Counting W's for Week 20

By: Atma Brother #1 of Golden State of Mind

Warriors Weekly Rewind

• Game 59: Warriors 135, Hawks 118- Points a plenty!
  
• Game 60: Warriors 109, Bobcats 118- Killer Warrior becomes a Warrior Killer
• Game 61- Warriors 134, Heat 99- Good teams beat bad teams who only bring 7 players to play. The Warriors are good. The Heat? Not so good.
• Game 62: Warriors 104, Magic 95- Superman can do super dunks, but he can't beat the Warriors in the Magic Kingdom!
  

They don't call it the Wild Wild West for nothing. The Warriors are 5 games out of first place, 1.5 games from having homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, and only 2.5 games from being lottery bound. It's a very funny situation indeed. We know Nellie and the gang are doing their absolute best night in and night out, but what can we as fans do to help the Dubs move up in the standings and secure their second consecutive trip to the West's Elite 8?

BEARD UP!

Wednesday, March 12: Warriors vs Raptors
The Raptors will be without the services of All-Star big man Chris Bosh in Oakland. However, as we all saw when the Warriors dropped one to the Bulls minus 3 starters there are no freebies in the National Basketball Association. The Warriors should put this one away early and easy, but that doesn't mean they Raps don't have a great chance. When the Warriors made the 2,635 mile trip back in November out to Toronto, the Raptors went ice cold in the 4th quarter and practically gave away the game. That was somewhat of an illusion and a lucky opportunity for the Dubs which they capitalized on. The Raps are one of the best shooting teams in the league overall and especially from downtown. If the Warriors don't play tougher perimeter defense than usual by closing out on the shooters, making sharp rotations, and communicating on team defense, Air Canada could be flying in for plenty of 3's and flying out happy with an upset.

Prediction: 1 more for the W column


Thursday, March 13: Warriors @ Suns
Warriors vs Suns used to be the premiere battle of the greatest offenses on hardwood, but sadly that guaranteed brand of hoops is gone with the Shaq-Marion trade. The good news for Warriors fans is that the Suns have no business running and gunning with the Warriors anymore. The Warriors are just way too fast for the Suns now.

With Shawn Marion gone, the Suns can't plug a stellar all-around defender on whichever Warrior is hot. There's no one covering up Steve Nash's complete lack of defensive effort anymore against top flight guards like Baron Davis. Nash's turnovers are up and even Phoenix fans have been wondering out loud why the former MVP's defensive intensity is so poor. This game can be won simply by attacking Nash all night long on both sides of the ball. If Nash is attempting to guard Monta Ellis, expect Ellis to the Rim's FG% for the game to be well over his 60% February break out party. When Nash has the rock on offense the Warriors need to force him into a scoring role. It's a role Nash doesn't want to assume and it probably lead to plenty of forced turnovers.

While the Warriors have the edge in the 1-3 spots, if the Suns execute a gameplan based on power they've got the matchups at the 4 and 5 spots in their favor. Amare Stoudemire can still put up monster scoring numbers which no Warrior big man can match and Shaq is still Shaq. The Big Diesel takes up plenty of space and still flashes moments of dominance. The key will be getting these two big fellas in foul trouble early. The more they sit, the better for the Nellieball Warriors.

It's the Warriors backcourt vs the Suns frontcourt and it's a perfect fit for national TV.

Prediction: 1 more for the W column


Saturday, March 15: Warriors vs Grizzlies
Despite being in contention for the league's worst record, this season the Grizzlies did some serious damage to the Warriors in the Pacific Division for years to come. How you say? By gift wrapping Pau Gasol to the LA Lakers. But we'll move on...

This is one of those classic games where if you win it's no big deal, but if you lose it's a huge deal. If they shut down rising star Rudy Gay it's no big deal, but if he goes off for 30 points in a Memphis win it's a huge red flag. If the Warriors clamp down on Warrior Killer Mike Miller it's no big deal, but if he goes off for 40 and catches fire from downtown in a Grizz win, it's dangerous. These are the types of wins people gloss over at the end of the season, but these are the types of losses people overanalyze and teams regret the most. Getting this win would be a good deal.

Prediction: 1 more for the W column


Overall Week 20 Prediction: 3-0


What are your predictions for week 20 for the Warriors?