Warriors Weekly Rewind
The scoreboard in Key Arena ain't the only thing on fire in the NBA! With their blowout win in Seattle this past Sunday the Warriors have won 6 straight and 9 out of their past 10. Like that classic Aaliyah track "Hot Like Fire"!
- Game 13: Warriors 129, Suns 114- I was actually supposed to catch this game at the Roaracle Arena with my man FJ, but got stuck with a ton of work. Thank goodness I could at least catch this game on FSN in HD. This was a game for the ages featuring a 45 point outburst by the Warriors. It's the Warriors most impressive win to date and it came against a very good Phoenix Suns team on a roll. HD TV at its best! I said it last week and I'll say it again, if the Warriors and Suns could've somehow met up in the 2007 Western Conference Finals... well you know the rest.
- Game 14: Warriors 103, Kings 96- Sacramento may be the capital of California, but Oakland is the capital of Northern California hoops.
- Game 15: Warriors 114, Rockets 93- Only Nellie would throw out a small ball lineup against a big Rockets squad featuring a certain 7'7 Chinese big man. Only Nellie could pull it off. Only a Nellie coached team could shut down both TMac and Yao to a combined 21 points on 9 of 26 shooting from the field.
- Game 16: Warriors 109, Sonics 96- The Warriors are a good team right now, but are the Sonics really this bad? Also, I can't say I'm the least bit surprised at how Stephen Jackson shut down future superstar Kevin Durant and held him to 6 points on 2 of 12 shooting. Jack's D has just been that good this season.
Monday December 3: Warriors vs Magic
Both the Warriors and Magic are coming off Sunday night wins and both teams have been on a tear recently. Actually the Magic have been on a tear all season long and are one of two teams in the association that already have 15 wins, with the other being the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. A big reason for the Magic's impressive start to this season is Dwight Howard's maturing into a legit MVP candidate. Through the first 18 games of the season Howard of the sticker dunk fame has put up absolutely dominant numbers. He is the only player in the league who can average 23.8 ppg, 15.0 rpg, and 2.7 swats a night. But I'm sure our old friend Adonal Foyle has something to do with all the Magic success so far as well!
As a hoops junkie I'm sad to say that this is the only time we'll see Howard in the Bay, but as a Warriors fan I'm delighted he's only going to get one opportunity to add to his highlight reel of vicious dunks here in the Bay Area. Whereas Nellie could go small against the Rockets and win with speed, I just don't think that's possible against the much more athletic Dwight Howard and the Magic. The Warriors are going to need some lights out shooting from downtown, a lot of thievery to start a ton of fast breaks, some incredible passing, or a stunning defensive performance from big man DJ Mbenga on Howard to even have a chance in this one.
Win or lose... WE WANT FOYLE!
Prediction: 1 for the L column
Wednesday December 5: Warriors vs Bucks
The Bucks have been a fairly solid team this season with near .500 results, but it's going to take more than solid effort to beat this hot Warriors squad. If Jack can continue to bring his shutdown D on Michael Redd, it's going to be a long night for the Bucks. The Warriors' brand of hoops is simply too fast for emerging Bucks center Andrew Bogut, which is going to make that long night for the Bucks seem like eternity.
A noteworthy highlight of this game is that their most popular player is making his only trip to the Bay Area. I have a feeling he's going to win over the crowd fairly Yi-sily.
Prediction: 1 for the W column
Friday December 7: Warriors vs Heat
Although they're only 2 years removed from winning the NBA title, the Heat seem to be in disarray. There's a big guy- make that really, really big guy- wearing #32 and masquerading as Shaq, but he isn't putting up the numbers you'd expect from Mr. "Can Yoooouu Diiiiiigg It?". If the Warriors can get Shaq in foul trouble, which has been one of his major downfalls this season and even back in the last year's first round matchup against the Bulls, this should be a very winnable game. If not, Shaq just might turn back the clock and put up some huge point and rebound totals. I don't doubt the big fella still has plenty left in the tank.
Pay attention to the Heat's other superstar Dwyane Wade (not that I needed to tell you that). It will be interesting to see how much of his quickness and first step or burst he has right now after his offseason knee surgery. A big key to getting this W will be Jack's man defense on him and if the Warriors can hold him to under his gaudy double digit free throw attempts. The Warriors are just too hot right now to flame out against this aging Heat team.
Prediction: Another one for the W column
Sunday December 9: Warriors @ Lakers
Every single games against division rival Lakers last year was just torture for Warriors fans:
- Nov 1 vs LA Lakers L 98-110
- Jan 22 @ LA Lakers L 103-108
- Feb 25 vs LA Lakers L 85-102
- Mar 25 @ LA Lakers L 113-115
If the Lakers hang on to Kobe for the entire season I expect them to have a pretty similar final record to the Warriors give or take 2-3 games. In relation to the rest of the West they're both about the same, but when they match up head to head the Lakers look vastly superior. Kobe Bryant is Kobe Bryant and the rest of LA's roster is filled with Warrior killers Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, Ronny Turiaf, and Luke Walton. Except at least 2 of those 4 players to go off against the Dubs and Kobe to net 30+ points if he's the least bit interested in the game. But if Captain Jack can hold Kobe to a rare offnight, the Warriors have a real chance at this one and even Stephen's harshest critics on the national scene have to place him near the top of this year's All NBA Defensive squad so far.
Can the Warriors win a single game against the Lakers this season? This Sunday could be very telling and it's the most important game of this week for the Dubs.
Prediction: Another one for the L column
Overall Week 6 Prediction: 2-2
What are your predictions for week 6 for the Dubs?
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