Counting W's for Week 3

By: Atma Brother #1 of Golden State of Mind

Warriors Weekly Rewind
Last week I wrote:

The Warriors couldn't have gotten off to a worse start this season.

Oooops. Unfortunately it has gotten worse.

• Game 4: Warriors 104, Cavaliers 108- Lebron put on a show, but the Warriors unfortunately didn't. It was nice to see Monta Ellis knock down 3 treys though.
  
• Game 5: Warriors 115, Mavericks 120- We Believed the Warriors would get their first win of the season here, but unfortunately they were still beggars at the charity stripe and their zone defense was really porous.
  

The Warriors have two weekday games at home in Oakland this week before they head to Toronto to start a 5 game East Coast road trip. Jokingly referred to as the NBA's Titanic division last season the Atlantic division is much improved thanks to some offseason pillages of some Western Conference teams by the Celtics and Knicks.


Wednesday November 14: Warriors vs Pistons
Last season the Warriors shockingly blew out the Pistons twice:

• Saturday November 11, 2006: Warriors 111, Pistons 79
• Monday March 5, 2006: Warriors 111, Pistons 93
  

In both W's the Warriors dropped 111 points on a Pistons squad that is widely regarded as a solid defensive unit. Can the Warriors hit the 111 mark again this season? Well that shouldn't be too much of a problem. The bigger problem is going to be stopping the Pistons from dropping 121. The Warriors don't have anyone that can matchup with the Pistons' battle-tested front court of Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, and Tayshaun Prince. Nazr Mohammed should be good for some damage on the glass off the bench as well. Keep your eyes on third year power forward Jason Maxiell too. If Flip Saunders gives him minutes he'll easily notch a double-double against the Warriors. He's exactly the type of force down low that the Warriors have absolutely not answer for. Still, maybe with the 5 days off and the good practices Nellie will be able to devise some masterplan to shut down the Pistons' big bad boys. It's going to take a lot of creativity for this struggling Warriors team to catch this savvy Pistons team off guard.
Prediction: 1 for the L column


Friday November 16: Warriors vs Clippers
At the beginning of the season I had the Clips pinned as the worst team in the Western Conference. There's still a long way to go in this NBA season, but the Clips deserve nothing but praise for their 4-2 start. Instead of mailing in the season after serious injuries to Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston, this team has come together and stepped up big. Chris Kaman, Corey Maggette, Cuttino Mobley deserve a ton of credit.

In the second game of the season the Clippers pretty much had their way against the Warriors. The Dubs made a run in the 4th to make it close, but in the end they couldn't dig themselves out of the hole they dug themselves in the 1st quarter. Kaman, Maggette, Mobley, and even Thornton are sure to dish out some punishment all night long, but I see the Warriors getting some revenge at home in the Roaracle Arena for their first win of the season. Why? Even though the matchups aren't to their favor I just have this feeling the Warriors will take it.
Prediction: 1 for the W column


Sunday November 18: Warriors @ Raptors
This will be the second straight season in which the Warriors played the Raptors in Toronto for a Sunday 10am PST game. Despite the Raptors missing their All-Star Chris Bosh in last year's game the Warriors still lost. These East Coast matinée games for West Coast teams on the road are just too early. The Warriors struggled on Sundays last year (1-5) in the regular season and I don't expect that to change this upcoming Sunday morning especially with the jet lag factored in. Memo to the league offices: Sunday 10am PST is National Football League time, not NBA time!
The good news in Stephen Jackson will be back. It's can't miss radio in the Bay Area!
Prediction: Another one for the L column

Overall Week 2 Prediction: 1-2


What are your predictions for week 3 for the Dubs?
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