Counting W's for Week 19

By: Fantasy Junkie of Golden State of Mind

Warriors Weekly Rewind

This week was a chance for the Warriors to pad their win total against 2 inferior teams (Sonics and 76ers) and get some revenge against a struggling Blazers squad. Turns out the team did just fine in winning all 3, running their winning streak to 4 and finishing their last 12 games with a 9-3 record. Not too shabby. Unfortunately with this ridiculously difficult Western Conference this hot run has only landed the Warriors in the 8^th spot, just a 1.5 game lead over the Nuggets who are in 9^th.

• Game 56: Warriors 105, Sonics 99- Kevin Durant paid a visit to the Oracle, but he was not the star of the show that night. It was Monta Ellis and Austin Croshere. Huh? Yes, Austin Croshere put the Warriors on his back in the 3^rd quarter and energized the team with his 14 points in the quarter to take what was a back and forth game to a solid lead the Warriors never gave back. Another highlight was seeing Brandan Wright start, a reward for his impressive game against Atlanta. He struggled early on and didn’t play much the rest of the way especially with Croshere going off, but it was good, no great, to see Nellie giving the kid a chance to play. This game was closer than it should have been, but it’s the Warriors, did you really expect a blowout – that’s just not their style.
• Game 57: Warriors 119, 76ers 97- Even with Baron shooting an UGLY 2-16, the Warriors were still able to blow out the 76ers – a team that was hot coming into the game (8-2 in their last 10). Some highlights: Brandan Wright got another start despite struggling in his previous start against the Sonics, but this time he delivered the goods. His 12 points, 7 boards, and 3 swats in 19 minutes were a joy to watch. In this blowout, the Warriors saw Matt Barnes collect 10 boards and Mickael Pietrus score 23 points. A great sight to see was the 51.1% shooting from the Warriors and the 40.4% shooting from the 76ers. When a team like the Warriors shoots better than 50% AND holds their oppoents to just 40%, it’s tough to lose.
• Game 58: Warriors 110, Blazers 104- The Warriors got a little revenge for the 2 blowouts at the hands of the Blazers. We got to see a lot this game. First off, Brandan Roy may not be deserving of an All Star spot, but he is still very very very good. He’s fun to watch because he’s so solid offensively and does a great job on defense too. For the Warriors, I’m going to keep at it like a broken record, but it’s great to see Brandan Wright play. He got another start and in just 18 minutes he dropped 13 points on 6-9 shooting and pulled down 7 rebounds. He’s doing a great job so far and not giving Nellie any reasons to sit him even when Andris Biedrins comes back. The bigger story tonight was Monta Ellis. The kid does it all. I’m so excited with his development. He scored another 22 but it’s the 10 rebounds, the 6 assists, and the developing basketball IQ that has me giddy. But the biggest story of the night was Mr. Stephen Jackson. He finally caught fire and put in 29 points on get this, 6-11 from 3. He hit a CLUTCH 3 off a sweet Monta drive and kick to put the Warriors up 6 with under a minute to go.

The Warriors play their next 4 on the road. In fact it’s 4 games in 5 nights – a tough test of their stamina. With the Western Conference being a 9 team war for 8 spots, every game counts.

Tuesday, March 4: Warriors @ Hawks

Revenge has to be on the minds of these Warriors. The Hawks trounced them in Oakland just last week. The all-around athletic squad the Hawks have put together is young and inexperienced but give the Warriors trouble. The Dubs were without two of their top defenders in Stephen Jackson and Andris Biedrins, and the Warriors defense looked awful that night, but you still have to respect this team. Jackson will be back for this game but still has that lingering injured ankle. Expect a tough game in the beginning of this road trip. Can the Warriors really be swept by Atlanta in the season series? Nah.

Prediction: 1 for the W column

Wednesday, March 5: Warriors @ Bobcats

The last time the Warriors faced the Bobcats, JRich had his return game. He got a big standing ovation from the crowd before the game but that was the lone highlight for any of the Bobcats. Perhaps it was the 520+ GSoM community members at the game for GSoM Night 3, but whatever happened caused a massive blowout of the visiting team – 127-96. This time around, the Warriors visit JRich in his new digs to see how he’s been doing. Well, let’s just say it isn’t going very well in Charlotte. Tough times will continue when the Warriors visit and make their current 2-12 skid even worse.

Prediction: Chalk 1 up for the W column

Friday, March 7: Warriors @ Heat

The Heat are on fire right now, relatively speaking of course. For a team with 11 wins all season, winning 2 of their last 4 is a huge accomplishment. Check it out, on February 26 they finally got to double digit wins. Compare that to the Rockets who have just won 15 in a row. So pardon me if I’m a little cautious when a team normally in the gutter and with 2 amazing talents in Shawn Marion and Dwyane Wade get a little confidence going. I hope the Warriors don’t overlook this team. In order to stay in the playoff hunt they have to stay focused and take care of the bad teams and punish the horrendous teams.

Prediction: 1 more for the W column

Saturday, March 8: Warriors @ Magic

The road trip comes to an end in Disneyworld. This will surely be the hardest game of the trip. The 4^th game in 5 nights of this road trip and the 2^nd game of the back to back. Tired legs? You can count on it, but I expect the Warriors to compete with this tough Orlando team with Dwight Howard in the middle. I’m just not sure how anyone in this league stops that guy. Hopefully Andris is back playing by then because they’re going to need him to help out with the man-child down low.

Prediction: 1 for the L column

Overall Week 8 Prediction: 3-1

What are your predictions for week 19 for the Warriors?

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