Thursday, March 27, 2008

Counting W's for Week 22

By: Atma Brother #1 of Golden State of Mind

Warriors Weekly Rewind
Who would've thought the Warriors would have a better record at the daunting Staples Center down in LA than in the friendly confines of the Roaracle Arena? Well that's exactly what happened this week.

  • Game 66: Warriors 105, Kings 122- The healthy Sacramento Kings might be the best team not in the 2008 Western Conference Playoffs. Still, losses like this can't happen if the Warriors are going to be attending the big spring dance.
  • Game 67: Warriors 116, Clippers 100- The Clippers are a distant 4th place to the other California teams the Lakers, Warriors, and Kings. They're like the New York football J.E.T.S- just end the season. Al Thornton looks to be a Warrior killer for the next decade though.
  • Game 68: Warriors 106, Rockets 109- GSoM Night IV provided some legendary sounds and a great crowd. We were all rewarded with a fantastic game that the Warriors just couldn't pull out in the closing seconds.
  • Game 69: Warriors 115, Lakers 111- There's nothing quiet like beating LA in LA on some Stephen Jackson clutchness.
  • Game 70: Warriors 119, Lakers 123- Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful game. Terrible, terrible, terrible ending. Still a split with the Lakers even minus their impressive 4-5 tandem of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum is nice.
A .400 winning rate is just not going to cut it at this point in the season for the Warriors. They're going to need to step it up. As of Wednesday the Warriors are clinging on to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference by only 0.5 a game over the Denver Nuggets. They're only 1.5 games behind the Dallas Mavericks for the 7 seed as well. Guess who the Warriors play on back to back nights this weekend? Yup. EVERY GAME COUNTS!


Thursday, March 27: Warriors vs Trailblazers
This week's TNT Thursday Night Doubleheader is simply must see TV for all hoops junkies. At 5pm the Mavericks and Nuggets square off in Denver and then at 7:30pm the Warriors host the Portland Trailblazers. The 7-9 standings in the West could be completed shifted around after the night is up.

The Warriors can't control what goes down in Denver, but they can control what happens in Oakland that night. If the Warriors win they'll either be only be 0.5 games from the 7th seed or increase the gap between themselves and the Nuggets for the final playoff spot. If they lose, some unfortunate things will happen. It won't be easy though as the Warriors are only 1-2 against the Blazers thus far this season:
A big reason for the Warriors struggles has been their inability to contain the Blazers' frontcourt starting with center Joel Przybilla. He really seems to enjoy playing against the Warriors interior this season. His very pedestrian averages of 4.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg, and 1.3 blks shoot up to 10.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg, and 2.3 blks when he plays against the Warriors. Winning this game starts with the Warriors young center Andris Biedrins. He missed the last game in which the Warriors beat the Blazers, but in the 2 games in Portland Biedrins struggled mightily, putting up only 4 ppg and 5 rpb with no blocks. Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, and the Al Harrington/ Kelenna Azubuike/ Mickael Pietrus (if healthy)/ Matt Barnes combo should negate the rest of the Blazers crew. But Biedrins needs to step up and win this matchup if the Warriors are going to get this must win in the national spotlight.

Prediction: 1 more for the W column



Saturday, March 29: Warriors @ Nuggets
For obvious reasons... THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT GAME OF THE SEASON! The Warriors and Nuggets have split the season series this year:
To tell you the truth I'm pretty astonished and amazed that the Warriors were able to get that W in Denver. On paper the Nuggets look like a roster of Warrior Killers. Although he shot poorly in the game in Denver Allen Iverson is virtually unguardable and wreaks havoc on the Warriors in a variety of ways. Carmelo Anthony is just too big, fast, and strong for the Warriors to defend. Marcus Camby is an intimidating shot blocking presence and wipes the glass with no streaks like Windex. JR Smith, Eduardo Najera, and Lina Kleiza all have the potential to be serious Warrior Killers on any given night.

The good thing is you really never know with this Warriors squad. They shock you by winning the games they're not supposed to and by losing the games you'd think would be easy W's.

Prediction: 1 more for the L column



Sunday, March 30: Warriors vs Mavericks
THIS IS ALSO THE MOST IMPORTANT GAME OF THE SEASON! Depending on what happens the night before and on Thursday, the Warriors could either be playing this Sunday game trying to maintain the 7th seed, holding on dearly to the 8th seed, or fighting to get back into the playoffs.

The We Believe edge the Warriors had over the Mavericks last season appears all but gone. Without Jason Richardson they just don't have that tremendous backcourt advantage in terms of size, athleticism, and speed. Plus Devin Harris has been swapped with future hall of famer and Bay Area native Jason Kidd. These are two very different teams than the ones that faced each other in last year's unforgettable playoff series. In fact the Warriors have lost 2 straight to the Mavs with the last one being a humbling blowout in Dallas:
The reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki will most likely be out for this game and the Mavs with Kidd, Josh Howard, Jason Terry, and Jerry Stackhouse will probably be looking to push the limits of Warriors Tempo with the Dubs. It should be a fun, high scoring Sunday springtime affair with the Warriors pulling out with the W in the end.

Prediction: 1 more for the W column


Overall Week 22 Prediction: 2-1

What are your predictions for week 22 for the Warriors?


Before we cut out of this week's edition, I just wanted to give a special shout out to the Warriors original son Chris Webber who retired on Wednesday morning. We were left asking what could have been back in 1995 and in 2008 we're asking the same question. Nevertheless CWebb had a marvelous career that should be celebrated. You can count the number of NBA players who averaged 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists over a 15 year period on one hand.

Posted by The B-Log at 8:30 AM
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