their potential at this point is extremely promising. Biedrins especially is the type of player that doesn't come along very often. (i.e. a 7 foot center, with exceptional hands, a motor that doesn't quit, and a great attitude)
If the Dubs could get away with giving up anyone besides these two, I think it would be worth it to make a trade.
Make sure to check out Bill Simmons today for his take on the greatness of Allen Iverson.
Also, it should be noted that the Dubs shot the lights out last night against the Kings from Sacto. Matt Barnes went bananas, all the while leading to my theory that he is the same player as Mikhael Pietrus, and hence, Pietrus is expendable. (especially in any trade for AI)
Barnes scored the most points last night, but check out what the Elias Sports Bureau (stat geeks) had to say about Biedrins performance:(via espn.com)

"The Warriors jumped out to an early lead over the Kings and ran to a 126-113 victory in Oakland. And while Matt Barnes had career highs of 32 points and 11 rebounds, the Elias Says Player Of The Night has to be Andris Biedrins.

Biedrins scored 20 points and had 14 rebounds, shooting 7-for-7 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the foul line. No player in NBA history had ever had a game in which he had as many points and as many rebounds, with perfect shooting from both the floor and the line (minimums: five field-goal attempts and five free-throw attempts)."

Lastly for full recap of all the rumors flying around, no one does a better job than the crew at a golden state of mind. They have all the rumors covered.

Let the trade rumors swirl......

Links for Friday reading.

Iverson is apparently on the block. Some thoughts about him in a Dubs uni.

Chris Mullin has written a Christmas card to the fans.

Oh, and Janny Hu, the SF Chronical writer who is by far the worst of the Dubs beat writers, has this puff piece on Andris Biedrins.

Dubs match up against the the NO/OKC Hornets tomorrow night from the Big O. JRich is now out indefinietly with what is being described as a cyst on the back side of his surgically repaired knee. The good news (if you can call it that) is that it has nothing to do with actual knee surgery or previous condition.

Enjoy the weekend.

Texas Two Step

9-9 or .500 is either tied for 8th and in the running for the playoffs, or tied for 11th and in the running for Greg Oden. Not much positive to report. Tracy McGrady is another game time decision for the Rockets tonight. Hopefully (for the Warriors sake) he'll be out. Dubs need a victory bad. They've been demoralized the last three loses, including just getting their butts handed to them by the Spurs last night.
I think BD and Monta will bounce back tonight. Otherwise, it could be a long flight home to Oakland.

Monday Bullets

Big two game roadie starting tonight in San Antone. Status of Ginobli is a game time decision, as he has yet to come back from his strained back injury. The Spurs have been on a mini skid with him out of the lineup, including a loss to the Dubs last monday night.
However, the Dubs haven't done much to impress since that win, including losing two games and playing down to the level of their competion. Check out their ineptidute here.

Other news of note:

This from Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune (via hoops hype)

"If the Bulls can't get my personal speculative favorite, Kevin Garnett, you can see the Warriors' Jason Richardson being a possibility.

Golden State is showing why good coaching does make a difference. Though the Warriors just lost two games at the buzzer, they're a better, more entertaining team under Don Nelson. And that's with Richardson, who's returning slowly from off-season knee surgery, averaging just 14.3 points.

A big part of the Warriors' quick start has been the play of center Andris Biedrins and shooting guard Monta Ellis, the latter a second-rounder out of high school in 2005. A year ago under Mike Montgomery, Richardson was an untouchable big-guard scorer. But that seems no longer the case as much with a bursting Warriors' payroll and the Bulls having P.J. Brown and Michael Sweetney on ending contracts worth about $11.3 million. It wouldn't be easy to get Richardson, though you figure the Warriors might listen these days with Ellis averaging 18.3 per game and Biedrins 11.4 points and 9.9 rebounds at the Warriors' previous dead-zone position."

Monta Ellis has reportedly signed a new shoe deal with And1.

Monta Ellis receives a pie in the face. Check out the youtube here.

Lastly, Kawakimi with his November grade for the Dubs.

Second Best Center?

This from Marc Stein at ESPN.com's the Daily Dime:

"Second-best center in the West?

One month into the season, it's a pretty wild conversation.

You'd have to favor Denver's Marcus Camby at this point.

You'd likewise be wise to pay attention to that Amare Stoudemire kid in Phoenix, although the league's most famous microfracture patient is starting to show signs that his recovery just might put him back in contention someday for far bigger accolades than this one. (Anyone else notice that Amare's critics have suddenly gotten awfully quiet?)

However ...

Two names that have to be included -- names that wouldn't have been nominated by their own families when the season began -- are Golden State's Andris Biedrins and Dallas' Erick Dampier.

Biedrins has hyperbolic Warriors coach Don Nelson comparing the Latvian to Dave Cowens and calling Biedrins his best center since Bob Lanier ... and Biedrins' amazing start actually justifies some of that hype. His truly horrific free-throw stroke is an affront to lefties everywhere, but everything else looks great, with the energetic 20-year-old averaging 11.1 points and 9.8 rebounds, shooting 65.2 percent from the floor and impressing countless observers with his eye for passing and ability to catch all kinds of passes.

The best part? Biedrins wouldn't even be playing if Mike Montgomery were still coaching the Warriors. Team insiders note, furthermore, that Biedrins was always restricted to low-block duty on the rare occasions Montgomery did try him. Under Nelson, not surprisingly, Biedrins has been converted to a high-post center whose quickness and agility allow him to speed past bigger defenders and get to the rim.

Dampier regressed to the point last season that coaches and teammates stopped expecting anything from him. An improving DeSagana Diop was presumed to be this season's starter. But Dampier quietly worked out in August and September as hard as any Mav -- even running sprints with little guards, on occasion -- and just completed his best month since signing his regularly slammed seven-year, $73 million deal.

Even as the league's field-goal percentage leader (.690), and with seven double-doubles already compared to just four last season, Dampier will have to do this for more than a month to hush the skeptics and win back frustrated fans. History, furthermore, says he can't (or won't) keep this up. But Dampier really hasn't gotten enough credit for the offensive rebounding and shot-blocking he's supplied Dallas during its 11-game win streak, especially since no one was really expecting dramatic improvement even after his summer of hard work."

Public Enemy # 1

Stephen Jackson is a bad dude. He kills the Warriors, and its possible, that if you mess with him, he might kill you too. A year after going off on Mike Dunleavy for 27, he again dropped the dagger on the Warriors on Wednesday night with his three pointer to put the Pacers up 2 with a second remaining in the game. It was heartbreak, and I was so distrought, (and actually had to really work) that I could not post this yesterday.
I don't have much to say about this one. Dubs shot 51% from the field, Monta was money in the 4th, scoring 13 of his 27. Baron did his thing, and it almost won us the game.
But in the end, there was too much Al Harington (aka, Ocho Cinco) and too much Stephen Jackson.
The Warriors finished the month of November 9-7. Not bad really. But they are 1-3 in games decided by 3 points or fewer. They only played 4 road games in that stretch and were 1-3. In the deep Western Conference, they are sitting in 9th place. Which would, as this blog suggests, make the Warriors headed again for the NBA draft lottery. That would be a bummer, as this team is definitely better than the Mike Montgomery era.
So I guess you can say the Dubs let some opportunities slip.
Up next, Michael Redd and the Milwaukee Bucks.