Counting W's for Week 9

By: Atma Brother #1 of Golden State of Mind

Warriors Weekly Rewind
The Warriors went a very respectable 3-1 this past week and finished off their pre-Xmas roadie a welcome 3-2.

• Game 25: Warriors 125, Grizzlies 117- This Warriors escaped from Memphis even though they surrendered a 40 point quarter to the Grizz. A win's a win, but you'd like to see the Warriors have an easier time with a team minus their top dog Pau Gasol and rook Mike Conley.
  
• Game 26: Warriors 111, Timberwolves 98- The TWolves are so bad that the Warriors didn't have to show up till the 3rd quarter and they still won this game very easily.
  
• Game 27: Warriors 95, Nets 100- This Saturday night game might have been the only thing that stunk more than the pungent fumes emanating from the swamp in Jersey.
  
• Game 28: Warriors 105, Cavs 96- It took a full 48 minutes from his Boomness and Mississippi Bulletness plus a near complete game from Stack Jack, but in the end the Warriors walked away with an excellent road win against a big, solid defensive team.
  

The Warriors have given their fans plenty of gifts for the holidays so far. After a very discouraging 0-6 start they've bounced back to 16-12. Not only are they 4 games over .500, but they've been able to string together W's both at home in the Roaracle (7-5) and on the road (9-7). Wins on the road were an anomaly last, but now they're becoming the norm for this team. Very impressive. There should be more fun in store post-Xmas this week too.


Wednesday December 26: Warriors vs Timberwolves
As of Monday the Timberwolves hold the league's worst win total by 4 games. At this point in the season that's a pretty large "lead". Not that you'd expect a 4-22 ballclub to have a decent road record, but the TWolves are a terrible 1-12 away from the Target Center this season thus far. So who was the one team that forgot to show up and the let the TWolves beat them that night on their own floor? The 17-10 New Orleans Hornets.

The point is that no game in the NBA is a given. These are the games the Warriors have to win. Al Jefferson could easily give the Warriors a scare and go 20-20. Rashad McCants could drop 20+ points. Craig Smith could eat up the Warriors' interior and muscle his way for a big double-double. Antoine Walker could turn back the clock for a little shimmy shake and a few treys. Sebastian Telfair could drop double digit dimes. Corey Brewer could go 10-5-5. Worst of all Mark Madsen could come back to the Bay Area and do some bizarre victory dance on the Roaracle Arena floor.

Okay none of that's likely, but still the Warriors need to keep their focus and take the day after Christmas seriously. The TWolves and their good fans have nothing to lose, but the Warriors have everything to lose. It doesn't get any easier to win games than this Wednesday's one at home, but also it doesn't get any harder to lose focus against bad teams like the Timberwolves. Hopefully the Warriors can finish off the TWolves by the half and open up some playing and evaluation time for Brandan Wright, Marco Belinelli, and Patrick O'Bryant.

The only question that remains is "With the 1st pick in the 2008 NBA Draft the Minnesota Timberwolves select __________".
Prediction: 1 for the W column


Friday December 28: Warriors vs Nuggets
Friday night hoops in the Bay Area couldn't be any finer. Both the Warriors and Nuggets are two of the league's most entertaining squads. The Nuggets bring Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin to the party. The Warriors bring Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, and Monta Ellis plus Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus, all capable of some fun highlight material. Even the coaches are big names with legend Don Nelson and former Warrior head coach George Karl.

For the second straight season these two squads will be facing each other in two consecutive games. Last year the Warriors lost both and it wasn't pretty:

• November 3, 2006- Warriors 112, Nuggets 115
• November 4, 2006- Warriors 129, Nuggets 140

They also went on to lose another one against the Nuggets where they simply got beat up by a bigger and badder team. But when it mattered the most during that 16-5 miracle stretch last season the Warriors beat a Melo-less Nuggets team in Oakland.

In many ways the Nuggets pose a lot of problems for the Warriors. They can easily beat them Dubs on the glass with Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin, Nene (injured) Carmelo Anthony, and Eduardo Najera. They can also run and gun with the Warriors will Allen Iverson, Melo, JR Smith, and even a healthy Kenyon Martin. The Nuggets are just bigger, faster (arguably), stronger, and better than the Warriors overall. They're right behind the Warriors with 106.1 ppg too. The Nuggets should be an elite team when you add it all up, but for some reason they're right about where the Warriors are right now.

On paper it doesn't make much sense, but behind the Roaracle crowd the Warriors should be able to sneak in a W against the Nuggets. If the Warriors shoot a low percentage from the field or don't make their free throws they're toast, but if they do let's count this W.
Prediction: 1 for the W column


Sunday December 30: Warriors @ Nuggets
Maybe the Warriors string 2 in a row against the Nuggets? Maybe this one's the W for the Warriors instead of Friday? Maybe the Nuggets break out the brooms for this early season series?

Maybe we should just wait and see!
Prediction: 1 for the L column


Overall Week 7 Prediction: 2-1


What are your predictions for week 9 for the Dubs?
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