Counting W's for Week 11

By: Atma Brother #1 of Golden State of Mind

Warriors Weekly Rewind
Sadly 2008 hasn't gotten off to a great start for the Warriors at all.

• Game 33: Warriors 99, Mavericks 121- The Warriors may have lost this one, but they still SHOCKED THE WORLD back in May 2007!
  
• Game 34: Warriors 104, Hornets 116- It was a tough loss for the Warriors, but you couldn't help but walking away in awe of the CHA/OKC/NO Hornets. These guys have a good thing going.
  

The Warriors have 4 tries this week to get back on track with their New Year's Resolutions. It won't be easy, but they should be able to get their first W of 2k8. Sunday's game at home against the Indiana Pacers should provide some good laughs too (just a hunch!). Let's get down to business.


Monday January 7: Warriors vs Spurs
While they might not be the most entertaining team, the Spurs are a top notch team. They just don't mess around. The Warriors are going to need to bring more than their A to pull this off. Former Warrior assistant coach and fiery Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will be looking to avenge the Warriors surprise win against them back in mid-December. Tim Duncan sat that one out with a sprained right ankle, but the Spurs were still Dunkin' without Duncan. Reserve forward-center Matt Bonner did his best Duncan impersonation and dropped 25 points and 17 boards against the Warriors that night. Hopefully Bonner doesn't explode again with Duncan back on Monday night.

The Warriors have very little going for them in terms of matchups against the Spurs. The Spurs are infinitely tougher and more skilled with Tim Duncan leading the way down low. At the wings Michael Finley can still get very hot from downtown, Manu Ginobili is nearly impossible to stop with his awkward, yet quick and powerful body contortions and Bruce Bowen is a very tough and physical defender.

This is a game where I might throw some 1-2-2 or 2-3 zones here and there to see how the Spurs react. The danger of course is that Finley, Bowen, and Ginobili will make you pay, but I'd rather bank on them missing deep shots and then the Spurs bigs missing close looks. Baron Davis and Monta Ellis also need to bring their A-games and completely shut down Tony Parker if the Warriors are going to have any chance. In the first match up between the Spurs and Warriors last season Andris Biedrins did a marvelous job matching up against future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan on both sides of the ball. If Biedrins can bring that same intensity and cleverness on Monday night it will greatly improve their chances of getting this W.
Prediction: 1 for the L column


Wednesday January 9: Warriors @ Trail Blazers
As of Sunday night the Blazers have won a shocking 16 of their last 17 including a 13 game win steak. One of the Blazers' wins during that streak came against the Warriors in Portland in very convincing fashion. You simply can't discount the fact that the Blazers got that W after beating the Warrior killers Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City the previous night and they were without their young top big man LaMarcus Aldridge. They beat up the Warriors inside the paint and their zone defensive schemes gave the Warriors a lot of trouble. Off nights from Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, and Andris Biedrins didn't help things either.

To get this W the Warriors are going to have to play better defense, especially against the stellar Brandon Roy. I'd stick Jack on him and hopefully his veteran savvy and defensive smarts will prevail. Another 2nd year Blazer that could kill the Warriors is Aldridge. I don't see him being a huge force on the boards, but if Sonics coach Nate McMillan decided to call his number early and often he's fully capable of putting up 25+ points against the Warriors. I'd stick Biedrins on him one on one and see if he can shut him down. Against most 4's and 5's in the league matching Biedrins up one on one isn't a good idea, but that's usually because he's undersized. That won't be the case here as Biedrins is actually a little bigger than Aldridge.

Offensively the Warriors are going to have to make great cuts without the rock and attack the zone by rotating the ball quickly and intelligently. If the Blazers go zone again there are going to be a lot of openings. I'm not sold the Blazers are all that tough in the middle either, so the Warriors should look to run a few pick and rolls with Biedrins. Physically Baron Davis will be able to dominate any of the point guards the Blazers throw at him, so I'd run the offense through him in the post whenever the game slows down.

Can you believe the Blazers still have a fellow by the name of Greg Oden coming to their team in just a few months? Scary.
Prediction: Another one for the L column


Friday January 11: Warriors vs Grizzlies
If the Warriors can shut down Warrior killer Mike Miller this should be a fun Friday night win in Oakland. The Grizzlies are simply not a very good team. They finished with the worst record in the league last season and ended up with some terrible lottery luck.

The Grizz didn't wind up with Greg Oden as you might expect from their 2006-2007 record and instead got his buddy Mike Conley. Conley has missed a huge chunk of this season with an unfortunate shoulder injury, but he's back now. With the Grizzlies looking towards the future they're going to play him big minutes on Friday and Baron Davis or Monta Ellis (whoevever Conley guards) are going to put up big numbers. They Warriors have to go at Conley hard at the defensive end and see how he responds.

Aside from the aforementioned Warrior killer Mike Miller, the Warriors need to focus on stopping Pau Gasol. Gasol will most likely get his in terms of scoring and rebounding, but the Warriors need to make a commitment to stopping is his passing. If he gets a little 2 man game going with Miller or even Rudy Gay it could get out of hand fast.

After some tough battles with the Mavs, Hornets, Spurs, and Blazers the Warriors must get this W at home. A loss here would be tough to swallow. Hopefully it's not their first win of the new year, but you never know.
Prediction: 1 for the W column


Sunday January 13: Warriors vs Pacers
The Warriors and Pacers were involved in a little 8 player deal about a year ago that I'm sure you might have heard of. This blockbuster deal changed the Warriors franchise forever and provided Nellie with arguably the fastest starting 5 ever assembled in Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, Jason Richardson, Stephen Jackson, and Al Harrington. While wonderful things were happening in the Bay, things went south in Indiana as the Pacers missed the playoffs for the first time in 9 years.

You can be sure Jackson and Harrington are going to be hyped up for this one and you can be sure Warriors Nation is going to be LOUD on a fun Sunday night at the Roaracle. The Warriors were big winners in the trade and my crystal ball says they'll be big winners in this showdown against some old friends. You do not want to miss this one!
Prediction: Another one for the W column


Overall Week 11 Prediction: 2-2


What are your predictions for week 11 for the Dubs?
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