Golden State Warriors BLOG moved to GOLDEN STATE OF MIND

The New Era: Golden State of Mind + Blowin' Up the Blogdome!

2006-02-02T00:11:00.000-08:00

As heavily rumored and much anticipated, the Golden State Warriors BLOG is becoming part of SBNation as Golden State of Mind.

Update your bookmarks. We're now over at http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/

Shout out to J.Cob for winning The Name Game and narrowly beating (and saving us from) our own DJ Fuzzy Logic's proposed name "Thong in Your Mouth".

Like The Jefferson's we're moving on up! SBNation is home to the Bay Area favorite Athletics Nation as well as great hoops blogs Blog-A-Bull and Sactown Royalty. We're excited to join the nation and bring the Golden State Warriors BLOG faithful over. Being part of SBNation means an increased voice and forum for you- with more comments and diaries.

Before we move forward to our new home base, we'd like to thank all of you for your continued support. It's been less than a year, but we've grown faster than the Warriors payroll!

Here's some of the sites and writers that have shown us love:

About.com's look at the "brightest and most prolific bloggers to add to your bookmark folder."

Golden State Warriors Blog
Described as "Your one stop destination for Warriors news, hype, rumors, humor, science, history, and fashion." Yep, you need a sense of humor to be a Warriors fan and these guys have it in spades. The Dunleavy-bashing is worth the cost of a click.

Let's just say... we're all About the jokes! (sorry bad joke)

True Hoop

The Golden State Warriors Blog is right on top of every little Warrior detail, including the minutia of Baron Davis's training regimen.

BBallBlog

From the Golden State Warriors blog (which is one of the best blogs we've seen that focuses on one team)...

Deadspin Blogdom's Best: Golden State Warriors

Bright, snappy, well-written. If you’re a Warriors fan, will put a smile on your face despite the Pacific Division standings.

Thanks and see you on the SBNation site where we'll continue to drop science!

Golden State of Mind
news, hype, rumors, humor, science, history, and fashion
WE'RE A GREAT TIME OUT!

Update your bookmarks. We're now over at http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/

Recap: Warriors 107, Sonics 111

2006-02-01T22:01:00.000-08:00

Not much to analyze here, just look at the 3rd quarter. The Warriors outplayed the Sonics in quarters 1, 2, and 4, but the 3rd quarter was disastrous, possibly the worst quarter of the season. Before getting into that, let's look at the first half. The Warriors started out blazing hot, scoring 38 in the first quarter and another 24 in the second quarter on better than 50% shooting. Andris Biedrins tore it up. He finished with 16 for the game on 7-10 shooting with 8 boards. He made some nice moves in the paint against the young Sonics frontline. He used both hands to finish moves and didn't get overpowered down there. After I write that article blasting him, he comes out and has the best game of his career. Either it's bad timing or he reads the site and wanted to prove something to me. I think it's the latter of the two.

2 of his 16 points

So, the first half ended with a Rashard Lewis breakaway layup on a ball that Mike Dunleavy gave up on. Lewis hustled to it, and cut the deficit from 8 to 6 giving them a little momentum going into the half. If Dunleavy doesn't give up on it, Lewis doesn't get a breakaway layup and the Warriors stay up 8 and the Sonics don't end on a high note. Then the 3rd quarter came. They were outscored 29-9, shot 2-21 from the field and basically gave the game away. Like I said before, not much to analyze, if they make a couple shots in the 3rd, they win the game. The 14 point deficit heading into the fourth was just too much. They cut the lead to 4 in the closing minutes but never were able to get closer than that. JRich was sorely missed during that 3rd quarter. If he's around they don't shoot 2-21 and put up only 9 points.

Boxscore

Baron using whatever he can to get by Luke.

Warrior Wonder
After talking trash about Andris Biedrins, he came out and had a big first half and so I'll give this to him. Baron had a big game, but we've come to expect that from him. Biedrins had a career best game, so I want to give this to him for probably the one and only time he'll receive this prestigious award.

Monty Reaches Into His Bag of Tricks

2006-02-01T13:51:00.000-08:00

Finally Monty changes up something in practice as an attempt to get the team to shoot better free throws.

Montgomery's Warriors are 26th out of 30 teams in the NBA in free-throw percentage (71.6). Entering Monday, they were 29th over the past 10 games at 67.4 percent. In 10 of their 23 losses, the Warriors have missed enough free throws to cover the final deficit.

So Montgomery pulled out one of his trusty drills to help the Warriors solve their free-throw-shooting woes. The Warriors normally close practice by splitting up in twos and shooting free throws. But after practice Monday, Montgomery changed things up.

He put everybody on the baseline and called players one by one. Whoever he called had to walk to the line and make two free throws, alone on the court, while the others watched. A miss resulted in sprints for everyone.

I hated this drill in practice, Coach always put the worst free throw shooter on the line and we ended up running. Monty should adjust the drill so that the guys who shoot the most free throws during the game (Baron and JRich) punish the team more for a missed free throw than the 12th man to equal the pressure of being the star player. So if Baron misses, the team runs 2 suicides rather than 1. Actually Monty should change the punishment. So in addition to running suicides, you have to pay each player $100. Or you have to compliment Mike Dunleavy on his skills. Or you have to look at Troy Murphy in the eye and not laugh because he looks like a bum. Or better yet, if you miss a free throw, you have to watch Adonal shoot a bank shot. Noooo! Monty should get creative with this, I think he's onto something.

Madonna/Whore Complex in Sports

2006-01-30T13:58:00.000-08:00

What is the role/function of cheerleaders? What is their specific role in Professional sports?

When I was in high school, cheerleaders—at times—tended to be social outcasts-cum-“spirit leaders.” Contrary to the media stereotype that cheerleaders were blond, skinny, bimbos and that cheerleading was an exclusionary activity for the popular kids, cheerleading at my high school was rather a democratization of coolness; it was a process of social mobility where nerds and honor students faked rhythm, hoping that their public support of jocks at games would translate into less beatdowns or acceptance into lunchtime social circles.

Far from the high school gymnasiums and the extremely robotic cheers (this might exclude cheerleading done in urban areas) and moves that make ballet look like breakdancing, Cheerleaders of professional sports are breaking all the rules, creating some tsunami type waves in the media, almost as much as high profile stars that they root and dance floor. While players along the lines of Artest, Owens, J.O’Neil, Shaq, Sprewell, Reggie White, Muhammad Ali, etc. have been policed for saying their piece (poignant critiques about race in sports), sexuality—what is and isn’t—seems to be the center of much debate the role of cheerleaders. Yet, from recent news about cheerleaders and their overflowing homo/sexuality, I think that we can conclude that Americans (men specifically) are rather schizophrenic when it comes to their attitudes about women’s sexuality.

A few weeks ago, the Detroit Piston’s cheerleader’s swimsuit calendar was blasted by the Michigan-based American Deceny Association for being, like myself, too sexy. This organization considered these representations of scantily-clad—some topless—women as equivalent to forms of prostitution (see here for recap). Ironically, a portion of the money made from the calendar goes to charity. A few months earlier, two Panthers Cheerleaders were dismissed from the squad for violating team conduct. But from the news report, its unclear what the violation clearly is. What is considered MOST important in the article is that the two cheerleaders were caught by club patrons for having sex with each other in the bathroom; what didn’t come until more than half way through the report is that they were belligerent, provided false information to police, and were publicly drunk. They were charged with battery, which is I guess the reason they were kicked off the team, but its interesting that that their sexuality is somewhat assumed to be part of their “violations of conduct.”

As much as professional sports try to market themselves, athletes, etc. as “family fun,” c’mon… you know that shit ain’t true! Based on my recent experience at the Warriors game (and the Warrior girls wearin’ some of the best outfits outside of strip clubs that won’t give you the ‘ho’ ‘slut’ or ‘prostitute’ label), the very sexuality that is being contested is in fact the very things that some—I would almost say MANY—men watching sports enjoy. Hell I admit it, I enjoy it!

Example: At the one game I attended this season, the cheerleaders were lined up along the stairs, staggered about 20 steps from each other. Atma, Hash and I were sitting next to some rowdy fans that the HBN approves of for their great high fives. Yet as one of the many beautiful Warrior girls danced right next to us, the fans behind began whistling and yelling what some/most might consider degrading statements. The one I remember most was, “Yea! I just wanna touch you girl!”

I will say that NOT everyone in the stadium is like this, nor are male arousals to cheerleader gyrations a recent phenomenon @ Warrior games (maybe more recently than before tho). I think the HBN can all agree that their outfits—along with other teams—have gotten progressively more exposed. But what has struck me in the recent news is the contradictory desire for cheerleaders to fulfill our heterosexual desires optically yet also needing to contain this sexuality at the same time. Professional sports strategically traverses the boundary between satisfying and objectifying women for their largely male audience, but simultaneously conscious of how not to offend another huge market—women and children. Is capitalism to blame for the unfair treatment of women—representations of sexuality as cheerleaders—in a society that perhaps instead of challenges the exploitative capacity of capitalism, rather criticizes and attacks women for doing jobs that many men are setting up for them? To what extent are capitalism and professional sports reflective and reproductive of our stereotypes and desires about women?

Well, I’m not proposing any solutions, nor am I criticizing men for the sexism that we’ve learned socially, but I am just raising some questions about the treatment of cheerleaders in mass media. Anyhoo…

Here at the HBN, we stand in solidarity with women in fighting sexism, homophobia (people gettin’ some in the bathroom is alright by me), and misogyny! We celebrate the Warriors for their commitment to racial diversity, local dance talent, and dancing in general. The lone bright spot in the Mullin “dynasty” of (mis)management is the increased visibility of dancers of Asian and Pacific Islander ancestry—more than any other team in the NBA! Below is my tribute to, in my opinion, the top 5 dancers on the Warriors! Here is my “STARTING FINE” (or Starting Five)

The NEW SOLID GOLD DANCERS! I haven't seen gold look this good since the Golden Age of Rap and the heigh of Mr. T's popularity!

ROBIN

Representing FREMONT!

GERILYN

My friend knows her from high school, plus she's FINE!

ALLYSON

I'm not normally into White girls, but Allyson makes this list cause she is a non-stop Warrior Wonder! She's got some crazy back for a White girl; the type of back that makes Black women freak out that White people are not only appropriating their culture, but their booties too. No joke: My friend and I were both at different meetings where a groups of young Black women were discussing the state of white girls asses and the crisis of Black racial identity if white girls are now contesting them for having back.

SHANIA!

Man, Shania deserves rookie of the year. I swear she's Asian, too.

AUDREY

Rounding out the starting fine is Audrey, who offers veteran leadership on this all-star, all-nba cheerleading squad. As a 5th year, she knows exactly what moves provide the spark during timeouts.

Sixth Wo/Man of the Bench!

SANAE!

For Atma Brother #1....
I once ran into Sanae as i was picking up tickets for a Warriors game. She was walking out of the colesium and i said "Hey! You're a Warrior girl!" She looked at me and kept walking without saying anything... She's so awesome!

One Minute Man

2006-01-30T08:36:00.000-08:00

Which Warriors player personifies a "One Minute Man"? Take a guess. My vote goes to Andris Biedrins since he cannot stay in the game for longer than a minute without fouling.

There's got to be a foul somewhere.

After all Ron Artest trade talk and how the Warriors didn’t want to give up some of their young talent, namely Ike and Pietrus, I was a little surprised to hear Biedrins’ name as one of the young players Mullin is having trouble parting with in a trade. From what I’ve seen, there has been little if any improvement in his game from last year to this. This may be a little premature considering he’s only 19 (will be 20 in April), but trade this guy away while he still has some value and upside. Most players his age show flashes of potential and play well over the course of a couple games. I’ve never seen Biedrins do that. Physically, he’s gotten stronger and he shows flashes of skill on offense and defense on one possession or another, but over a prolonged period he cannot put together a decent effort. It’s not even consistency that he lacks, if there was something to be consistent with, then he would lack it. He lacks skill and right now he’s not improving.

Let’s look at his numbers from this year versus last season. In his rookie year, in 12.8 minutes per game he averaged: 3.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.8 blocks, shot 57.7% from the field, 47.5% from the line and 2.9 fouls. Now this year in 10.4 minutes per game, he’s averaging: 2.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.5 blocks, 63.3% from the field, 38.5% from the line, and 2.2 fouls.

First of all, he’s playing less minutes in his 2nd year than his first. Sure Ike has come in and played to take some of his minutes, but Biedrins should be taking minutes from Foyle and Murphy. He’s got to earn those minutes and should be averaging more minutes per game. This has affected his other numbers. His points, rebounds, and blocks are all below last year’s miniscule averages. What's more is that he hasn't scored or rebounded in double digits the entire season. Oftentimes, he has games where his points plus rebounds don't add up to double digits. I'm not really sure where this guy has improved from last year. You expect your first round draft choice to improve from year to year, especially if he's a project. There's a four letter bad word that can describe him, it begins with an "F" and ends with a "P".

Everyone knows about his propensity to foul in limited minutes, 2.9 fouls per game last year and 2.1 per game this year. It’s always fun to see what someone’s averages might be if they played all 48 minutes. So this year, if he were to play 48 minutes and there was an unlimited number of fouls you could get, he would be averaging 9.7 fouls per game. It’s funny when he comes into the game and we try to predict when he’s going to get his first foul (usually within a minute), but it’s hurting the team. First off, if he collects two fouls in a couple minutes, he’s already helping put the other team in the bonus quickly. This leads to more free throws and since the Warriors are an uptempo team it hurts them by slowing the game down. The second reason this hurts is that Monty can’t play him for extended minutes to give Foyle and Murphy a break. Those guys need rest. Foyle should not be playing more than 25 minutes per game and Murphy shouldn’t be playing more than 35 which is right around their averages. But when Biedrins gets into foul trouble these guys have to play extended minutes which tires them out later in the game. There are times that he shows he can play defense effectively without fouling, but more often than not, the whistle blows and the ref is calling out Biedrins' number as the culprit. Another one of the funny stats is his free throw percentage this year, 38.5%. I know he doesn’t take many shots, but you have to make more than 2 out of 5 free throw attempts. I'd like to see some improvement the 2nd half of the year from Biedrins in all aspects of his game because the Warriors are going to need him to eat minutes so Adonal and Troy aren't on the floor for extended minutes.

I cannot see a reason that Mullin would not be willing to trade Biedrins if he’s offered a tough veteran to help the team this year and next. The biggest problem the Warriors have is down low on both offense and defense, and Biedrins is no help on either end of the floor. Please Mullin, trade away the big man for a tough defender down low, a marksman from 3, or a backup point guard. You need to make a move before the season gets away from you. Biedrins is not one of your cornerstone players for the next decade. You already have Foyle and Murphy signed to long term deals plus Ike and Taft as two big men to develop. Either bring in a coach for the big man to improve his game or trade him while you can. For the Warriors sake, I hope the big man proves me wrong and turns into a very good player that can soak up 30 minutes per game at center, but I haven't seen anything in his short career that would lead me to believe he won't be another failure in the Warriors sorry draft history.

Breaking News!

2006-01-29T12:04:00.000-08:00

As much as I'd like this top secret news to be about the actual team, maybe a trade I heard from an inside source or some movement within management, this has even greater impact on your fan experience at the Arena. Sit down for this one...The Warrior Girls are going to break a new outfit. This uni is all about cowboy boots. But not your ordinary brown or black leather cowboy boots, these ones are a shiny Warrior orange and blue that go about to the knee. While the boots didn't look so hot while they practiced in their sweats and whatever other workout clothes they had on, they should definitely be hot when they break them out on the hardwood in front of the 20,000 fans.

And they'll be dancing to that song that goes:
"These boot were made for walkin, and that's just what they'll do.
One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you."

While we drop knowledge about the team, we also give you comprehensize Warrior Girl coverage as well. You just can't get better Warrior girl coverage from any other site. Expect to see these boots and whatever revealing clothes they will wear with them at a Warrior game in the future.

Recap: Warriors 98, Blazers 83

2006-01-29T08:50:00.000-08:00

BAY AREA PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT: Warriors Nation and the general warrior loving public here by decry the way our starting line-up has been utilized. Therefore, we would like immediate benching of the following players:

M. Dunleavy – For averaging poop, and playing like crap.

A. Foyle – Because he is better off the bench.

And replaced with:

M. Pietrus – did you see him last night?

I. Diogu - Well this could be refuted but you get the point.

Last night Baron Davis blew up. 29 points and 16 assists! He had a fantastic game and was a pleasure to watch. But I do not want to focus this recap on Baron for we all expect MORE games like this. No, for this recap I would like to discuss three important factors to this victory, Pietrus, Monta, and our hustle players.

Pietrus: This guy was a stud tonight. Box score doesn’t really do him any justice to what he did on the floor. Some excellent defensive plays were overshadowed by his incredible dunks as he ran the fast breaks and moved between defenders. Pietrus is BACK and better then ever. Still a little rusty for being out over a month, the fans were happy to see his aggressiveness on both ends of the court. His performance tonight was capped off by his sweet ESPN double clutch dunk. Great game Pietrus!

They called him Air France all night. I'll even wear a french flag to see him start!

Monta: Now I’ve been praising this kid from the first day of preseason when I was interested to see a high-schooler the size of me, play in this league. I think warrior fans last night finally saw what management was hoping for all along. Monta bested last night’s performance (against lakers) by having a career night with 14 points, 5 rebounds in 27 minutes of play. The kid also shot a fantastic 70% shooting. What was more impressive was his level of confidence and speed. Monta was all over the court following Pietrus’ lead of being aggressive on the defensive end as well as the offensive end. There were so many times where the announcers screamed for Monta to take the ball to the hole. I think he was a little reserve in trying to get Baron the ball, but I hope Monta comes off the bench more and more. This kid can play and should have more of an opportunity to learn on the court.

Little in size, Giant on the court!

Hustle Players: Ok so we beat the Blazers. No big deal. Only the worst team in the west right? Well we beat them pretty convincingly without our 2 starters in JRich and Dunleavy. Is it a coincidence we play better without Dunleavy or JRich? No, tonight was about the other players. Monta, Pietrus, Ike, and the rest of the bench actually played like a team. There were no individual games out there except your occasional Baron move or Fisher “wanna-be Kobe” move. Apart from that I was finally pleased to see some outlet passes, pick and rolls, and unselfishness. Play of the night was a 3 on 2 fast break for the warriors, were fisher drove the lane, passed to Murph who could have laid the ball up or dunked but instead slapped the pass to Monta for the secure points.

In conclusion, we beat up on a crappy team. Nothing to get excited about. However, we desperately need to play Pietrus and Monta more. No doubt about it. Coach has got to get that through his thick skin! Bringing Dunleavy off the bench is fine until he can show he deserves to start. Holding Pietrus and Monta back just won’t help us get any better.

Warrior Wonder: Baron deserves it but I give my nod to 2 players tonight. Pietrus and Monta, for the reasons above. These two players need more playing time. Flat out. Check it out: both had 14 points, 5 rebounds, and both played 27 minutes. Next game against Seattle will be a true test to see how these guys play against a better defensive team. I’d like to see them both play 31 minutes, scoring 20 points each and having 7 rebounds.

Jessica should be our Box Score Icon for now on:

Recap: Warriors 105, Lakers 106

2006-01-28T10:07:00.000-08:00

Sure the Warriors lost, but this isn't a loss I mind. A one point overtime loss on the road without JRich is nothing to be ashamed about. For the most part they played tough. Are they headed to the playoffs? Well that's another story.

Boxscore

"What I have to pass the ball?"

Most of hoops nation had their eyes on their game to see how many points Kobe would drop. Pietrus played some pretty solid defense on Kobe on the first half (5 points) and then Monty used Derek Fisher to guard him for most of the second half (25 points). Yeah don't ask. I'm over simplifying it, but basically Monty doesn't have a clue about shutting down the other team's best offensive threat. Kobe didn't really seem to be trying in this game till the 4th quarter. Maybe the unfair criticism about his 81 point game got to him.

Air France took off!

Mikael Pietrus started in place of the injured JRich and showed some flashes of why many teams in the league are interested in him. Finally getting some minutes (39), MP2 dropped a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. The points are nice, especially the 2 dunks, but what I like most about Pietrus' night was his rebounding. He's a big, athletic wingman. MP2 should be rebounding like this more often. Mikael can do wonders for his offensive game if he wasn't so in love with the three pointer, developed a midrange game, took it to the hole more, and focused on rebounding.

His 1 steal and 1 block hint at the defense he's capable of. With Monty foolishly going with Fisher on Kobe in the second half, Pietrus pretty much shut down Lamar Odom. Odom was going at Dunleavy before he was knocked out of the game with a rolled ankle (keep reading), but looked like a scrub against Pietrus.

Monty- START PIETRUS INSTEAD OF DUNLEAVY. Dunleavy has had every chance in the world and still hasn't shown he deserves to be starting. Pietrus gives the Warriors defense and aggressiveness- something they need to avoid being down by so many points early in games.

T-Double had 15 points and collected 14 boards. His defense has really picked up the past few games. Aside from one perfectly timed block on Odom late in the game, Foyle had a pretty bad night. 4 rebounds in 27 minutes from your starting center is unnaceptable.

Derek Fisher really likes to shoot. No, I mean he really likes to shoot. He took 15 shots, but at least he went to the line 10 times. Have you noticed that every time he plays the Lakers he tries to be like Kobe (more so than usual)? My theory is that Fish wants to play for Phil and the Lakers real bad and he's trying to put on a show for them.

Before he rolled his ankle, Dunleavy looked like he was headed to another bad game. He's usually a pretty solid free throw shooter, but he missed both of his attempts last night. But for the first time, I think I saw why maybe some clueless Warriors fans think he's so smart. I always thought people believed this because a) his dad is a coach (which is dumb since intelligence is not genetic) and b) he's white (which is dumb because race has nothing to do with intelligence). It's because he has a big head.

His head is 3x the size of Smush's!

Dunleavy rolled his ankle in the first half after landing wrong when trying to collect a rebound. If you've ever played hoops, rolling your ankle is pretty painful. It's usually not a serious injury, but one that lingers and isn't fun. On a side note- is Mike Dunleavy Jim Barnett's love child? After Dunleavy landed wrong, he blamed Mike's ankle roll on Andris Biedrins (aka the Human Foul Film) for being out of position. Huh? Look Andris might be pretty uncoordinated (his free throw stroke makes Ben Wallace's look like Ray Allen's), but how is he responsible for Dunleavy's rolled ankle? Just insane.

Baron: "Get this scrub out of here!"

Hate to say this, but the Warriors are a better team without Dunleavy getting 30+ minutes a night. Even Jessica Alba who sat courtside seemed happy to waive Dunleavy goodbye.

Jessica: "Seeya Mike! My post up moves are more fantastic than yours!"

Tough loss, but good effort. Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?! Let's not get into that.

Warrior Wonder
Aside from jacking up an impossible shot at the end of the 4th when he was triple teamed, Boom Dizzle played like a superstar last night. 29 points, 10 dimes, and 3 steals without JRich is incredible. Baron took it to the hole, set up his teammates, and played pretty good defense. Great game.

Boom Deazy even had time to tickle Devean George behind his knee as he drove past him!

Midterm Report Card for the Warriors

2006-01-27T19:03:00.000-08:00

The Warriors are at the halfway point of the 2005-2006 season. After 41 games the Warriors stand 19 and 22 good for a .463 winning percentage. 11th place in the Western Conference and 3rd in the Pacific. Probably not what Warriors Nation was expecting, but honestly- when have things ever gone according to plan for the Dubs? Let's see how the Warriors have done in the first 41 games:

Baron Davis: B
Boom Dizzle has dazzled Warrior fans with his dimes (9 a game), but struggled with his shooting and shot selection. Baron's had some trouble defending some of the quicker guards in the league.

Jason Richardson: A-
Aside from hitting free throws (only 66.2%), there isn't much more you can ask for offensively (nearly 23ppg, 6boards, and 3 assists). Defensively JRich is improving as well. Near All Star effort.

Mike Dunleavy: D+
I don't think there is another team in the NBA stupid enough to play Dunleavy over 32 minutes a game. His scoring (10.9ppg) and rebounding (4.7rpg) have regressed from both last season and two seasons ago. Pretty sorry defense aside from a handful of suprising, but welcome games. There is no reason Mike should be shooting three pointers (23.8%).

Troy Murphy: C
T-Double's rebounding is down from nearly 11 a game last season to 9 this year, but he's showing us more offensive skills. Defense is Charmin' soft.

Adonal Foyle: D+
If you play Adonal 10-15 minutes a game he's amazing energy off the bench. Unfortunately he's a starter and paid like a star.

Derek Fisher: C
Good guy, not so good point guard. Streaky shooter at best. Never met a shot he didn't like.

Mickael Pietrus: Incomplete
He's only played 18 out of 41 games. It's tough to assess MP2 with the bizzare minutes Monty gives him. Absolutely no reason why he shouldn't be starting over Dunleavy. When the Warriors are always giving up so many points in the first quarter, you think you'd insert some defense into the starting lineup.

Andris Biedrins: D-
You love the guy's energy, but he's more likely to foul than grab a rebound, block a shot, or score. Still very raw and hasn't show any real improvement.

Ike Diogu: C
Nice kid, but a poor man's Corliss Williamson? Let's hope not.

Zarko Cabarkapa: D+
If he got Dunleavy's minutes, he'd probably put up similar numbers... and that's not a good thing.

Calbert Cheaney: C-
This former flop (#6 overall pick) brings some needed veteran leadership, but he should NEVER be playing (1.8ppg in 10.4minutes per game). Warriors Nation doesn't call him "the towel" for nothing. Still, his teammates seems to appreciate his influence.

Chris Taft: Incomplete
Too bad the kid's faced so many back problems. He might be able to help this team.

Monta Ellis: Incomplete
Honestly, who knows how good or bad this kid can be? When he does get some minutes, you have to love his hustle.

Coach Mike Montgomery: D-
He'd probably be fired by now on any other team.

Warriors Front Office: F
Unless some other team is dumb enough to trade for some horrendous contracts, this is your Golden State Warriors lineup for the next 2-3 years. Not bad enough to be at the top of the lottery, but not good enough to do better than the 7th or 8th seed. Aw good times!

Warrior Girls: A+
DJ Fuzzy Logic will cover this soon...

Junior Jam Squad: A+
The kids are off the hook!

Team Thunder: A+
Their jams are almost as good as JRich's.

Thunder and the big inflatable Thunder: A+
I luv that big Thunder and his headbutt!

Golden State Warriors BLOG: A+
We're a great time out!

You: A+
Thanks for your support! We love your comments. You guys drop more science than Jim Barnett (and I like the guy!).

Make sure to drop your grades in the comments.

The Kobe Show Comes To Town

2006-01-27T07:54:00.000-08:00

Troy Murphy for first team All-Defensive! Turn around!

He scored 81 points the last time the Lakers played. 81. To put that into perspective, there have been entire teams who don’t score more than 81 in a full game. This past Wednesday the Hornets scored a whopping 68 in a game against the Spurs. Kobe nearly had that in 3 quarters. So what does this have to do with the Warriors? Well he’s playing them tonight. The Lakers aren’t playing the Warriors, Kobe and those other 11 guys are. I’m excited for one thing for this game, how many points will Kobe put up? I want the Warriors to win badly, but I’m also curious to see if Kobe will try to match his 81 or break it. If he scores 35, big deal right? Ho hum, you're averaging 35. I say he drops at a double nickel, 55. With no JRich tomorrow because of his injury, it might be a long night for Mike Dunleavy. Everyone knows that Monty isn’t playing Pietrus, the best perimeter defender we have. If Monty doesn't play MP2 on KB8 and chooses to go with MDJ with no JRich around, I say fire him on the spot. No post game news conference, no thanks for playing. Just a swift kick and tell him to go back to the Farm. Just promote Mario Elie. Knowing Monty, Mike Dunleavy will most likely be guarding Kobe if JRich can’t go. Dunleavy will be in more highlights on Sportscenter than he's been his whole career, it's just that the highlights won't be of his own. It will be Kobe with a turnaround jumper with Dunleavy standing there, Kobe for three with Dunleavy standing there, and then Kobe dunks with Dunleavy in some awkward pose between Kobe's legs. At least there will be some good pictures to put up on the site afterwards.

So go ahead Kobe, entertain me/ us. Shoot away (as long as Odom gets some more assists since he’s on my fantasy squad). If you’re tuning into the game, Kobe is the story, whether you want to see him score a ton of points or get shutdown, he’s the top attraction in this game.

I say he scores 55. How many points do you think he’ll score?

GSW BLOG Droppin' Dimes

2006-01-26T23:30:00.000-08:00

Golden State Warriors BLOG spotting on... ESPN.com's Daily Dime for January 27, 2006.
Thanks to Chad Ford for answering my question today. Chad's on point.

Recap II: Warriors: 93, Mavs 102

2006-01-26T13:17:00.000-08:00

Two words. Ho. Rendous.

I’m thinking of ending the game recap here, as for anyone that saw the Mavs – Warriors last night, the above description is all they need to sum it up.

But then I remember that there are some who:

a) may not have watched the game
b) put a bullet through their TV screen out of sheer rage in the 4th quarter

For those of you that fit into either one of those two categories, I’m here for you. Let the pain train begin.

Box Score | AP Recap

Thanks to an old friend, I was actually able to be at the Arena last night to witness this travesty in person. When the game first started, I actually remember thinking to myself, “Wow, the Warriors are playing some pretty decent basketball!” This isn’t to say that they were the most dominating force out there, (they let the game get close at times), but when push came to shove, one of the Dubs was always able to step it up and keep a respectable lead.

My thoughts going into this game were,

“Contain Dirk, and we can come away with a W.”

Okay, that’s not entirely true, I also thought,

“Remember, they stop serving beer after the 3rd quarter so plan accordingly!”

In respects to the game, I’d say the first thought was the most important. And we did contain Dirk. Or rather, he seemed to contain himself. Either way, he didn’t get a lot of touches, and whether that was a matter of his own free will or our great defense, it didn’t matter to me. So why then did we not walk away with a much needed win?

Take your pick. Poor defense. Terrible free throw shooting. Terrible in-game shooting. Getting embarrassed on rebounds (4th quarter especially). Useless turnovers. Bad coaching. All of the above.

It was the 4th quarter when the nightmare began. We got STOMPED on. And we did nothing to stop it. The Mavs were literally dancing in the paint with us on every possession. Sure, sometimes they missed. But it’s easy to grab boards over us when Derek Fisher is the only one on our team going after them. And so the beat down continued.

Mavs take it down. Make the shot. We take it down. Bad pass/miss. Mavs take it down. Miss the shot. Mavs offensive board. Mavs make the shot. Hash weeps like a little girl. Mavs fans point and laugh at him.

Yes, there were some Mavs fans there. One of the highlights of my night was when Dunleavy dropped a simple pass out of bounds and a loud drunk Mavs fan behind us started heckling him on how crappy he was. You should have seen the look on his face when, contrary to his expectations, all the surrounding Warriors fans burst into applause. That’s when it hit me that Mike Dunleavy sucking is something that Warriors fans and opposing team fans can all agree on! Way to promote unity Dun!

Wow! Even a guy on Ecstacy can shut Dunleavy down.

All said and done, the dubs scored a petty 15 points in the final quarter. The lead slipped through our fingers like… um… some sort of viscous liquid that by definition would be slippery. (Someone call the analogy police.) At the end of the game, the Warriors fans were forced to take the walk of shame back to their cars, most of which were parked at the local BART station.

As I stepped out of the Arena, I stopped for a second to let the wretched display of basketball I just witnessed set in. An old woman who exited behind me saw me. When she noticed that I was wearing a “The City” shirt, she came up to me, still stunned herself, and asked:

“I don’t get it… What do the players do in practice?”

A profound question. Monty, your comments?

This loss has sunk us into a 3 game losing streak. And with the Artest trade all said and done, it doesn’t look there will be a light at the end of this tunnel anytime soon. But on the plus side, those of you that expressed nervousness about losing our young talent in the Artest trade; well.. we have no choice but to expiriment now. Despite dismal showings tonight, I would like to see Ike and Pietrus log more minutes out there. We seen many glimpses of raw talent from both of them and I, for one, do not yet think that they are flukes.

If there is one thing I can credit Warriors fans for, it's never losing hope. So, my brothers and sisters, now that Artest is off the table, what are the next steps to turn the past couple of months around? Monty, Mullin, hope you're reading.

WARRIOR WONDER: T-DOUBLE! Mr. Consistency came strong with the points (22) when needed and pulled down much needed boards all game. (14) I can't say enough good things about how this kid plays. When the team seems to lose their mojo out there, this guy still knows that he is out there to do a job. And he does it well.
Also, not to be ignored, 10 assists and 26 points was supafly Baron. Truth be told, I was happier to see the 10 assists than the 26 points. We need you to create plays with dynamic passing, not end plays with never ending 3's. Step in the right direction!

Chad Ford on the Warriors

2006-01-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

ESPN.com's Chad Ford gave a pretty objective and fair analysis of the Warriors in his online chat today.

Atma Brother #1 (Golden State Warriors BLOG): Please tell Warriors Nation we're not headed to the lottery.... AGAIN!

Chad Ford: (12:11 PM ET ) I was high on them in the pre-season, but after watching them a lot and given the Artest trade, I think they're going to finish at the bottom of the Pacific again. I think Chris Mullin made a major mistake by not aquiring Artest. I think the Warriors would've preferred to get two young players like Diogu and Pietrus. I know Mullin feels that they both have a lot of upside, but at some time you have to decide that your franchise is going to more than a farm team ... you have to actually win. Artest was a great fit for that team and I think Mullin overvalued his young guys. In two or three years, they may look back and Diogu and Pietrus will be great players. But, another two years of missing the playoffs and Mullin may not have a job.

I'm with Chad on missing out on Artest. It was a colossal mistake that was exacerbated by Ron going to the division rival Sacramento Kings. The Kings gave up an All Star in Peja and Mullin was not ready to give up anyone on the roster aside from Baron and JRich? Artest gives the Kings a pretty solid lineup when healthy:

PG: Mike Bibby
SG: Bonzi Wells
SF: Ron Artest
PF: Shareef Abdur-Rahim
C: Brad Miller

The Kings starting frontline is vastly superior to the Warriors threesome of Dunleavy-Murphy-Foyle. Although not at the Boom-Rich level the Kings' backcourt is solid and clutch (Bibby). Look for the Kings to beat up on the Warriors in the 3 games left between the two Northern California squads this season. The Pacific Division could have 4 teams in the Western conference playoffs (Suns, Clippers, Lakers, Kings). That's just embarrassing for the Warriors who are 1 game out of the Pacific division cellar and showing no signs of life.

Ford made an excellent point about the Warriors being a farm team. At some point you have to stop worrying about how good your team is going to be in 3-4 years and play to win now. It's been 11 years since the Warriors made the playoffs. If every year is a "rebuilding year", you're doing something wrong. It's tough to buy that the Warriors young guns will ever be star players.

What are thoughts about Chad Ford's take on the Warriors?

Warriors Recap: Warriors 93, Mav's 102

2006-01-25T22:41:00.000-08:00

To Recap: We stink.

Well not necessarily, but when it comes to crunch time, we are as clutch as the coyote missing the road runner! NOT EVEN CLOSE.

First three quarters were brilliant and the crowd was electric. Pietrus came back for full effect and the warriors showed promise of team playing. As I sat in the crowd cheering with the fans we all felt a little ease now that the whole Artest drama was over.

"Maybe this will make Dunleavy and Murph play with more confidence knowing they won't be traded" sentiments passed all through-out the stadium. It seemed true but only for a short moment.

Quarters 1 - 3:
Everyone played exceptionally well. Passing was the key. JRich and Troy had a couple sweet give and go opportunities and Dunleavy drove to the basket giving us chances at the line (which we did not capitalize). I wonder if or why Monty does not have the warriors spend 2 hours a night on their STUPID free throws! I mean honestly. How much money can one make and not be able to make a stupid free throw!! It makes NO sense.

Quarter 4:
This is where the ultimate let down began. Well actually it was the end of the third quarter when the warriors let dallas make a couple 3 pointers with less then 20 seconds left. This was extremely embarrassing. It wasn't like Dirk or Stack took the game over, but the warriors were 1 for 14 in the fourth. Howard and Harris running the floor untouched didn't make it any easier to watch.

I'm too angry to write this post so I will end on a good note. The picture below illustrates our night. Dallas dunking all over us. But if you look closely you can see none other then YAOBUTTAMING :) thank you and good night.

Yea thats me! I decided to remain seated for this play!

Game Recap from Espn.

Getting (ar)Testy

2006-01-24T22:31:00.000-08:00

To the Clips? Nope. To the Kings? Probably not. Regardless of your thoughts on Artest you have to love the drama.

BUT, Warrior fans have to be scared. Every team that pops up in the rumor mill is in the Pacific Division. If the Lakers, Kings, or Clippers somehow manage to pull off a trade for Artest, say goodbye to any chance at the playoffs Warriors Nation. Artest is going to make life miserable for JRich four times a year and put any of these squads far ahead of the Warriors. The Warriors are already barely above the Pacific Division gutter.

Kobe and Artest? Brand, Cassell, Mobley, Kaman, and Artest? Bibby, Miller, Abdur-Rahim, and Artest? The Warriors simply won't be able to compete.

Mullin and crew need to bring Artest to the Bay or else the playoff drought is going to extend to possibly 12-13 seasons at least. Everyone not named Baron and Jason should be on the block for Artest.

What are your thoughts about the Warriors and Artest? Are you worried about Artest on another Pacific Divsion team?

Recap: Warriors 93, Clippers 96

2006-01-23T22:26:00.000-08:00

This has to be the worst loss of the year. With a 19 point lead late in the third quarter, the Warriors let the Clippers back into the game by allowing a late run to end the 3rd quarter. They started out extremely hot shooting 60% in the first half. They came out smoking in the 3rd quarter too with a bunch of fast breaks and playing uptempo style of ball. And then everything fell apart. The Clippers tightened up on defense and slowed down the attack by not allowing any easy buckets. In the end, poor free throw shooting finally caught up to them. Actually poor isn't the right adjective. Horrendous and Shaq-like are probably better suited to describe the 11-23 (47%) free throw performance. I cannot fathom why these free throws problems continue throughout the season. All you have to do is practice. Sit at the free throw line at practice and shoot a couple hundred everyday. Or bring in Rick Barry during his offtime at KNBR and have them all learn to shoot underhand free throws. Do something about this problem. Making free throws is all mental, so the more practice and confidence you get, the better you can bring that to the real game.

Boxscore

I swear I kept hearing "My precious..." everytime Gollum, I mean Sam Cassell, had the ball in his hands. Seriously though, Cassell was the difference in the game. He hit some HUGE shots in the 4th to bring the Clippers all the way back. 13 of his 24 points came in the final period. At one point it seemed like he couldn't miss, even with a hand in his face, he would knock down jumpers. He also got to the line a bunch of times in the 4th on his pump fakes and flops. He knows how to work the officials and get to the line where he shoots 87%.

As for the Warriors? It was good to see the adjustments the team made from the last game as they played much better in the post. After getting manhandled in the paint the game before, the Warriors outrebounded the Clippers 51-37 and limited the points in the paint to about even with better interior defense.

Murphy played much better defensively in the 3rd quarter on Brand by denying him the ball in the post. He also grabbed an alarming 20 rebounds to go with his 16 points. He's not a great defender, but he played extremely hard tonight to limit Brand's domination in the post. You may look at the numbers and say Murphy didn't play well as Brand poured in 28, but tonight it was the defense of the perimeter that cost the Warriors the game.

Not sure what to say about Baron. When the Warriors were winning he was driving to the hole, and not settling for that 3. When the Warriors began to lose the lead, he launched 3's and hit none of them. He needed to keep pushing the ball, keep attacking the bucket. He ended with 10 assists but he had 8 in the first two and half quarters. So over the last 15 or so minutes, he had 2 assists. It wasn't that he played bad defense on Cassell in the final period, but it was his man who went off and that cannot happen if the Warriors want to win. He's got to play better D on Cassell if they want to win this game. Great players take over the game and get their team to win. Cassell was able to do that, Baron not able to. I don't rip Baron much but when the man you're guarding takes over the game, you have to take responsibility. Sure it's a team game but Baron's defense has to improve. For as strong, quick, and athletic as he is, there's no reason to play the type of defense he does.

As a side note, Shaun Livingston is going to be very nice. The numbers don't show it, but he looks like he's going to be a very good player in the future. Just 19 years old and he is so smooth out there on the court. He's a 6-7 point guard with nice handles, quickness and a nice jumper. I was impressed with what I saw. Compare him to our 20 year old Biedrins, and Livingston is much farther ahead in his progress. If he's able to stay away from injuries Livingston will be a star.

By the way, Ike plays 3 minutes, Pietrus 10. Atma thinks there's a trade happening soon since they're not playing these guys. I think Monty has no idea what he's doing. Maybe we're both right.

Warrior Wonder - JRich
He was the only one they could count on tonight to consistently score. He scored 30 on 11-20 shooting, 4-6 from 3, and 4-5 from the line. In fact, I don't know why they didn't go to him more considering he had the hot hand in the 4th.

Recap: Warriors 92, Clippers 105

2006-01-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

It's a good thing this game wasn't televised in the Bay Area because the Warriors got stomped on by another Pacific division foe.

Boxscore

This is the closest the Warriors came to grabbing a board today.

Even without seeing the game on TV, we can sum up the loss in 5 sentences.

1. The Warriors didn't start playing defense until the 2nd quarter giving up 37 points in the first!

2. The Clips DOMINATED the boards with 49 Rodmans to the Dub's 27.

3.Not only is Chris Kaman good looking, but he's got GAME (17 points, 15 boards, 4 blocks).

Air Kaman was in Da House?

4. Mike Dunleavy came back down to Earth (3 for 11 FG and 0 for 3 3pt).

Troy doesn't know what Mike is doing here. Neither do we.

5. Monty refuses to give Ike (8 minutes) and Pietrus (11 minutes) a chance. Both Dunleavy and Murphy, the Warriors starting forwards, had poor showings, but still logged over 32 minutes a game each. Give Ike and Pety a chance! (Sorry that was 7 sentences for those of you counting)

Warrior Wonder
Baron (22 points) and Jrich (23 points) had pretty good scoring nights, but FSN Bay Area deserves some props for not televising this sorry outing.

Anyone catch the game in LA or on League Pass? Drop your knowledge in the comments.

The Warriors face off against the Clips tomorrow night in Oakland. Redemption or continued schooling?

Recap: Warriors 99, Cavs 79

2006-01-21T10:09:00.000-08:00

I'm still can't believe the Warriors pulled this one off like they did without B Diddy. It has to be the biggest shocker of the year for the Warriors.

Boxscore

JRich played big on his B-Day!

Credit this win to the the unexplainable coaching of the Cavs as much as the Warriors. It was almost like the Cavs were trying to lose this game. The Warriors Charmin soft interior was exposed big time in the first half. Bay Area product Drew Gooden and Center Ilgauskas dominated the Warriors. Drew had a double-double with 16 points (on 7-8 shooting) and 10 boards at the half! Gooden was scoring points at will a la Wilt in the post, but then in the second half a strange thing happened. The Cavs pretty much benched Gooden and Ilgauskas. It made no sense at all. Both players had double-doubles playing 25 minutes or less. This was the first game of the season where Monty clearly was not the worst coach on the floor.

Because of the Cavs horrendous coaching last night, the entire burden of winning the game was placed on the shoulders of The Chosen One Lebron James. You have to feel for the kid. In the 2nd half the best offensive option he had to work with was former Warrior Donyell Marshall. Were the Cavs trying to lose? It doesn't add up. For pretty much having to go 1 on 5 on offense in the 2nd half, Lebron deserves some props for a 14 point, 9 rebound, 6 assist night.

Credit Mike Dunleavy and Mickael Pietrus for some great defense on Lebron James the entire night. You read that correctly- Mike Dunleavy helped shut down Lebron James last night. Before the game even the most passionate Dunleavy fan would expect some serious posterizing by Lebron on Mike. Somehow, it didn't happen. Mike Dunleavy did things last night that I have never seen him do in his 4 year career. He has been one of the worst defenders in the league, but he was a legit stopper last night on the King. Mike has been appropriately labeled soft over his NBA career, but against Cleveland he took it to the hole with authority. It was shocking. Warriors Nation has never seen Mike this aggressive or consistent for this long of a stretch.

It is time to trade Mike Dunleavy. Buy low, sell high. Mike's value will never be this high. NBA fans and teams always seem to try to trade their players when their values are low (Ron Artest is a prime example) and they are struggling. It's just bad business sense. Guys like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett should be on the trading block. Their teams aren't going to win and their star player's value are at highs. For the first time in forever Mike's stats in a 7 game stretch actually look good. His value is inflated right now. He's not going to average 22 point (on a high shooting %), 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.

More than anything the Warriors need a rebounder, especially one that can scoop up some offensive boards. Right now a package with Mike Dunleavy may be able to bring in a rebounding force. Drew Gooden (who should have walked away tonight with a 25-18 night) comes to mind. He would fit perfectly. Let's remember that the Warriors have gone 2-5 during Dunleavy's best stretch. He's playing well, but he's not the answer.

MP2 looks better every game. He wasn't as hot shooting the ball last night, but he blanketed Lebron James in some Deion Sanders-esque defense. Hopefully, the Warriors realize that they have an up and coming stopper with Pietrus and give him more minutes. There is no reason why he shouldn't be playing 30+ minutes a game every night when he's 100% healthy. If it weren't for the knee injury that caused him to miss 20+ games, Pietrus could very well be starting at the small forward spot with Dunleavy coming off the bench.

T-Double had a pretty poor 1st half with Gooden abusing him, but turned it on in the 2nd half to finish with 16 and 11. Troy even dropped a few nice passes that led to easy buckets. The only question remains- did he pay the Cavs to bench Gooden in the 2nd half?

What happened to Ike? He isn't getting the minutes or touches. I am little worried that Ike is the 2nd coming of Corliss Williamson. Nice low post scoring moves, but not much else. Let's hope it's not true because Ike is a fan favorite. Ike's rebounding and defense leaves a lot to be desired.

The Kings are reportedly close to getting Ron Artest, but the Warriors are still in the hunt. It's time to step up and be smart. If a Pacific division team gets Artest the Warriors are in trouble. Life is going to be tougher for the Warriors, especially Jason Richardson. Offer Dunleavy and Ike and make it happen. Will Mike Dunleavy ever be a top 10 small forward? Will Ike Diogu ever be a top 10 power forward? Mullin and company can't get attached and overrate their players. You have to give up talent to get talent and Artest is some serious talent that you don't want your rivals getting.

Warrior Wonder
Only half of the Boom-Rich backcourt was on display last night, but the birthday boy did not disappoint. JRich was All Star worthy with 22 points, 5 boards, 5 dimes, and 3 steals. Jason deserves some serious props for his much improved passing. JRich probably won't make the Western Conference All Star team, but he's played like a star pretty much this whole season.
Happy 25th!

The Shot Heard Around the World

2006-01-20T09:52:00.000-08:00

This past Warriors-Sonics game on MLK Day I handed out the Warrior Wonder to fan favorite/ face of the franchise Adonal Foyle. He got some serious props for the outlet passing and hustle, but his "bank" shot was FUGLY. If you missed the game or want to relive what might possibly be the funniest blank in the history of the NBA, then you HAVE to check out this "highlight". Props to Elemental from the GoldenStWarriors.com message board. It's a gem.

I'm starting to think that Adonal is just such a good shot blocker that he can't help himself from blocking his OWN shots. He's so quick with the swats that the camera doesn't pick it up when he blocks his own jumpers. Amazing.

"I'll block your shot AND mine!"

Is Adonal's missed bank shot the funniest miss you have ever seen? Count me in for a Yes vote.

Boom Dizzle Fizzled

2006-01-19T22:05:00.000-08:00

The league has suspended Baron Davis for tomorrow's game against the Cleveland Cavs for the scuffle with Luke Ridnour.
Yeah, you heard right. 3 days after the Ridnour got punked by B Diddy, the league decided to hand out a suspension. What's up with the delay? The suspension seems kind of harsh, but then again we're not Sonics fans.

Do you think the suspension was justified?

The Name Game

2006-01-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

We can't get into any details right now, but the Golden State Warriors BLOG could be moving soon. It's BIG. We'll let you know as soon as something goes down. Stay tuned here in the mean time.

We need a new name for the blog. Any suggestons? Post your ideas in the comments.

New Poll is Up

2006-01-17T22:51:00.000-08:00

The newest poll is up on the right so make sure to cast your vote for where you think the Warriors will finish this season, which seed they'll get or if they'll miss the playoffs. We'll keep this one up for a couple weeks and post the results afterwards. Mullin has listened to these polls before, so maybe if us Warrior fans let him know that we don't believe the Warriors season is headed for success, he'll actually make a move.

Rock the Vote!

Fantasy Flop and Fantasy Fortune

2006-01-17T22:35:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s the midway point of the fantasy basketball season and in the two leagues we have going, the GSW Blog is STRUGGLING in one and doing well in the other. Let’s look at both leagues and give props to the top performing squads.

GSW Blog Fantasy League I
UGLY. That’s one way to put it. There’s also embarrassing, horrible, and just plain bad. After all the trash talking the beginning of the season, we sure didn’t back it up. We’re sitting in 13th place at 19-31-5, a good 18.5 games out of first and 8 games out of the playoffs. The good news? We’re only 8 games out of the playoffs. The bad news? 8 games is nearly half our wins for the entire season. Even with LeBron, we’ve struggled to put up a decent season. We have had Artest sitting on the bench the whole season. We’re thinking about dumping Artest to try to save the season, so if you’re interested in trading for him instead of dealing with the waiver wire, send us a trade for the potential All-Star. Geez I feel like Donnie Walsh. We’ll take the best offer available, don’t underbid or he’ll go to another team. But unlike Donnie Walsh, we’re not going to wait until the February 23rd trade deadline to deal. This season still has about 10 weeks to go, we still have a shot. Hey we're not perfect, but you can be sure we'll be making a comeback this second half of the season.

As for the other squads, Giants has a sick team with KG, Vince, Jamison, CWebb, and BKnight. Maybe that’s why he’s in first. He’s followed by Domino, The Hopeless Causes, and jOe. Those are the cream of the crop right now. 4.5 games separates the 4th place team from first. After those squads, there’s a big dropoff with Foyle’s Follies 9.5 games out of first and one of our favorite commenters, migya rounding out the top 6. Barring any major injuries, it’s starting to look like the top 4 spots are set with the final 5th and 6th seeds up for grabs. It’ll be exciting to see this finish.

GSW Blog Fantasy League II
We’re right there at 3rd in the standings, 3 games out of first with KG, Chris Paul, and JRich carrying the team. Luckily, we’ve been able to make due with Boozer out but come playoff time, if Boozer isn’t back, we’ll be cutting him and picking up a real player. This team is definitely solid and ready for a title run.

The team JRich is currently in first but he’s only got a slim lead of 0.5 games on second place TripleDouble. We’re third and Sarunas Marciulionis is 4th just 3.5 games out of first. Just as in the other league, the top 4 teams have separated themselves from the rest of the pack as the team in 5th place, This is the Year, remains 9 games out and RUN BJMT is 10 games out. Only 3.5 games separate 5th and 9th place, so anything could happen these last few weeks. Warriors’ GM is sitting in 10th place 14.5 games out of first. Now I really hope that this isn’t Chris Mullin in disguise. If it was, then maybe it’s not surprising that his team is currently out of the playoffs. Come to think of it, he’s got Mike Dunleavy, Adonal Foyle, and Derek Fisher on the team, 3 of Mullin’s favorites. Hmmm. I’m just joking, but that would be funny if it were true. Actually this squad is good with Tmac, Billups, Ben Wallace, and Baby Al. I’m excited to see how this league turns out as well.

Anyways, I hope you all are enjoying the league and wanted to say good luck to all of the fantasy squads for the rest of the season. We'll make sure to update the standings on a more regular basis from here on out. Also make sure to talk your trash either to us or some other team in the league by leaving us a comment right here.

If you didn't get a chance to join either league, drop us an email and let us know if you were interested. Maybe we can setup an NBA playoff fantasy league for more people.

Recap: Warriors 109, Sonics 93

2006-01-16T22:48:00.000-08:00

Happy MLK Day!

Without the suspended Ray Allen, the Sonics are one of the worst teams in the NBA. Exactly what the Warriors needed to snap the 5 game losing streak!

Boxscore

Just one of the many highlight jams from this afternoon!

There's no better way to end a losing streak than against a bad team minus their superstar. The Warriors looked fabulous at the arena tonight, but let's be honest this game doesn't mean much. A blowout against the Sonics is nice, but let's remember they are one of the worst teams in the Western Conference. Still- it was fun to watch.

The Boom-Rich backcourt was on point again. Boom Dizzle nearly got his 2nd triple double in a row. Baron took it to the hole and dropped dimes on the regular. Aside from letting Luke Ridnour blow past him a few times, there isn't much more you can ask from B Diddy. Jason's 26 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists ain't no joke either. He skyed for several highlight jams.

He undeservedly started and played major minutes. He didn't show up for 25 games this year. He continues to shoot blanks on wide open shots when he's the 4th or 5th option. He was abused by Bryan Bowen of the Rockets. He was severely outplayed by backup Guard/ Forward Pietrus when MP was healthy. He complained about his teammates and coaching in the media. And what happens? It's shocking. The Warriors reward Mike Dunleavy with even more playing time (over 38 minutes in the last 5 games) and the team gets him more shot attempts. Is he related to Chris Cohan in any way?

Dunleavy played a team high 42 minutes and actually put together a good night with 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Props to you Mike and all two of your supporters. You seem to have turned it around after undeservedly getting chance, after chance, after chance, and well... after chance. Usually Dunleavy's the 4th or 5th option on the court, so he's going to get a bunch of open looks. If the Warriors front office is going to insist on playing him so many minutes, Mike needs to provide something and knock down some shots.

It's great to have Mickael Pietrus back. 19 points in 14 minutes? Let's hope the only reason he played 14 minutes and not 42 like Dunleavy is because the team is trying to ease him back after the injury. Otherwise- management and the coaching staff are INSANE. Air France had a NASTY one handed jam with the left in the 2nd quarter. And 1 mixtape worthy!

Troy's struggling a little bit with his shot, but it's good to see him contributing with some nice passing (a real nice feed to a cutting JRich and 3 dimes overall) and 7 boards. When Troy slumps it's 12 points and 7 boards. Not bad at all. He'll snap out of it.

DJ Fuzzy Logic always hypes up Adonal Foyle's great outlet passes. I usually fall to the floor laughing when Fuzzy Logic does (since I don't believe it), but on MLK Day 2006 Adonal's outlet passes weren't a joke. They were off the hook! Foyle's outlet passes lead to fast break buckets or free throws for Baron, Pietrus, and JRich.

The best outlet passing center in the league?

It's a little strange that Ike lost his starting job to Adonal Foyle this game. He's out of position at the 5 spot, but that doesn't explain why he only got 9 minutes of playing time today. Is Ike on the trading block?

Well, it looks like the Warriors screwed up again in the 2004 draft. Biendrins is a good kid and if he could learn to stop fouling he'll be a good shot blocker and rebounder, but wait a couple of years and he'll have nothing on big man prospect Robert Swift. The Sonics took Swift right after the Warriors selected Biendrins. Swift is going to be smooth. He is already more offensively developed than Biedrins will ever be. It's amazing if you think about it actually- the Warriors selected the WRONG white guy. Usually they just take a white guy (ahem, Todd Fuller, Mike Dunleavy, Andrew DeClerq) and it turns out all WRONG.

WARRIOR WONDER
Adonal Foyle. Gotta love them outlet passes! (We'll ignore that ugly wide open shot that he tried to bank but hit the top of the backboard- it was FUGLY.)

Make sure to post your game thoughts in the comments. We've been getting some great discussions going!

Dunleavy Hatin' + Tea Bagging Reaches New Heights

2006-01-15T19:57:00.000-08:00

Whoa! An entire blog devoted to dissing your least favorite Warrior? Say it ain't so! I thought we were harsh sometimes (check the archives). We try to stick to humor when it comes to calling Mike Dunnuthin' out, but 2LiveCougs has taken it to a different level with The Best Damned Mike Dunleavy Jr. Blog. It's described as:

The Internet's one and only site dedicated to the most untalented and overpaid player in the NBA - Mike Dunleavy Jr. aka Elf Boy, Skip To My IQ, Manute Dunleavy Jr., Lil' Dun Dun, Dungleavy, Dungina, Ryan DunLeafy Jr...

Good luck 2LiveCougs. (I guess that's what we're supposed to say, but doesn't that mean we're encouraging Dunleavy to play worse?) I still find it incredibly hard to believe that Warriors (mis)management resigned him for 4 more years when fans constantly boo him at the arena and the Internet is a playground for Dun dissing. I might be stating the obvious but- the majority of Warriors fans are not Dunleavy supporters.

Hmmmm, well at least Dunleavy seems to have found a way to enjoy his time on floor more.

Two questions:
1) Do you think Lamar Odom enjoyed Mike's gesture?
2) Is this a flagrant/ intentional foul of a XXX sort?

Recap: Warriors 104, Lakers 109

2006-01-14T20:37:00.000-08:00

The great thing about Tivo is that you can fast forward parts of the game that make you mad. No one to blame but Montey for this Saturday Night Loss:

Highlights per quarter:
1st Quarter: Smush Parker and Kwame single handedly ran us into the ground with their fast breaks and alley oop dunks. Kobe made a couple sweet plays but for the most played team ball. As for the warriors, there was nothing special. A nice block from Ike was quietly forgotten by a laker fast break. Richardson's shot is vastly improving especially on his three pointers. Pietrus came in with 2 minutes remaining in the quarter for Dunleavy, and made a sweet spin move around Odom for two. Oh how happy I am Pietrus is back!!

So Monty, why didn't we put Pietrus on Kobe? Fisher you say?

2nd Quarter: Pietrus was a little rusty with a couple missed shots but its only a matter of time. Ike "foul prone" Diogu got the rookie calls and Kobe got away with the "super-star" no calls. What was impressive was Smush Parker again stealing the ball from Ike and dunking on him. Dunleavy made an unbelievable defensive play when defending a fast break and crouching away to give the lakers an easy lay-up. If you didn't pick up a hint of sarcasm on that last line please grow a sense of humor (or maybe I'll work on mine). Even more frustrating is Fisher's reenactment of Kobe as he tries to drive the lane and create his own shots.

3rd Quarter: At this point the scoring lead is going back and forth between the warriors and lakers. Kobe playing team-ball took all of us by surprise and we saw little glimpses of greatness from the warriors, but too much inconsistent playing. Dunleavy continued to disappoint even after i gave him the benefit of the doubt earlier today. Most exciting action in the quarter came when kobe had a fast break and dunleavy decked him in the face causing a scuffle. No one was ejected but i'm glad dunleavy wasn't afraid to get physical.

4th Quarter: What a block from Dunleavy on Odom. Did anyone see that? Watching Dunleavy makes me feel bi-polar. One play you are so excited from his play, the next you are down on him. Why is Fisher guarding Kobe? For the last 5 minutes, Kobe went off scoring 10 points while being guarded by Fisher. If Monty would have put ANYONE else on Kobe then the game could have been closer if not ending in a Warrior win.

Final Grade of the game: C-. Could have been a C+ if the warriors would have pulled out a win but I blame Monty for his lack of aggressive coaching.

Dunleavy Needs to Shut Up

2006-01-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

Admittedly, we are not the biggest fans of Mike Dunleavy Jr. here at the Golden State Warriors BLOG (check the archives), but what the man (he's not a kid see end of Foyle + Dunleavy for Artest? Free Artest!) said the other day after the blow out loss to the Suns was unexcusable.

"We can't just go throw the ball out there and play street ball, and that's what we rely on," Dunleavy said. "When the going gets tough, that's what we rely on. You can't just let your All-Stars, your best players, go one-on-one. As good as those guys are, the other guys are good, too.
"I've been trying to explain this to everybody since the first game of the season," he continued. "Everybody thinks we can get by on it. We got by on it early in the season because we weren't playing good teams. The majority of teams in the league, as we are finding out, are good teams."

Mike- who are you to call out your teammates after a string of losses? Only just recently have you managed to pull your scoring average to double digits this season. You've had a horrendous seaon that has left many other hoops GM's, people in the media, hoops fanatics, and especially Warriors fans scratching their heads as to why you got paid 44 million big ones. Not one of your teammates ever called you out this season through the media during a string of performances that would get you cut from most WNBA teams. For some bizzare reason you have the audacity to call out the All-Stars or best players on this team (thinly veiled shots at Baron Davis, Jason Richardson, and Troy Murphy). Before you start pointing the finger look in the mirror.

Shut Yo Mouth!

His supporters have maintained that he has a positive locker room presence. Calling your teammates out in the media is not exactly constructive. It's unprofessional.

Dunleavy is still bringing some awful defense, but if you look at the boxscores the past 4 games his numbers look decent aside from his horrid 3 point shooting. Never mind that all 4 of these games have been losses and he's logged heavy minutes in mostly blow out games. Some dumb GM like Danny Ainge is always susceptible to go for a white player with mythical upside. It's time to take this complainer and trade him while his value is at its peak.

The Warriors are going nowhere with the perimeter combo of Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy. One of them has to go. Troy's a professional who brings it every night with his rebounding and shooting. Mike is Mr. Inconsistency bring more 2 point 30 minute nights than Adonal Foyle. Dunleavy continually complains to the media about his teammates and even Warrior fans. Have you ever head Troy complain about his teammates or the fans? It's time for Mike Dunleavy to go.

Do you think Dunleavy's comments to the media are classless? Would you like to see him moved?

Recap: Warriors 99, Suns 112

2006-01-12T21:48:00.000-08:00

Well there we were. David vs Goliath.

Today the Warriors faced their biggest fear on Arizona. Today they faced the team that they should be. And, well, we got our @!$#s whooped. Whooped good.

...real good.

I think that every Dubs fan knew what we were getting into today. Playing Phoenix. A premiere team away from home the day after going up against the Heat. (yet another premiere team.) What could possibly come of this, I wonder?

For many of you loyal readers, you may have figured out that I am the last one to make excuses for the Warriors. When they do well, I'll give them their praises. When they do bad, I rip them a new one. So you're probably wondering why I have already thrown out so many reasons for our loss that has had nothing to do with the actual performance of the team. The answer?

To get them out of the way. Let's get down to business...

Box Score | Recap

Okay, it was a losing battle from the first quarter. Again, it seemed as though our competition got off to a solid scoring start before we even realized that we were in the middle of basketball game. The Suns must have attached sniper scopes to their heads before the game because they outshot the hell out of us. At the end of it all, they had gone 52% from the field, 13 for 25 from the distance. Us? 38% going 8 for 30 from beyond.

You've all heard my rant on the W's constant abuse of the 3 shot. Well tonight we outshot the only team in the NBA that shoots more threes than us. And we missed. A lot. My disappointment lies mainly with Baron Davis, and to a lesser degree Jason Richardson. (I use their real names when I'm mad at them.) These two are the leaders of this squad and the biggest potential playmakers on the team. Instead of going inside, throwing inside, looking inside, or waiting for a cut, all we got were more threes. I don't know what kind of microphones they had on the rims in Phoenix but Baron, your bricks were LOUD. Everytime you missed a three I was able to hear the "DOINK" echoing through my house. And everytime I heard it, I died a little bit inside.

One for each of your shots, boys!

Now, that being said, I was pretty pleased with our performance as we closed out the first half. For those of you that watched the game, you may be confused as to why I was pleased that we were missing easy chances on high percentage shots as the half came to a close. Forget making them, we were TAKING them. As I said before, I would rather see our boys do just as bad while getting their hands dirty on the inside than watch them throw up brick after brick from the halfcourt line. I didn't mean for them to take that so literally though.

Also, we actually outrebounded Phoenix tonight! One of our major woes this season has been crashing the boards and tonight I feel like we were more aggressive than usual. Now, this is probably because we were shooting so poorly that potential rebounds were abundant, but nevertheless, we got our share! So TMurph (11), Dun (9), Ike (8) JRich (7) and Zarko (11), I tip my hat to you.

All in all, it wasn't the worst that we have played all season offensively. Our defense woes continue to plague us however. It seemed that Phoenix was able to score at will on us. When a team has 6 players that all score over 15 points on us, I'd say that's a pretty good indicator that we need to be setting our D better. Ironically, if the W's aren't going to improve their defense and start shutting some teams down, they are going to need to start taking their offensive game to a Phoenix's level. Personally, I think it would be easier to put a damn hand in their face as they shoot.

Props to the Canadian for his incredible 16 assists and his double-double, props to the Matrix for his double-double, props to Kurt Thomas for his double-double, and props to the Phoenix cheerleaders who probably got a double-double on us too.

Saturday we have the Kobe Show. Oh, also I think they have some other players coming down with him to play against us. They'll probably be wearing the same jersey as him and occasionally touching the ball. Hopefully Kobe gets confused and repeatedly dishes the ball out to Fisher for some threes.

Warrior Wonder: I can't believe I'm about to do this. You're getting stronger out there and while you may not be earning your paycheck, you may be on the path to consistency. Everything I stand for prevents me from actually saying your name, so I'll let the picture do all the talking. Good job kid.

Recap: Warriors 96, Heat 110

2006-01-12T08:33:00.000-08:00

The Shaq and Flash show came to town with their two "I used to be an All-Star" players and supporting cast. The first quarter was promising with the Warriors taking a 16-14 lead, forcing the Heat to call a timeout. The Warriors played strong until the end of the quarter as the score ended up 26-26. Then everything fell apart. The Heat dominated from there on out taking a 10 point lead at half. Sure the Warriors made their runs, but you never got the feeling that they were going to come back. Everytime the Warriors made a run, there was Wade ending it with a dunk.

Olé! Matadors don't make good ball defenders.

Boxscore | Recap

Defense continues to plague the Warriors. Perimeter defense stunk as Wade was able to get to the hole at will and pour in 32 points. They might have wanted to make him take some more jumpers though. 8 of his 19 shots were from the perimeter, everything else was on a drive. That's quite a bit of penetration. GP had a nice shooting game and Antoine lit them up from 3. It didn't seem like those two missed the whole game. Interior defense? Well they sure tried hard to not let Shaq dominate. Ostertag played well last night with 21 points and 10 boards. The Diogu-Murphy-Foyle-Biedrins-Taft big man couldn't seem to hold Kazaam out of the paint as he got almost any shot he wanted. Maybe they should have started the Hack-a-Shaq. Why? Well he made 1 free throw, missed 10.

When the Warriors were on offense, they struggled to get anything going consistently. They continued to jack up poor shots. Tough shots too early in the shot clock, an ill-timed 3, no ball movement, too much 1 on 1. Yea you've heard that before, but against a team that plays good D like the Heat, you don't have a chance. Their perimeter players are able to be more aggressive since either Shaq or Zo are down there to clean up the mess. Thus they are able to challenge more shots and cause more havoc on the perimeter.

One of my favorite plays of the night was Mike Dunleavy twice taking it strong to the hole and nearly dunking on Zo but instead drawing the foul. On the second one, he nearly rammed it home on Zo but Zo's big arm knocked him in the head and he missed, but converted the two free throws. It was funny to watch Zo get all upset thinking that he got all ball and that there was no foul. Or maybe he was that surprised to see Mike Dunleavy try to dunk on him. Either way, he was making a fool of himself complaining to the refs and throwing a temper tantrum. Props to Dun though for trying to throw it down on the big man. We need more of that from him. He even had a nice night, putting in 21 and even got 3 steals. What was interesting was that most of his buckets came when he either cut to the basket and got the ball or created his own shot with a drive or dribble and shoot. Whenever he seemed to get setup with a shot, he missed. Not sure why that was, but it looked like he needed to get into a rhythm by dribbling the ball first and then shooting. He couldn't just catch and shoot because when he did that, he nearly air balled a couple three's. I'm not sure if anyone else thought that, but maybe the Warriors should incorporate that into the gameplan more if that's how he likes to score.

Where was JRich last night? He played 34 minutes but didn't really stand out. Wade put the clamps on him. But he really didn't play much in the 2nd half either. He started the 3rd but didn't seem to play very long in it. Not sure why he wasn't in there for more minutes, it wasn't like Fisher was playing well.

This home court advantage thing doesn't seem to work out very well for the Warriors. They need to step it up and protect their home floor or else they're not going to make the playoffs. Sure they've had success on the road, but teams make it to the playoffs by winning a large percentage of their games at home. Let's hope tonight's Phoenix game returns a better result. With the Warriors at 17-17, they are in danger of dropping below .500 and further and further away from making the playoffs.

WARRIOR WONDER:
Gotta give it to Baron. He stayed aggressive with the ball the whole game and took it into Shaq and Zo. He had trouble penetrating when Wade was guarding him, but everytime White Chocolate or GP were playing D on him, he took the ball to the whole strong and usually with some flair. He didn't always shoot the ball when penetrating, but he created for others and showed he wasn't afraid of the two big men. One of my favorite plays was the possession right after he was fouled but no call was made. He was clearly upset with the ref, but instead of complaining, he beat his man off the dribble, drove the ball into Shaq territory and jumped into Shaq to get a call. Most guards would avoid this collision but Baron wanted that foul call and he got it. But he not only jumped into Shaq for the foul and fell down, but he knocked Shaq to the floor too. How crazy is that? Shaq must have 100 pounds on him and Baron's able to knock him over? That's strong.

Diogu says Shaq = Ostertag"

2006-01-11T08:45:00.000-08:00

Diogu ready to endure Shaq attack from SFGate

Ike Diogu was asked this week which NBA player most closely resembled Shaquille O'Neal. Diogu thought for moment, perhaps searching through the dozen or so centers he's faced this season, and came up with only one uninspiring name.
'Greg Ostertag?' Diogu offered.
Bless his rookie soul.

Uh- oh kid! It's gonna be a long night. Props on stepping up to the challenge.

Most Valuable Network - The City - A Golden State Warriors column � Geoff Lepper Visits The City

2006-01-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

Geoff Lepper Visits The City from MVN-The City

Like Ken Bikoff in April, another man who%u2019s in the biz was kind enough to answer a few questions for The City. This time, however, the expert is a little more local. Geoff Lepper, Warriors beat writer for the Oakland Tribune, shared his thoughts on topics ranging from the Artest rumors to his favorite road city.

Ready for Artest Baggage

2006-01-11T08:42:00.000-08:00

Flirting with Artest shows a maturity Warriors are ready for baggage from SFGate

As they ponder a trade for the chronically off-kilter Ron Artest, the Warriors are straddling the delicate line between guts and stupidity. Any moment now, they might retreat to familiar territory, finding comfort in the physically soft and temperamentally safe roster they have constructed over the last few years. But even if the Warriors bypass Artest and the
toughness that his defense could add to the team, management already looks stronger for venturing into the danger zone.

Pietrus Coming Back

2006-01-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

Pietrus could return to action against Heat from Mercury

Oakland Arena will no doubt be packed Wednesday night as Bay Area fans catch their only glimpse of Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat this season.
They may get a bonus appearance as well.
Warriors swingman Mickael Pietrus reported no pain in his right knee after logging heavy practice time Monday, a sign that he might be ready to return to a team that could use his spark off the bench.

The Warriors have really missed Mickael' energy and hunger. There's a reason practically every Artest rumor involves Pietrus- he's got game and tremendous upside. Let's hope in a few games when he's completely healthy that they give him the minutes he deserves. He has already outplayed Dunleavy this season in fewer minutes.

Were you happy with the minutes Pietrus was getting before his injury? Would you like to see him play more when he's healthy?

Star Sightings

2006-01-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

Seeing Stars: Warriors host a who's-who of NBA's elite players from SFGate.com

Prepare to be dazzled. The next 10 days at the Arena in Oakland should bring new meaning to the phrase 'star power.' Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade lead Miami into town Wednesday, followed by Kobe Bryant and the Lakers on Saturday, followed by LeBron James and the
Cavaliers on Jan. 20.

Warriors Podcast- Previewing the Week Ahead

2006-01-09T22:02:00.000-08:00

Break in schedule helps Golden State heal up for Shaq, Kobe and King James from SFGate

In this podcast, The Chronicle's Warriors beat writer Janny Hu and Deputy Sports Editor Larry Yant assess the state of the Warriors as Golden State heads into an entertaining but tough stretch of games.
Janny says the Warriors are coming off a five-day break that is helping injured players like Mickael Pietrus and Adonal Foyle get healthier in time to go up against Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat, Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns, Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers, the Seattle Supersonics with new head coach Bob Hill and the Cleveland Cavaliers led by LeBron James.

Injury Buggin

2006-01-09T09:13:00.000-08:00

Golden State goes through the motions from SFGate

In a roundabout way, the Warriors' practice Sunday was distinguished more by who didn't participate than who did. Adonal Foyle went through a full workout for the first time in a week, and Mickael Pietrus had his first informal scrimmage in more than a month.

Ron-Ron Info

2006-01-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

HOOPSWORLD.com

It seems that Golden State may be where Ron is headed for several reasons. Chris Mullin has a good relationship with Donnie Walsh, having played for the Pacers before, last year he made a similar deal for Baron Davis and it has paid off, the Warriors need a low post presence such as Ron, and they have young pieces that the Pacers might want. I personally believe that the only thing stopping this deal is that Ike Diogu has not been included. He is just what the Pacers want, a young prospect with huge upside and a rookie contract. If they were to get Mickael Pietrus as well, another young player who plays pretty good defense too, it is my belief that we would see Ronnie in a Warriors jersey. The Pacers do not want Troy Murphy and his big contract for good reason. They do not want to take on more money for one. Also, they already have Austin Croshere. They play basically the same way, but Austin has been with the Pacers since his rookie season and is well liked here. So Indy does not want Troy Murphy, and no one wants the disappointing Mike Dunleavey. I believe that Mike is a very good player who has the skill set to possibly even be an All Star, but he does not use it to his advantage. Until he does, he will stay in Golden State.

FIsher Feeling Homely

2006-01-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

Feeling at Home from the Mercury

The Los Angeles Lakers' logo will always be tattooed on guard Derek Fisher's heart.
But more and more, that Lakers purple is being covered by navy blue, and Warriors orange is taking over that gold. After less than two years with the Warriors, Fisher said he's feeling comfortable in this organization.

Move Youth?

2006-01-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

Is Mulling willing to trade youth from Inside Bay Area

GM has to decide if it's worth breaking up core group to acquire Artest Despite the miasma of Ron Artest-related questions that seems to have permanently enveloped the Warriors %u2014 there is one critical inquiry that has not yet been addressed:
Is any move, even one that brings a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year into the fold, really worth breaking up the young nucleus of players Golden State has carefully assembled over the past few years?

JRich Sharing Team

2006-01-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

HIS FACE NEEDN'T BE ON POSTERS from Mercury

Jason Richardson says he knows what kind of reputation he had around the NBA. That he was selfish. That he was into his own stats. That he was interested more in performing gravity-defying feats worthy of an ESPN highlight package than in playing the kind of mundane, fundamental basketball that wins games.
``I had,'' Richardson said simply, ``a bad rep.''
So when the Warriors traded for Baron Davis -- a star with his own healthy ego -- and handed him the reins last February, inquiring minds were more than a little curious about how J-Rich would handle the fact that Golden State no longer was ``his'' team.
This is what has happened: nothing. No drama. No theater. No soap opera.

Got the Blues

2006-01-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

First-quarter blues stump Warriors from Mercury

It's one thing to identify an area of weakness. It's quite another to find a solution for it.
That's the conundrum at Warriors headquarters these days concerning the team's first-quarter blues.
Players acknowledge they need to get out of the gate faster in games. Coach Mike Montgomery talked about it at length after Thursday's 99-89 loss at home to the Indiana Pacers.
But no one seems to know how to remedy the situation.

Pacers Want Ike

2006-01-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

New York Daily News- Rings of conflict

Golden State wants Ron Artest, even if he looks like a questionable fit with coach Mike Montgomery in only his second NBA season and the Warriors lacking strong personalities in the locker room to keep Artest in place. So far, the Warriors haven't been amenable to including rookie Ike Diogu in a package to the Pacers.
In considering some slim pickings being offered for Artest, the Pacers have been firm in their demands for a young player with lots of potential. They like Diogu, a 6-8 forward taken ninth overall last June. But the Warriors are reluctant to deal him, since he is one of their few players who can play in the post.
Indiana seems to be more enamored with Diogu than Troy Murphy, whose outside shooting would be a perfect fit with Jermaine O'Neal. The Pacers are said to be against taking Murphy's remaining contract (five years, $50 million). They've told potential suitors that they want to shed contracts and lower their luxury tax. That's why they're looking to package what they consider bad contracts when they move Artest.

Would you move fan favorite Ike Diogu in a package for Ron Artest?

Warier Warriors

2006-01-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

The Warriors Should Be Warier - Los Angeles Times from LA Times

Here's some bad news for all involved. With Artest, there usually are no winners, including Ronnie.
The Golden State Warriors are now considered the front-runners to land him. He might even save their season and deliver them to the playoffs for the first time since 1994. On the other hand, they'd better enjoy it because after that, they're in for the ride of their lives.

Be Classy About Trade Rumors

2006-01-07T09:44:00.000-08:00

Bird expects to trade with 1 team from IndyStar.com

Larry Bird expects to get better offers for Ron Artest as the Feb. 23 trade deadline approaches...

Bird said he's open to trading for a player at any position. The most likely scenario is obtaining one or two players for Artest, as opposed to a larger deal involving other Pacers. Bird doesn't rule out any possibility.

It's a foregone conclusion that the Pacers will trade Artest. However, the Pacers have managed to keep him dangling on the trade market for a month now. IT'S CLASSLESS. Not to Artest as the Pacers organization has shown him more than enough loyalty, but to the other Pacer players. It's not fair that they have to hear their names (Jeff Foster, Freddie Jones, Austin Croshere) pop up in newspaper articles every day. The Pacers are playing with minus one star for no reason. They have gone 7-6 since Artest has been out. Warriors fans might think that's an okay record, but remember this a team that was trying to make a run at the championship this year.

It's even affecting other teams. Like Charles Barkley said on TNT's halftime the other day when the Warriors got stomped by the undermanned Pacers- the Warriors look like a bunch of young players who are scared of being traded. Seemingly everyone on the Warriors roster not named Baron Davis or Jason Richardson has been mentioned in trade rumors.

Chris Mullin hasn't exactly put out the flames by refusing commenting on the rumors. If the Warriors are trying to pull off a trade, they need to do it before Wednesday's game against the Heat (they have a TOUGH month ahead). If not, then management needs to come out and dispel the rumors. It's tough to focus and play hard in a game when you know at any moment you could be pulled aside and hear "You've been traded." By not putting out the rumors, Warriors management has sent a clear message to its players- "We don't think you're good enough." That's bad for a young team with shaky confidence.

Let's hope the Pacers make the Artest trade soon. It's actually affecting the Warriors.

GSW BLOG in the Carnival

2006-01-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

The Golden State Warriors BLOG is just one of the featured hoops blogs over at that Carnival Of The NBA #22. Thanks to MVN- Celtics for putting it together.

Golden State Warriors BLOG has a new dope contributor and his first article. They also want you to know that This is Ike Diogu's Year and want to rub it in the faces of Celtics fans everywhere that the Warriors won the rematch on their home court.
They took in the action live from the stadium and were impressed with the play of Mark Blount.

Recap: Warriors 89, Pacers 99

2006-01-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

When the Golden State Warriors were walking through their locker room tunnel last night after a BEATDOWN from the Indiana Pacers, they had to have been thinking only one thing.

"I hope Hash isn't writing the Post Game coverage on this one..."

Well boys, sorry to shatter that hope, but I AM covering it. And you're gonna like what I have to say about as much as I liked what I saw last night.

Before I get started, I am going to go ahead and suggest that this horrendous display that we put on against the Pacers may have been a gesture of good faith. After all, we're not the only team in the running for Ron Artest. Perhaps we were attempting to show Indiana that even if we got Artest, we would be no threat to them! Really, what kind of team ends a first quarter down by 20 points?

Sadly, deep down inside I know this isn't true. So that leaves the question out there with no answer. What kind of team goes down by 20 points after one quarter?

Let's get down to business.

Box Score AP Recap

Okay, first quarter. No Artest, no O’Neal, no problem, right? Turns out the only thing that scares our boys more than Indy’s starting squad is their bench. The W’s got KILLED on boards, points in the paint, and 3’s. When the smoke cleared, we were down by 20 with Indy having gone 4-5 from beyond the arc. We got embarrassed.

The rest of the game followed suit. Fisher’s points came entirely off of free throws, but it didn’t stop him from shooting. Actually, our whole team blew their 3’s but that didn’t stop any of them from shooting them. I’m not even going to throw JRich or anyone else on the team their props for fighting the good fight to get us back in it near the end. We should have never been in this position in the first place.

I, for one am getting tired of repeating myself but let's at least TRY to represent some sort of inside game. The sad truth is that this trend of firing up 3's is just NOT working. I would rather see us fail like this from inside the paint than have everyone constantly resort to the long bombs. I'd be happier to see our boys go 1-6 by going in strong and taking higher percentage shots.

We do NOT have the best 3 point shooters in the league. This is shown both subjectively and statistically. Why are we one of the top 3 shooting teams in the league? (Second only to Phoenix I believe.) Our beloved W's are faced with a choice.

1) Create plays and learn to cultivate an inside game.
2) Play out the rest of the season with this dismal inconsistency.

Frankly, I'd prefer that we do the first one. Are we gonna lose a few games trying this option? Probably. But how is that any different then where we are now?

The good news is that our inside guys are starting to show a tiny bit of spirit. It's tough to argue that starting Ike has made no difference. Now as a center he's nowhere near top notch but his performances have been certainly better than Foyle's were in the past. I’m glad to see that last night he was aggressively going after boards as well. To you Big Ike, I say congrats on your first double double!

Ike wants YOU... to stop shooting so many goddam 3's.

Speaking of double double's, let’s all hope for the best for our man T-Double. Having left the game with a sprained left ankle, one can only worry about how we would do without his strong inside presence.

Dun. Not bad kid. Somehow managed to throw up 19 points, 6 boards, 4 dimes, and even 2 jacks. Can’t say that you didn’t do your part. (Although it’s tough to argue that anyone really did what they were supposed to do yesterday.) You didn’t look pretty getting those numbers, but… well I can’t really think of a way to finish that sentence.

Despite yesterday’s Greek Tragedy, there were two highlights of the game for me. Well, the highlights actually happened during the halftime show, so technically there were no highlights to the game.

1) When the halftime crew was going to a commercial break, one of the announcers actually said, “Golden State, takin’ it on the chin. We’ll be right back.” Can you say that on television?
2) Watching Charles Barkley try to pronounce, “Diogu”.

We’ve got a lot of time until our next game. I’d be very interested to hear some suggestions about what needs to get done in order for the W's to be the team that we all know it can be.

Boom Dizzle resorting to the lesser known Sprewell School of Defense

WARRIOR WONDER: WE LIKE IKE! 16 points and 12 boards for your first NBA Double Double?! I like where this one is going. Happy New Year IKE!

Baron Boys with Artest

2006-01-06T11:59:00.000-08:00

ESPN's Weekend Dime

Baron Davis won't openly lobby for the Warriors to sweeten their Ron Artest offers to Indiana. Input on a potential trade, Davis told me, is 'not something I want.'
'I trust management,' Davis said. 'They brought me here and I appreciate 'em for that, but at the same time I don't want anything to do with [decision-making].'
However ...
Davis also won't be protesting if Chris Mullin can concoct a deal that gets Artest to Oakland soon.
Turns out Davis and Artest are pals.
'I've known him since high school,' Davis said. 'We're actually friends. I know that any team he goes to, he's going to make them a lot better.'
Asked if he fears Artest's impact on locker-room chemistry, Davis laughed.
'I'm not scared of Ron-Ron,' he said. 'I've known him since my junior year of high school. We played AAU ball against each other, we got drafted together [in 1990]. We've got a nice little history.'

The Worst Dime

2006-01-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

Sure the Warriors lost last night against the undermanned Pacers, but at least they made ESPN's Daily Dime

Thursday's Worst
Derek Fisher, Warriors guard: Spent 33 minutes on the floor in the Pacers' game. That was part of the problem. Missed all eight of his shots. Three turnovers. Team loses 99-89. Rats.

Oh wait- that's not good.

Rumors Not Helping

2006-01-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

Artest rumors not helping Montgomery on sideline from Mercury

The ground is shaking beneath Mike Montgomery, and it can't all be blamed on rampaging Ron Artest rumors.
The atmosphere is different, as the Warrior hierarchy scrambles for answers. The Warriors are tilting off-balance, as Baron Davis pulls one way, the coaching staff pulls another and the cloddish efforts build.
Come on, if you saw the nose-diving, injury- and Artest-wracked Indiana Pacers stall and badger the Warriors for most of the game at the Oakland Coliseum Arena on Thursday, you know what's happening. And you know it isn't good."

It's All About the Attitude

2006-01-06T08:36:00.000-08:00

NBA.com: A New Attitude in Golden State

He knows that if the team is successful, the personal accolades will come along with it. Not that he hasn't had his share already. Richardson is the only player other than Michael Jordan (not bad company, huh?) to win the Slam Dunk Contest two years in a row. He was the MVP of the Rookie Challenge in his rookie year and then tied the scoring record for that game a year later, so he has enjoyed the hype and pageantry of All-Star Weekend. He's never stuck around through Sunday though.

J-Rich is more focused on defense this season.Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images'I've never been to the game,' he said. 'I told myself that I'd never go to an All-Star game unless I was an All-Star and I'd never go to a playoff game unless I was in it. I've never been to either one, so hopefully this year I can do both.'

Aaron Miles Waived

2006-01-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

Word from Rick Barry and Rod Brooks on KNBR 680 is that the Warriors have waived point guard Aaron Miles. He's a still a young player and we hope another NBA team picks him up. Miles has great court vision although he did not get much playing time here with the Warriors.

Are the Warriors trying to avoid giving Miles a guaranteed contract or are they opening the doors for a possible trade?

Artest Rumors-- Shhhh!

2006-01-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

Warriors mum amid Artest trade rumors from Mercury

Word is, the only thing holding up the Warriors' trading for beleaguered Indiana Pacers All-Star forward Ron Artest is tonight's game.
See, the Pacers don't want to trade Artest and then have to face him right away, so they're waiting until after tonight's game. This way, Indiana wouldn't have to deal with Artest until Feb. 10, when the Warriors play at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Sounds convincing, right?
``Whatever,'' Warriors guard Jason Richardson said with a smirk. ``I don't listen to no rumors.''"

Monta Money in 7 Minutes

2006-01-05T08:47:00.000-08:00

Rookie Ellis scores 7 points in 8 minutes from Mercury

Warriors rookie guard Monta Ellis got his first action in seven games, and was quite impressive.
He checked in for point guard Baron Davis at the 8:16 mark of the fourth quarter with the Warriors down 91-73 and helped turn garbage time into a glimmer of hope. He didn't get time at point guard, but he displayed his scoring ability. Playing alongside Jason Richardson and Derek Fisher on the perimeter, Ellis scored seven points during the Warriors' 104-94 loss Tuesday.

WARRIORS NOTEBOOK / Montgomery says fired Weiss was in tough spot

2006-01-05T08:46:00.001-08:00

Montgomery says fired Weiss was in tough spot from SFGate.com

Hands up: For the second straight game, centers Ike Diogu and Andris Biedrins picked up two fouls apiece in the first quarter. Enter rookie Chris Taft, who is the Warriors' lone big man to steer clear of foul trouble lately. Taft has committed just two fouls in his last 25 minutes and has yet to pick up more than four in a game.
'He can play behind a little bit more, use his length, and Taft is strong,' Montgomery said of his 6-10, 261-pound rookie. 'He's bigger than you would give him credit for and he can use his weight pretty well.'

Ike Like Sweetney?

2006-01-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

CourtsideTimes.Net

With the Warriors at 7-5 when Diogu came back, Coach Mike Montgomery %u2014 who coached against Ike Diogu for two years while at Stanford %u2014 couldn%u2019t get him a lot of minutes despite Diogu scoring double-figures in each of his three NBA games. That changed on Dec. 23 at Detroit, when Diogu played a career-high 32 minutes and shot 13-for-15 from the field, scoring a career-high 27 points and pulling down a career-high-tying seven rebounds.
After Diogu followed the performance with 12 points in his next game, Montgomery decided to insert him into the Warriors lineup in place of starting center Adonal Foyle. Though Diogu is extremely undersized for the position at 6-8, the move seems to have worked %u2014 Golden State followed a season-long five-game losing streak by winning Diogu%u2019s first three starts, including a 111-109 shocker in Dallas last Friday, as Diogu averaged 11.0 points on 12-for-16 shooting.
The obvious comparison for Diogu is Mike Sweetney. Both players were the ninth pick of their respective drafts after their junior seasons and have similar physiques, though Diogu is in better shape. Like Sweetney, Diogu has been bothered by foul trouble as a starter, getting whistled for 15 fouls in 71 minutes.

Good, but Not So Great

2006-01-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

Good, not great trip for Warriors from SFGate.com

One moment, Shane Battier and Bobby Jackson were streaking in for
fastbreak layups. The next, Eddie Jones and Pau Gasol were skying for fastbreak
dunks. Before long, Jackson was turning the Warriors' third turnover into
another fastbreak basket and a 10-point lead.
It all happened in the first six minutes of Tuesday's 104-94 loss to the
Grizzlies, and for the Warriors, it was enough to spell the difference between
a great road trip and a good one. Between making progress and 'staying afloat.'

Aiming for Pierce?

2006-01-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

HOOPSWORLD.com

The Golden State Warriors have a lot of nice young pieces but they won't move Ike Diogu.� The recent buzz has the Warriors setting their sights on a player like Paul Pierce over the riskier Artest.

Diogu Like Corliss

2006-01-05T08:41:00.000-08:00

Diogu makes a name, too-Paul gets notice among rookies, but 6-8 Warrior plays big from Detroit News

Toronto's Charlie Villanueva and New York's Channing Frye are having major impacts on their teams, but the unsung hero of this draft class has to be Golden State's Ike Diogu.At 6-feet-8, he has wrested the starting center job away from $40 million man Adonal Foyle. The Pistons certainly had their fill of him a couple of weeks ago, when he hit them for a career-best 27 points, hitting 13 of 15 shots.'If you can play basketball, you can play basketball,' Diogu said, dismissing any height disadvantage. 'I consider myself to be a basketball player. I'm a low-post player. I've been playing against NBA players for a real long time -- even though this is my first year in the league -- in the summer time with guys like Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion. I'm pretty confident that when I get the ball down there, I'm able to score.'He's a young version of Corliss Williamson, with perhaps a better outside shooting touch. Like Williamson, he uses his ample backside to create space against the bigger defenders. He's still a bit of a liability on the defensive end, but even with that, he's an upgrade on Foyle.

Trade Dunleavy?

2006-01-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

Eight men on their way out? from ProBasketballNews.com

Mike Dunleavy, F, Golden State.
The Warriors are tiring of Dunleavy's inconsistency and lack of aggressiveness, and you can hardly blame them. He's averaging nearly four less points per game than last season and shooting a career low 24 percent on three-pointers. Problem is, Dunleavy just signed a five-year, $44 million contract extension. Possible suitors: Indiana, Orlando, New Orleans/Oklahoma City.

Follow the Boom-Rich Example

2006-01-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

Davis, Richardson lead by example from SFGate

Coach Mike Montgomery was in search of a leader, maybe two. On the tail
end of a five-game losing streak last week, he wondered which of his players
would step up and stop an ugly Warriors skid from reaching the six- and
nine-game depths of a season ago.
Baron Davis, their point guard and offensive chauffeur, was a natural
candidate. So was Jason Richardson, who has made no secret of his go-to-guy
desires. Though Montgomery also mentioned Derek Fisher, with his three NBA
championships, and Calbert Cheaney, with his 12 years of experience, the coach
always knew what the determining factor would be.

Murphy Package for Artest?

2006-01-04T09:04:00.000-08:00

ESPN Daily Dime

If the Golden State Warriors now lead the Ron Artest Sweepstakes, as some of the other Artest suitors believe, don't expect a trade before Friday at the earliest.

Reason being: Indy visits Golden State in a nationally televised game Thursday.

Just a hunch but I'm guessing the Pacers would rather see Artest debut for his new team against someone else.

The name of Warriors power forward Troy Murphy has been increasingly mentioned as a key component of any Warriors-Pacers swap, but it remains to be seen A) if Golden State would be willing to part with Murphy and B) if Indiana is truly prepared to absorb Murphy's contract (which runs for five more seasons beyond this one at $51 million).

Real Good Backcourt

2006-01-03T16:56:00.000-08:00

Warriors’ Backcourt Best In NBA – After Detroit’s from Real GM

The Warriors' backcourt of Baron Davis and Jason Richardson is the NBA's best after the Pistons combo of Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups, and I will tell you why.
The other night when the Warriors' backcourt combined for 66 in a win at Dallas, I received a text message from my friend, and it said, "You just saw the best backcourt in the league," and that got me thinking.
Few Warriors fans will disagree that the Boom-Rich backcourt is one of the best in the NBA. Most Warrior fans will even agree that it's better than the Pistons' backcourt.

Do you think the Warriors would be better if they had Billups/ Hamilton instead of Baron/ Jason?

The Youngin's are Helping

2006-01-02T20:54:00.000-08:00

Ike likes how young players are helping W's from SFGate

Life is never easy in the NBA, but it's even tougher for the young and
inexperienced. Ike Diogu, Andris Biedrins and Chris Taft have just 86 games and
four starts among them, and yet they were all the Warriors had in the middle
Saturday with Adonal Foyle sidelined by injury.
Diogu was starting his third game, Biedrins had barely played the past
week, and Taft hadn't played at all the past month. All the threesome did was
combine for 20 points and 10 rebounds at a lean spot for Golden State.

Foes Ready

2006-01-02T20:53:00.000-08:00

Foes more prepared for Warriors' break from Inside Bay Area

Though imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, the Warriors could do without quite so many compliments when it comes to their small lineup.
Where previously they were able to go petite and force opponents to play at an up-tempo speed of their choosing, Mike Montgomery's crew although featuring all the same names has not often displayed the same ability to create a change of pace this season.
In fact, some other teams have started to turn that weapon around on Golden State, figuring that they can blow past the Warriors in an up-and-down game.

Perfect Painting

2006-01-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

Warriors picture perfect with Diogu in the paint from CC Times

No matter how you judge the effectiveness of this Ike Diogu-at-starting-center experiment, it's working.
If wins are the barometer, the Warriors are 3-0 with their rookie in the middle. If it's offensive production from the low post, Diogu already has outscored former starter Adonal Foyle (141-127) -- in 17 fewer shots, no less. If it's team morale, the Warriors clearly feel better about themselves than they did before he was a starter.
'I've been doing all right,' Diogu said, showing off his humility after Saturday's 94-89 victory at Houston. 'Still making mistakes on the floor. But I'm improving with each game, getting better and better.'

Dunleavy Package for Artest?

2006-01-02T11:42:00.000-08:00

Oh, for the good old star wars from ChicagoSports.com

Golden State, the league's poorest defensive team for weeks, still seems like a team in need of Artest's services with Baron Davis and Jason Richardson firing away without regard on three-pointers. Though he is a favorite of general manager Chris Mullin, Mike Dunleavy Jr. remains under verbal assault from Bay Area fans. He finally exploded last week, gesturing to and condemning fans. Mullin may feel forced to go with a defensive stopper like Artest to salvage the season. Dunleavy could be a good fit for the team-oriented Pacers, though they could be reluctant to take on his big contract. The deal likely would be expanded to include Adonal Foyle and perhaps Jeff Foster or Austin Croshere.

Hey, if Dunleavy doesn't want to be here and the Pacers are willing to move Artest for him, I'm pretty sure Warriors Nation would be happy to see him go.

Texas Got 2-Stepped!

2006-01-01T19:17:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Warriors Nation!

Before we jump into 2006, let's quickly recap how the Warriors 2 Stepped Texas to end off 2005. I've never been a fan of Texas (an overweight red state that's home to the dumbest president the United States has ever seen). They're the anti-Bay Area. We're too progressive for them and it was great to see the Warriors demonstrate some progress against both the Mavs and Rockets.

You can argue that the Dub's have the league's best backcourt duo and possibly the best trio (if you include trigger happy Derek Fisher). Baron and Jason were on fire against the Mavs, hitting big shot after big shot and taking it to the hole with authority. JRich looked incredibly confident out there, especially when he knocked a big trey against the former Warrior fan favorite Eric Dampier (joke). Boom Dizzle dropped a game winning jumpshot from the top of the key to seal a clutch victory against the second best team in the West (without Amare the Suns are 3rd).

The Mavs are the first real Western conference team that the Warriors have beat... in Dallas too! These are the types of wins the Warriors need to make the playoffs. Let's hope they can continue to be tough on the road against conference foes.

Warriors Wonder
I'm going to get dissed for this one, but here goes-- Yes, the Boom-Rich backcourt was magnificent, but honestly- we all expect these types of big games from them. This award goes to Adonal Foyle who had 4 HUGE swats at key times during the game. As much as we love the guy, the cold hard reality is that he is a very poor starting NBA center. BUT, he is a tremendous bench/ role player if he only has to play 10-15 minutes a game. He can bring it on the defensive end and be a game changer if he plays short bursts. Let's hope the Warriors coaching staff and Adonal realize this. He will never be worth that lucrative offer sheet he signed last summer, but he can be a key role player who brings a TON of stamina off the bench.

Recap: Warriors 94, Rockets 89
Boxscore | AP Recap | Ticker | SFGate 1 - 2
Houston, WE have lift-off!

Earlier in December the Rockets stole a game from the Warriors in Oakland. Yao Ming dropped 30 points and collected 16 rodmans in that game. With Yao MIA last night, the Warriors had a golden opportunity to steal one against the struggling Houston Rockets. TMac was still on point (32 points and 10 boards), but the Warriors were able to hang on. McGrady uncharacteristically missed 2 treys near the end of regulation. A good solid victory for the Warriors.

Since the Warriors inserted Ike Diogu into the starting lineup, they have racked up 3 W's in a row. Make no mistake Ike is a definite reason for the success. Ike's a force to be reckoned with when he has the ball down low. His soft hands and footwork are impressive. Two things that he needs to improve on for the Warriors to keep winning are his rebounding and fouls. He has the skills. It's just a matter of time...

Warrior Wonder
The Boom-Rich backcourt. After the spectacular performance against the Mavs, Baron and Jason came back the next night to drop a combined 46 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds and 4 steals. ALL STARS.

BONUS Point
If you're part of the Golden State Warriors BLOG faithful, you are probably all too familiar with our 44 Reasons why giving Mike Dunleavy 44million wasn't the brightest idea. Fantasy Junkie wrote in Part II that asking Dunleavy to "run AND dribble" (#16) was a recipe for disaster. Now Fantasy Junkie's incredibly sharp, but I wasn't entirely sure if Mike had that much trouble running and dribbling. Dunleavy's an overrated ball handler, but I never thought he was Dampier-bad when it came to dribbling. Well, guess what? I watched the Houston game and I was wrong. Thanks to the trusty photographers who always seem to provide some good old Funleavy Foto Fun, I can show you what I mean:

Maybe Mike CAN'T run AND dribble.

By the way after whinning about the Warriors fans booing him at the Arena, Dunleavy has simply been on FIRE with his shot against the Mavs (2 for 8 shooting) and Rockets (1 for 5). Here's what Mike said after last week's Celtics game after getting booed for 3 low IQ mistakes:

A bizarre moment took place in the third quarter. The crowd got all over Dunleavy for kicking the ball out of the low post and passing up a shot. Dunleavy gestured to the crowd with his hands as if to say "Relax, already!" He did the same thing moments later after he nailed an outside jumper. Dunleavy was not amused after. "I'm really tired of the negativity around here," he said. "We're trying our best. We play hard. If they're going to come out as fans, they shouldn't be negative. I didn't see enough (Boston Celtics) green out there to get so many boos." Dunleavy later passed up another shot in the fourth quarter and the shot clock ran out on the Warriors.

Look Mike- If you're going to stink it up and keep stealing paychecks from Warriors fans (because that's who the money comes from ultimately) then fine. BUT don't ever blame the fans for your poor play. Be a man and quit complaining.

By the way- does Warriors management know how unpopular Mike Dunleavy is with Warriors fans? Scan some of the Warriors message boards around the net like ESPN's Warriors board, Warriorsworld, Real GM, Golden St Warriors Board, or the SJ Mercury. There are a LOT of Dunleavy critics who say some pretty nasty things about him. They're so harsh, they make us look like his Valentine date. Trading Dunleavy and bringing in someone that Warriors fans might actually like seems imperative. Hmmm, maybe Adonal has a super althletic younger brother who can play small forward?

Biendrins Waiting

2006-01-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

As Diogu has emerged, Biedrins takes back seat from Mercury

All the talk about Ike Diogu and Adonal Foyle might make one wonder what happened to Andris Biedrins, whom many fans pegged as the Warriors' center of the future. With Diogu starting there and Foyle backing him up, Biedrins has been the odd man out.
``He's playing good, and Coach sees that,'' Biedrins, 19, said of Diogu. ``I'm happy about it. It's a little bit hard, but what can you do? My time will come.''

Straight Striding

2006-01-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

With win, Warriors are striding, not sliding from Mercury

With a 94-89 victory Saturday over the Houston Rockets, it appears the Warriors have escaped the trouble they were in just a week ago. They had lost five in a row and eight of 10, but now are sporting a three-game win streak.
And after a difficult first month of the season, the Warriors have survived a challenging December -- which included a five-game trip and two games against world champion Detroit -- and take into the new year a winning record (17-14) and some momentum.
``It was a tough month, but we got some wins,'' said Jason Richardson, who had 22 points, six rebounds and five assists against Houston. ``It was kind of looking bleak. We were losing a lot of games. It was a tough road. But guys stuck in there.''

Dub Dimes

2006-01-01T17:41:00.000-08:00

Jermaine explains Indy state from ESPN's NBA Dime

Tru Warrior? Golden State might actually have more pieces to deal directly with Indiana than any active suitor ... barring a change of heart from Jerry West in Memphis and an 11th-hour willingness to part with Shane Battier.
The Warriors also have a GM known for dice-rolling; just go back to last February's trade deadline when Chris Mullin was willing to take on Baron Davis in spite of a contract and health history that scared many teams off.
One sticking point here: Indiana would undoubtedly want Ike Diogu (see Box 2) as part of any package, and the rookie bruiser is approaching untouchable status already.

Inside Bay Area - Sports

2005-12-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

Many opinions on what's wrong with 'D' from Inside Bay Area

Perhaps the biggest thing wrong with the Warriors' defense is the fact that everyone has a different opinion as to what's wrong with the Warriors' defense.
Guard Jason Richardson sees a breakdown of teamwork as the root cause. Assistant coach Keith Smart feels it's a question of alertness. And center Adonal Foyle, resident egghead that he is, fingers the concept of delayed gratification.

There is one thing they all agree on: The Warriors' recent trend of hemorrhaging points like an extra in a horror flick — 110.6 per game during their recent five-game losing streak — needs to be reversed.

2005: Warriors Best and Worst

2005-12-30T10:30:00.000-08:00

2005 has been an interesting year for the Warriors. They made About.com's Top 10 NBA Moves of 2005 as well as their Top 10 Worst NBA Moves of 2005. I'm sure you can figure it out, but here's what they had to say:

Warriors Best

Warriors Bring Baron to the Bay
The hardest thing to do in the NBA is turn a perennial loser into a winner. The Golden State Warriors made their strongest strike yet at ending an 11-year run of ineptitude by acquiring dynamic point guard Baron Davis from the Hornets for Speedy Claxton and Dale Davis. A pittance to pay for the dramatic 18-10 turnaround that Davis brought about in the Bay last season, and a healthy start to the 2005-06 season that has the Warriors on pace for their first 40-win season since 1994.

Baron's an NBA Best!

Warriors Worst

Warriors Break the Bank for Mike Dunleavy
The lengths that some NBA teams will go to avoid admitting mistakes is mind-boggling. Mike Dunleavy looked the real deal coming out of Duke, but the "ace shooter" delivered 10.2 points per game on 37.2% shooting from outside in his first three seasons. In the Warriors' world, that makes a man worth $44 million. Hey, you can't let that 10 a night go to the competition! Why do we care so much about other people spending crazy money? Because we're willing to be an NBA GM for only $50,000 a year.

Before the season started they topped their list of Top 10 NBA Players In Need of a Change with Mike Dunleavy:

1) Mike Dunleavy, Golden State Warriors
Dunleavy was the No. 3 pick in a 2002 Draft class that's been entirely hit-or-miss. In most cases, lack of playing time and constant change of addresses have been the root of evil. On the contrary, Dunleavy's been given every opportunity to succeed, yet just hasn't developed into a complete player. Meanwhile, Golden State has continued to awesome talents who need time and touches, and the entitlement afforded a high-pick player is evaporating given his middling play.

Straight up: Mike's been a FLOP.

Like our man Ike would say- HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HBN: We're a GREAT TIMEOUT!

2005-12-29T11:08:00.000-08:00

(…as we’ve been told by the ladies…)

Warriors 111, Celtics 109.

It was an HBN nite at the Oakland Coliseum, as Atma, Hash, and I took a time out from the mundane activities of everyday work life to check out the Warriors, also known as “a great time out.” As Atma says, this is real “live coverage.”

I haven’t been to a Warriors game in over a year and I haven’t seen the Warriors win a game at the coliseum in almost 2 years—meaning I’ve watched them lose close to 5 or 6 times in a row in person. Fresh off their 5 game losing streak, the thing I looked forward to the most was 1) Warriors girls, their hot outfits, and their award winning choreography 2) hot dogs and garlic fries 3) the legendary Smirnoff Lounge and 4) high fives galore from random drunk fans!

Luckily, Atma, Hash and I experienced all 4 and the win!

The game looked vaguely reminiscent to a ABA game with neither team playing any defense; as usual, this meant the Warriors let the least expecting player light them up for a career nite or season high. Tonite it was Mark Blount. It seems that every game, the Warriors manage to let some garbage dude or dudes look like all-stars. The list includes Samuel Dalembert, Voshon Leonard (40 pts in the 1st half alone), Skita (when he was still with Denver—scoring 15 pts in 10 minutes once), and the list goes on and on. This is the type of consistency, as fans, do NOT want to see.

In the first half, HBN and many other fans were quick to boo Dunleavy's poor shooting and poor judgment with the ball. Atma yelled out “TRADE HIM!” A fan in front of us quickly turned and responded in Dun’s defense “FOR WHAT?”

Me: cheerleaders
Atma: Hot Dogs

Coliseum hot dogs are BANK, if we could trade dunleavy’s 44 million to lower the price of food, I’d instantly award Mullin with the GM of the Year award—though he deserves consideration already for his wheeling and dealing for the superb cheerleaders; picking of the hooker-esque outfits for the cheerleaders; the Smirnoff lounge that rivals any club in Oakland (Kimballs East got nothing on this!); and the fine (yet overly priced) merchandise.

Midway through the first half, this little kid—after hearing Atma, Hash and I talk some trash about Dunleavy—says to me “We should trade Dunleavy for Artest!” He obviously knew we were HBN and was just trying to get in good with us. But he definitely knew his basketball more than the dude in front of us who questioned our comments earlier. This kid even yelled out “We want Pietrus!” before the game started! Contrary to what some Fans consider “negativity”, I believe demanding a trade or playing Pietrus more is considered “strategizing.” Besides, as people constantly say in this industry: it’s nothing personal, its just business. Right? Anyway, my point with this kid is that the HBN has groupies or people who want to be our groupies everywhere we go.

At half time, Atma and Hash showed me the Smirnoff Lounge—the swankiest spot in the East Bay. I felt like I really “made it” when it came to being a true “Warriors” fan. There was this scary looking older Korean woman that I kept seeing all nite, who I then ran into in the Smirnoff lounge, who was dressed as if she was doing a dragon lady impersonation—low cut sequined dress and eyebrows slanted like she had constantly angry . Funny though was that she was with this plain goofy looking older Korean man who you might mistaken to be any Asian kids dad.

In the second half, Dunleavy continued to infuriate fans with his poor judgment. Several series in a row, Dunleavy dropped a point blank pass in the paint; flopped then called for a foul; passed up a shot leading to a shot clock violation; and then passed up a shot deep in the paint, which culminated with fans vociferously booing him and then Dunleavy throwing his hands up mouthing something to the crowd. I’m speculating it was “I’m sorry! I just hella suck!” He drained a three possessions later mouthing something to fan (news reports say he told them to “calm down”), then completely airballed a three right after. I echo what the woman behind me—who happened to talk some crazy trash about Dunleavy throughout the game—said:

SHOW SOME SPIRIT!

But seriously, the highlight from the night came towards the end as a series of clutch Warrior plays that lead to several fans around us offering us some high five. For the first time in over two years, the trip to the Oakland Coliseum was truly a “GREAT TIME OUT!”

Instead of playing some D, he's too busy posing for the camera

Warrior Game Summaries from local press:
Foyle not wrapped up in self-pity
Fisher's clutch layup ends Warriors' skid at five
Warriors Pull One Out

Recap: Warriors 111, Celtics 109 - Hash Edition

2005-12-29T08:26:00.000-08:00

(Editor's Note - you may notice this is the second postgame converage article on the Celts. This has more to do with our intense love for the W's and less to do with the fact that just as I was about to post this I noticed that Fuzzy already put up a postgame as well. In any case, see DJ Fuzzylogic's post above for additional coverage!)

Welcome back to the GSW postgame coverage where in the year 2006 every article will come with a free side of hyphy!

Limit one side of hyphy per customer. GSW Blog is not responsible for subpar hyphiness due to outside influences of wackness, hater-ism, and douchebaggery.

Box Score | AP Recap

On December 19th, the Dubs fell gloriously to the Celtics on their home turf. A lacking effort by Dunleavy and Foyle had led us to flush the game down the toilet and leave Boston winless AND chowderless.

Well as of yesterday, we have been avenged. The W's came strong out of the gates offensively and ended up snapping their 5 game losing streak against the Celts. And while we here at the HBN are relieved to see the W's pull out a... well W, there are still some concerns to address.

But before we get to the nitty gritty, I'd just like to throw out that yesterday, fellow HBN members Atma, DJ Fuzzylogic, and myself went to the Arena to see Ike start his first game. Right before the game started, Ike stepped out onto the court with a mic and wished the entire Arena a happy and prosperous new year!

Now I'm not a sentimental man. I don't gush over babies and I don't cry at movies. (That's not entirely accurate, Daredevil was so bad that I did in fact weep.) But when big Ike came out onto the Arena floor and wished me a happy '06, I damn near lost it. So in turn, I proclaim 2006 to be the year of Ike! May you be prosperous in boards, points, and swats my man. Hell if this were an election year, I submit that you would sweep the whole damn thing! Ike in 2006!

Clearly, I spent no more than 2 minutes on this.

Now speaking of Ike, he came out pretty strong for his first game as a starter. This doesn't really show in his line, but the kid has got a lot of hussle. He didn't get the rock all that much but he was out there diving for balls and playing aggressively down low. I'd say he played... well like rook with something to prove. He did not, however, prove that he was the answer to our prayers. I hate to bring it up because he DID wish me a happy new year, but one board Ike? Anyone who has been watching the Dubs recently and has seen you play knows that you are capable of way more than that. I'm going to chalk this one up to nervousness and move on. In any case, your 12 points were a welcome change to Adonal's normal contribution of 2. I was glad to see the Warrior Nation welcome Ike with open arms last night. Even when he fouled out of the game with 4 and half minutes left he took the bench with applause from the crowd.

I'd say from Foyle's performance last night, he's not all that happy about losing his starting position. I haven't seen so many rejections since last Friday night when I was at the bar! Five blocked shots makes a statement, Adonal. Unfortunately for you, that statement was, "I play better when I come off the bench." But great job defensively nonetheless from Foyle last night.

Jason Richardson. That name was a statement in itself last night. 36 point, 4 dimes, 5 jacks and even a nice little swat! This man was a wrecking ball yesterday. I swear at one point he started telepathically guiding the ball to the hoop. It's performances like last night that's earning him a permanent expletive as his middle name among opposing teams.

Other notable accomplishments from last night are T-Double's 17 points, Boom Dizzle's 12 dimes, and Cheaney actually scoring. Oh and also, Boston scored some points. Good for them!

Hey Dun actually put up 15 last night as well! Much like Diogu's line doesn't properly represent his play, Dun's line doesn't show the inconsistency that he displayed on the court yesterday. After seeing him play for quite some time now, it's clear that his major issue is simply a lack of confidence. He's been going through a lot of criticism since his big deal and from the look of his play, he's feeling like he has to impress. And while that isn't entirely untrue it would help to understand the following.

You don't step onto a court planning on scoring 30+ points. You score 30+ because you make smart decisions with the plays that were presented to you.

Mike was trying too hard and as a result failing miserably. When he needed to be aggressive he was weak. (Gets the ball deep into the post in a one-on-one scenario and passes the ball back out) When he needed to slow the play down he was too aggressive. (Airballed a wide open 3 shot; one of his 4 missed arc shots on his horrendous (1-5) 3 pt shooting) My personal favorite was when he got the ball deep in the paint with 2 seconds on the shot clock and instead of going up strong he dished the ball back out causing a shot clock violation. The crowd was so riled up that Mullins had to send the Warriors Girls out to the floor to avoid a riot. They didn't even have a planned routine! They just stood in an arranged format clapping to the music. I for one was pretty pleased with Dun for making the Warriors Girls come out for a bonus appearance.

Despite a win we were severely lacking on the boards (28 vs 38) and STILL shooting way too many 3's. Fish and Dun were the biggest perps in the category, both going 1-5 from the arc. But I'm going to spare Fish a berating because he created such a clutch layup in the final seconds in the game that got us the win. Shoot all the 3's you want as long as you make up for it later!

Fisher shooting one of his 3's last night

Another concern is the lack of defense in the paint. Mark Blount was abusing us down low with his 6 foot fadeaway. And when Blount can embarrass our big men like that, I fear for what may happen when a premiere center steps onto the Arena floor. Inside defense NEEDS to improve or we're gonna continue to beat the mediocre teams and get wasted by the contenders.

All in all, the Warriors were firing on most cylinders yesterday and it was refreshing to finally get a win under our belt again. Let's look towards a big win in Dallas on Friday!

Warrior Wonder: Jason @#@%$& Richardson. No explanation needed. You want some of this hot fire?!

Ike Starting Tomorrow

2005-12-27T21:00:00.000-08:00

Looks like we and Adonal's poor play as a starter finally got to the Warriors management and coaching staff. Ike Diogu will start tomorrow against the Celtics.

Watch out Mike Dunleavy! You're the next starter headed for some more deserved pine time.

Do you think it's a good move to start Ike? Post your thoughts in the comments section.

More of Ike's signature low post moves coming!

W's Keep on Falling

2005-12-27T20:19:00.000-08:00

Warriors falling fast, lose fifth game in a row from Mercury

Denver Nuggets guard Earl Boykins, a former Warrior, dribbled the ball on the right wing. He used a crossover move to get to the basket and took his time making the layup.
Boykins, all 5-foot-5, coasting to the rim for a wide-open layup? Something's wrong with that picture.

Yup, there's plenty wrong with that picture.
1) The Warriors are SOFT down low
2) The Warriors should have kept Earl (see Killin' Elephants and They Got Next but ignore my Dampier prediction- haha)

Still Wishing

2005-12-26T09:26:00.000-08:00

Warriors' wish: playoffs from DenverPost.com

Playoffs? Since 1995, that word and Golden State Warriors were rarely included in the same sentence. But Jason Richardson said he believes the time will finally come for the long-suffering Warriors and their fans to be part of the postseason fun.

Answer Searching

2005-12-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

Reeling Warriors look for answers from Mercury

Having lost four in a row and seven of their past nine, the Warriors are in a desperate situation.
Because of their recent travails, tonight's contest against visiting Denver, though just Game No. 28 of 82, has become of considerable importance.

Rosy Warriors

2005-12-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

FoxSports.com's Charley "Super Cranky" Rosen analyzes the Warriors and their play against the Detroit Pistons this past Friday in Warriors need more from Davis late. Although Rosen seems to be basing too much of his analysis of the Warrior players on a single game he does make some good points.

On Mike Dunleavy:

Dunleavy seems best suited to be a scorer on the Warriors' second unit, and he definitely needs to run Hamilton-like routes through and around a plethora of screens to be effective.

Problem is Mike shoots blanks on too many wide open shots. The Warriors are better off running those plays for Fisher, JRich, Zarko and maybe even Pietrus.

On Troy Murphy:

Imagine a 6-foot-11, slow-footed power forward without a trace of a post-up game! If Murphy wasn't left-handed he'd have trouble getting off a shot.

But the man CAN shoot!

On Adonal Foyle:

Adonal Foyle was an embarrassment (1-of-5, 6 rebounds, 2 points). Passes bounced off his hands, and the one jump shot he attempted came out of his hands like he was throwing a handful of mud against a wall. This guy is strictly a third-string center who's being paid as though he was an all-star.

Yeah, but- he's still a nice guy!

On the Warriors as a whole:

Sure, they'll be able to outscore inferior, and even mediocre opponents, but if the Warriors must necessarily try to live by the jump shot, their season will inevitably die young.

Yup, that's what we're worried about!

Recap: Warriors 85, Pistons 97 + The Message

2005-12-24T23:14:00.000-08:00

The Pistons (21-3) handed the Warriors (14-13) their 4th loss in a row on Friday night. The Warriors are now in 4th place in the Pacific division and clinging onto the 8th seed in the West playoff hunt by 1 game.

Ike: "You can't guard me- YOU CAN'T SEE ME!"

Boxscore | AP Recap | SFGate.com 1 - 2 | Mercury 1 - 2

For the past 11 years the list of teams the Warriors were supposed to beat was smaller than the Jr. Jam Squad (by the way- they're off the hook!). Thankfully this year things have changed and the list has grown exponentially. However, there are 3 teams, provided they are fully healthy, that the Warriors have a slim to none chance of beating on any given night: the San Antonio Spurs, the Detroit Pistons, and the Miami Heat.

Think about it- the Warriors got 2 double-doubles (Baron with 14 points and 10 assists and Troy with 11 points and 11 boards), 27 points from rookie Ike Diogu on a sizzling hot 13-15 shooting, nearly another double-double and solid effort from JRich despite some poor shooting (14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals), and they STILL lost by 12. If they put out this type of effort against most of the other squads in the league, they would be coming back with a W. Let's show some respect. The Pistons are a great team. This isn't a loss to be ashamed about or overly worried about.

For Warriors fans the game was actually exciting to watch because of Ike's coming out party. Imagine how good the Warriors could be if they had anything resembling an inside presence who can catch the ball and throw it down (ahem, Foyle), work hard and hustle (ahem, Dunleavy), and play defense without fouling (ahem, Biendrins). Last night Ike gave Warriors fans an early Christmas present, showcasing a dazzling array of spin moves, post ups, and throw downs. For the doubters who think Ike's big night (27-7) was a fluke, think about this- it doesn't get any tougher than scoring on the Wallace brothers. Rasheed and Benny Wallace are excellent defenders who will eat you up and spit you out while embarrassing you with swats, thefts and adding to their collection of defensive player of the year trophies. If Ike can play big against the Pistons down low, he can take anyone to school down low. Let's hope Ike keeps playing big in the paint, so we can nickname him Dutch Boy (great paint since 1907 becomes great post play since 2005!).

Coach Montgomery deserves some serious props for taking a stand and benching both Foyle and Dunleavy in the 4th quarter. Both of them need wake up calls. Too often the Warriors have been playing 3 on 5 with their starting 5. Dunleavy and Foyle have contributed very little this season while Baron, Jason, and Troy continue to bring it every night. Mike has done nothing to prove that he deserves to start and Adonal (who admittedly, we are very slow to criticize here at the BLOG) is more suited to come off the bench and provide a defensive spark for 10-15 minutes a game. Both players have horrible contracts and it wouldn't be a big surprise if management was trying to cover up their mistakes by ordering Monty to start Dunleavy and Foyle.

The Warriors are coming off their easiest part of their 2005-2006 schedule with 4 straight losses and are only 1 game over .500. It's going be harder and harder to collect wins. At this rate, the Warriors are lottery bound... AGAIN!

It's time for the Warriors to listen up like they did to all of the Golden State Warriors BLOG readers when it came to drafting Ike Diogu (see Thanks Chris!):

A message to the Warriors management
You've made some horrible mistakes for the past decade plus. You've even made some horrendous "what in the name of Scott Layden?!" mistakes recently (i.e. contracts and extensions for Foyle, Dunleavy, and Fisher). BUT it's time to move on. Charles Barkley always says on Inside the NBA that in order to win, players and teams need to realize that it's not about who's getting paid the most, it's about who are the best players and who will help you pick up the W's. Cohan and company- in case you didn't know your 9 best players right now are NOT named Mike Dunleavy and Adonal Foyle. Force feeding minutes to Dunleavy and Foyle is going to make it nearly impossible to get to the playoffs. Admit your mistake and move on like the Pacers did with Austin Croshere. Croshere makes more than Artest, but Donnie Walsh, Larry Bird, and crew don't force feed playing time to him to try to make themselves look better. They play to win. Warriors fans want to see their team win. They don't want to watch players stink it up because they are paid a lot of money.

A message to the Warriors Coaching Staff
Don't listen to what management tells you. Don't exacerbate the mistakes of management by handing out playing time and too many minutes to people who don't deserve to be playing. Play to win, not to make management happy. Don't be their scapegoat when things go wrong. The players will get your back and respect you. You'll get fired if you lose playing the players management has paid insane dollars to, but you can reach the playoffs if you ignore what they say and play Pietrus (when he comes back), Ike, Biendrins, Taft, and maybe even Zarko over Dunleavy and Foyle. How bad would the Warriors management look if they fired the coaching staff after the team made the playoffs for the first time since Chris Webber was a rook?

Feel free to drop your messages to the Warriors management and coaching staff in the comments section.

Warrior Wonder
Ikechukwa Somotochukwa Diogu. The man not only needs more minutes, but needs to go by his real name. It's nice! Let's hope it's just a sign of things to come from the big Ikechukwa.

Team Building

2005-12-24T18:44:00.000-08:00

Building a team from The Saginaw News

'This is the most unselfish team I've been on in the NBA,' Richardson said. 'The guys on the floor
all play together, we all share the ball and we're trying to do everything as a team. That's the biggest change. We never used to hang out and now we're always at each other's houses, hanging out on the road. We're really getting to know each other.'

Questionning the Warriors

2005-12-23T11:33:00.000-08:00

A Few Leading Questions About the Warriors by Tim Kawakami

I'm not on the road with them. I can't ask Mike Montgomery, Mike Dunleavy or Baron Davis any of these questions--which, I'm sure, doesn't break their hearts. I'm just an interested observer, wondering aloud from afar as the Warriors get set for tonight's attempted bounce-back game in Boston after Sunday night's debacle in New Jersey...

Dunleavy Making Excuses

2005-12-23T11:03:00.000-08:00

Dunleavy's numbers aren't quite adding up from SFGate.com

'It's funny, I've been here for four years and I'm still trying to figure things out with this team,' Dunleavy said Thursday. 'I think I have a pretty good feel for the game, but trying to fit in with these guys. ... As long as we've been here together, we don't know each other as well as you think we would think.'

Mike, we've seen you play for 4 seasons now and we know your game very well. You just aren't very good (see Quarter Report Card). Way to deflect the blame for your poor play on your teammates.

Shopping Big

2005-12-23T10:52:00.000-08:00

Warriors should shop for big man from SJ Mercury

Aww, no fun, Rod Higgins!
The Warriors' thoughtful general manager knew what I was going to ask. He knew why I was asking. And he knew he was going to squash the question with extreme force the millisecond I tossed it his way.
Rod, considering the low-post weaknesses exposed during your team's three-game road losing streak, which could hit four tonight in Detroit, have the Warriors made any recent attempts to acquire Kevin Garnett?
``No,'' Higgins said with Churchillian authority and Rumsfeldian disdain Thursday. ``We have not had conversations about Kevin.''

Lost?

2005-12-22T23:42:00.000-08:00

Warriors looking lost on the road from SFGate.com

Used to be that when crunch time neared and the Warriors needed stops, a defensive stand was just around the corner. A block was made, a rebound grabbed, a turnover forced -- whatever was necessary to make it close at the end. The Warriors appeared on the verge of another such comeback against the Sixers on Wednesday when they whittled an 11-point deficit to four entering the final period. But instead of locking down defensively, these Warriors have developed a new habit: Giving up runs.

Ike Doesn't Fit?

2005-12-22T23:41:00.000-08:00

Rookie Diogu doesn't 'fit in' right now from SFGate.com

As the Warriors go, so goes Ike Diogu. That was coach Mike Montgomery's response when asked if recently he has had to pick and choose spots to play his top rookie. Though Diogu made his NBA debut last month by averaging 11 points and five rebounds in his first four games, he's all but fallen out of Golden State's rotation.

Need a New Formula

2005-12-22T23:39:00.000-08:00

Same formula in latest setback from Mercury

The Warriors' past three games have had similar scripts: Golden State gets down early, tightens the gap several times, then sees the opponent pull away to victory.
Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers produced a 111-100 victory over the Warriors, who have lost three in a row for the first time this season.
``We're not hungry enough. I think we're losing our competitive edge,'' Warriors guard Jason Richardson said. ``We got a little satisfied with a couple of wins. We've got to come back and be hungry again.''

Front Office Hoops

2005-12-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

Warriors may be ready to end playoff drought from SJ Mercury

We have no idea whether the Golden State Warriors will make the playoffs this season. But we do know that their front office can probably kick your front office's butts in a pickup game.
Most every day when they're all in town, executive vice president Chris Mullin, general manager Rod Higgins, assistant coach Mario Elie and special assistant Mitch Richmond hit the team's practice court in Oakland, Calif., for a couple of hours of two on two.

Breaking Down the Minutes

2005-12-22T10:40:00.000-08:00

Break time is crucial to Warriors from the CC Times

Warriors coach Mike Montgomery has been dogged in getting his key players rest, saving some juice for down the stretch. It's meant being creative with his rotation and, sometimes, biting his fist. He's been forced to get really creative with his bench lately.
The original plan was to rest the starters one or two at a time. But the last couple games, the starters have been forced to play nearly the entire first period because the Warriors have been behind. As a result, Montgomery has been caught with five reserves on the floor at the most inopportune times, or he's had some unusual combinations on the floor together.
But it's something that has to be done.

Recap: Warriors 100, 76ers 111 - Oakland, we have a problem...

2005-12-21T22:50:00.000-08:00

Wow! Now that was a high pressure intro. Just for future reference kids, anytime you are introduced with an image of Dwayne Wayne and my man Marlon together - make no mistake, you better come with it.

So this is me. Coming with it. All hail before... it.

Boxscore | AP Recap

I wish that my first article could bring better headlines than, "76ers Bend Warriors Over Like a Brown Man Receiving a Cavity Search at Airport Security", but sadly enough that's all I have to work with. So without further hesitation let's roll up our sleeves and dive right in.

Before I sat down to write this I looked at my trusty IM screen only to see a comment that Atma shot over after the game. While short and simple, I found it profound enough to sum up our experience tonight.

"damn, warriors made the sixers look like the best team in the nba"

-atma brother #1

This statement wasn't entirely inaccurate as the Sixers have now won 6 or their last 7 games. Frankly, I was hoping the Warriors would break out of this little rut that they are in and get a win against a premiere team.

Instead, we allowed The Answer to hit us up for 38 points, 6 boards, 8 dimes, 3 jacks, and a partridge in a pear tree. And while we were so busy "containing" Iverson, CWebb picked up the slack and hit us up for 27. Oh, and while we were "shutting down" CWebb, Kyle Korver ordered himself a delicious In N Out #1 (double-double). And while Korver was chomping that one down, Samuel Dalembert was one rebound shy of an In N Out meal himself! Who the hell is Sam Dalembert?! This man is averaging 8 point a game this season yet manages to drop 10 in the first quarter on us? Ouch.

When the game went to commercial break, I'm pretty Philly subbed in some of their cheerleaders to get a few boards on us. Y'know, that way everyone could feel good about themselves...

As disgusted as I am, let me give credit where credit is due. J-Rich and T-Double. These guys got out there and did what they always do. Solid performance from J-Rich, especially in the 3rd quarter where his 15 points brought the W's within 3. Thanks for the hope, kid. TMurph put up yet another double-double and solidified his place as the most underestimated player in the history of time. And let us not forget the extra kudos for shooting 10-10 from the charity stripe. After all, that's what it's there for.

I'd also like to commend Biedrins on a solid (although small) performance. 8 point on 4-4 shooting and two blocked shots? I'll take it.

Now to the dirty part. Has anyone informed our boys that the 3-point shootout doesn't happen until All Star weekend? The team went 8-23 from beyond today. JRich, I know I gave you some props earlier but I'm looking at you here (3-7). Boom Dizzle, where are you going?! Get back here Mr. 2-8. And Fish!!(1-5) Fish Fish Fish... I expect better from you. What happened to the electrifying moves that you employed to help the Lakers win so many Championships? Oh wait, you did nothing but shoot 3's there too. You're all grounded! Go to your rooms that are bigger than my house and stay there!

It's been said before and proven again tonight. We need to cultivate a better inside game so our boys don't feel like they need to resort to the 3 on every possession. It's a downward spiral out there. First they drop the 3 because of the lack of open looks on the inside. Then they get in the habit and don't even look down low before hurling the rock.

This brings me to our lack of inside game. I know here at the GSW Blog there has been a history of ragging on a certain $44 million investment. Well Dunleavy, you managed to put up 11 tonight. It's not the most impressive feat, but seeing as:

a) it is so rare to see you score in the double digits
b) you made both of your 3 point attempts

I will spare you the standard verbal humiliation. Nooooooow visual humiliation on the other hand...

Technically, I didn't say anything!

But Dun, you weren't the worst of the bunch. Foyle spent his 28 minutes getting more fouls than points and did nothing to remedy his terrible shot-blocking efforts this season. Calbert "Throw in the Towel" Cheaney spent his 2 minutes in the limelight missing his only shot and getting a foul. Ike continues to go unused (3 minutes) despite demonstrating in the past that he is capable of being aggressive in the post.

Heck with it. Let's just shoot some threes.

Don't get me wrong. Despite my disgust aired today, I'm very optimistic about this squad. They have showed in the past that they are capable of containing some very formidable offenses. I'm just disappointed that they didn't do it tonight.

Hopefully they'll approach Detroit ready to remedy the situation. If it stays like this, it's going to be messy.

Warrior Wonder

I was going to give this one to the Murph because of his solid play, but due to his 3rd quarter 15 point spurt that gave as all hope (if only for a moment), JRich takes it down. But he's still grounded!! Awwww but look at that face. How can I stay mad at him?!

Introducing... HASH

2005-12-21T17:41:00.000-08:00

If you've been an avid reader of this site, you've come to expect DAILY hype, rumors, humor, science, history, and fashion on the Golden State Warriors. Things have been a little slower than usual at the Golden State Warriors BLOG for past week or so, BUT with our new 6th man things are going to be different.

Today marks a giant step forward for the Golden State Warriors BLOG and the Hyphy Bloggin' Network (HBN) as a whole. I'd like to take a second to give our new contributor Hash, a Kings of Comedy- like introduction:

He hails from the East Bay... He is the winner of the HBN commenter of the year... He grabs more rebounds in 10 minutes of pickup ball than Mike Dunleavy does in 5 games...
His writing is more addictive than his name... He IS a VERY funny man. Put your comments together for my main man- HAAAASSSSHHHH!

Hash is coming...

JRich Becoming a Leader

2005-12-21T10:43:00.000-08:00

J-Rich, O'Neal assume leadership roles from SI.com

To understand how the Golden State Warriors have risen from hopeless to hopeful -- based on a 14-11 start, they're promising to make the playoffs for the first time in nine years -- you must appreciate the short, complicated career of Jason Richardson. He has grown up to be far more valuable than the selfish dunker he admits he used to be.

Quarter Report Card (Starting 5)

2005-12-20T23:40:00.000-08:00

25 games into the season and the Warriors stand 3 games over .500 with 14 wins and 11 losses. After a decade plus of losing, we'll take 3rd place in the Pacific and a 7th seed in the playoffs. Still, something's just not right. The Warriors have had an easy schedule (aside from playing so many games so early) and have yet to beat a good team. They do have some W's against mediocre teams like the Kings and Sonics, but with a much more difficult schedule ahead there is definitely reason to worry. On to the grades for the Starting 5...

Jason Richardson
Right before the 2004-2005 season the Warriors handed Jason a very lucrative contract. As much I enjoyed watching JRich play, I thought the Warriors were investing too much in a shooting guard who would probably never make it to an All Star game. Guess what? I was wrong. I don't know if he'll make it this season, but Jason Richardson is having an All Star year.

+ He Got Game

22.4 points per game, 6 rodmans, over a steal a game = ALL Star
DE-FENSE- Jason's defense has not only improved by leaps and bounds, he's actually a good defender now.
Consistency + Confidence: JRich has been the most consistent Warrior. Well, okay consistently GOOD Warrior, since Dunleavy has been consistently bad. Jason comes to play every night. He's got that look in his eyes that he's a top player in the NBA.

- Needs Work

It's hard to fault Jason for the dip in his passing numbers since he's expected to shoulder such a heavy part of the scoring load every night, but it would be nice to see a couple more dimes. He's a good passer.
Trips to the charity stripe are supposed to be gifts.

JRich's Game Keeps Rising!

Grade: A

Baron Davis
+ He Got Game

Almost 10 dimes a game with only 3 turnovers ain't no joke!
CLUTCH- Did you see that game against the Sonics? Hopefully, it's just the beginning!
THIEVERY- Baron's 1.8 steals per game have led to some fast breaks and easy buckets. When B Diddy locks down his man good things happen.
Rebounding- 4.5 rebounds a game is solid for a point guard.

- Needs Work

Why does Baron insist on jacking up 3's? He's too good of a passer and slasher to settle for these long distance jumpers. 7 three point attempts a game is too high for a 32.6% career 3pt shooter.
Free throws are supposed to be free points

Boom Dizzle Fo Shizzle!

Grade: A-

Troy Murphy
+ He Got Game

With 16.5 points per game and nearly 20ppg in his last 5, Troy is becoming a very dependable 3rd offensive option for the Warriors
Takin' it to the hole- Troy has improved big time on this part of his game. He's getting to the free throw line almost 6 times a game. A few more trips and T-Double might hit 19 points per game.
The Baron-Troy pick and roll. Aside from Derek Fisher, Murphy might have the best set 3 point shot on the team.

- Needs Work

Troy is the only Warrior big man who can consistently play more than 5 minutes without fouling 4 times and rebound. It's a little unfair to expect Troy to grab more rebounds since he comes up with double-doubles fairly regularly, but the Warriors need him to pull down 11-13 rebounds a game. He's fully capable.
Creating turnovers on the defensive end. 6 foot 11 and half a block a game? 0.6 steals per game? Troy can do better.

Grade: B

Adonal Foyle
+ He Got Game

Nice guy.
Great hustle.
Only 1 turnover a game!
The guy's trying.
He's managed to sprinkle in double figures in points twice.
Did we mention he's a nice guy?

- Needs Work

Swats- Adonal is averaging a career worst in blocks per minute.
Foul does not equal defense
We're still waiting for that 30 point outburst. Actually, we've been waiting over 8 years.

Adonal with the ball? Scary.Grade: D

Mike Dunleavy
He's done a fantastic job this season. His hoops smarts have really shown up in the Win column for his squad. He brings so many intangibles to the game, it's not even funny.

Oh my bad! You wanted a grade for Mike Dunleavy Jr...

You know it's bad when even your Dad can't watch.

The Real Dunleavy's Grade: A+
(it IS the Clippers)

The Other Mike Dunleavy
Before we get to Mike's grade- I refuse to call him Mike Dunleavy Jr. or Junior. No 25 year old, 6 foot 9 inch man playing forward in the NBA should ever let people call them Junior. Also by NBA years, Dunleavy is NOT that young. Would you believe that Troy Murphy is only a few months older than Dunleavy? Would you believe that Jason Richardson is actually younger than Dunleavy? Would you believe that Calbert Cheaney is younger than Mike? (Hahaha, just seeing if you're paying attention) The point is Junior ain't so junior... age wise that is.

+ He Got Game

When the Warriors handed Mike Dunleavy the 44 million dollar contract extension, we didn't exactly think it was a good idea (see 44 Reasons why giving Mike Dunleavy 44million wasn't the brightest idea Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV ). Dunleavy's not doing anything to make us look bad. Okay fine- HE doesn't have game, but WE DO.
Mike continues to dominate games WITHOUT scoring points, rebounding the ball, passing, or playing any defense. Quite frankly- It's amazing!
The Funleavy Foto Fun keeps coming!

- Needs Work

Hitting wide open shots (23% from 3pt land? 77% of the time he's gonna miss?)
Posting up on players 9 inches shorter than him
2.5 : 1.5 assist to turnover ratio
Grabbing more than 4 rebounds in 30 minutes
Dunleavy fans (all 2 out there) like to talk about his vastly improved defense. No doubt. They're right. It's gone from horrendous to just horrible. I know, I know-- baby steps... baby steps... (It's not like he's a 4th year player)
Not fouling Ben Wallace when there's less than 10 seconds in the game and the Warriors are down by less than 3. (This was so bad, it made CWebb's non-timeout against UNC back in the day look like a genius move.)
And last but not least- QUIT FLOPPING. Play some defense Mike... like a 6 foot 9, 230 pound, NBA forward should.

If Mike's running to the bench in this picture, I don't mind the bad defense against Nash.

Grade: F

How would you grade the Warriors starting 5?
Post your grades in the comments section.

Grades for the Warriors bench dropping soon...

Stop the Bleeding

2005-12-19T23:20:00.000-08:00

Warriors tumbling into losing pattern by Marcus Thompson

The Warriors had better be careful. They are showing traits that could lead to a losing streak.
A couple of lapses here. A little complacency there. Mix in some injuries and road games, and next thing you know, you're flirting with a .500 record.

The Warriors recent losses have really exposed the flaws on this roster. Check back soon for our quarter report card for the Warriors. Until then...

What are your ideas to stop the bleeding and get the Warriors back on track for the playoffs? Post your ideas in the comments. Let's continue the great discussions that Warriors fans always have.

Also, tomorrow we have a little surprise for Warriors Nation. Let's just call him our 6th Man... Don't sleep!

Dun Diminishing Returns

2005-12-17T15:09:00.000-08:00

From DimeMag.com's Daily Smack

The Warriors beat the Raptors, but at what point does G-State become very worried about their Mike Dunleavy investment. Dunleavy scored only 1 point in last night's win.

We were worried 4 years ago.

Finally Winning

2005-12-17T10:47:00.000-08:00

ABC News: After 11 Years, Warriors Finally Winning

When Mickael Pietrus joined the Golden State Warriors two years ago, he heard the same lament almost every time he went to the grocery store or the post office in his Oakland hills neighborhood.

'People, they come up to you and say, 'We love the Warriors, but you (must) stop losing now,'' the swingman recalled with a smile. 'The fans here, they are very frustrated with the Warriors. It's been forever that they've been losing, a very long time.'

Artest+Johnson for Murphy+Dunleavy

2005-12-17T10:17:00.000-08:00

Let's make a deal from SI.com

Artest and Johnson to the Warriors for Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy
Murphy would provide the Pacers with a big young body who's tough, a solid rebounder and has range from outside. Murphy is a base-year player, so Dunleavy's contract would have to be included. The Pacers could try to trim payroll by unloading Dunleavy to a team that is under the cap. Another potential trade with the Warriors would send Artest and Johnson to Golden State for Murphy, Mickael Pietrus and Calbert Cheaney. While that deal would help the Pacers on the court, it would also create more red ink on their payroll and thus create more pressure to trim salary.

Artest? "$@#% yeah!"

2005-12-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

Artest would be welcomed in Golden State from CC Times

Make no mistake about it. To a man, there are a few Warriors who will tell you in a heartbeat they'd love to have Indiana Pacers small forward Ron Artest as a teammate.
'(Expletive) yeah,' Warriors guard Jason Richardson said. 'He's one of the top players in this league. To get a guy like that ...'

Foyle + Dunleavy for Artest? Free Artest!

2005-12-16T11:48:00.000-08:00

Who wants to trade for Ron Artest? | IndyStar.com

Chris Mullin, who is in charge of the Warriors' personnel, played three seasons for the Pacers and has a strong relationship with Bird and Walsh. He also attended St. John's, like Artest, and knows Artest from the times they crossed paths during offseason workouts on campus.Mullin also knows that players aren't always as bad as their reputations suggest from having played with Latrell Sprewell in Golden State.The Warriors (13-8) appear headed for the playoffs but are in no position to challenge for a championship. A player such as Artest could make a major difference.One Golden State player told the Contra Costa Times he had heard talk of a deal involving Mike Dunleavy and Adonal Foyle for Artest and Jeff Foster.Besides, Artest's self-assigned nickname is 'Tru Warier.' Perhaps he would be a good fit for the Warriors?"

If Mullin and the rest of the Warriors management could pull off a trade for Ron Artest, only giving up Foyle and Dunleavy, we would have to label them with CROOK status. That's a hiest. They would be able to dump 2 horrible long term contracts for two below average players and get back a (when sane) top 20 player in this league to team with Baron, JRich, and Troy. With Fisher and Pietrus off the bench, the Warriors would be a sure fire bet to end the infamous 11 year drought.

There are a plethora of reasons why the Warriors would make this move, but why would the Pacers? Two reasons.

1) The Pacers management and players seem understandably upset with Artest for his trade request to the media. Trading him to New York or a playoff type team would come off like they were rewarding Artest. Trading him to basketball Iberia would show Ron what the Pacers think of him. And guess what? The Warriors are basketball Iberia. We all love them, but let's be honest- the Warriors are still far from being on the national hoops map. Until they reach the playoffs they are still a hoops hell-hole.

2) Another reason the Pacers might make this trade is that Foyle can step in and form "Block City" with Jermaine O'Neal down low. That basket would be well protected. Dunleavy gives them a serviceable player off the bench or a starter to replace Ron Artest. Plugging Mike in at the 3 in the Pacer's starting lineup gives them a player who can dominate the game without scoring, passing, rebounding, or playing defense! (joke)

And yes- I really had to "fabricate the truth" on the 2nd reason why the Pacers would make this trade. A top 20 player for 2 underachieving scrubs (both Foyle and Dunleavy were lottery picks)? Not gonna happen. But if it did...

One thing the media seems to have missed is that Artest is young. He's only 26. Artest has plenty of upside and potential for improvement. For comparison's sake, the Warriors Mike Dunleavy Junior is 25. Ron's game is much more Senior than Mike's and his age still keeps him at the Junior range. It's funny how people talk about Dunleavy as part of the Warriors' young core. If the Warriors got Artest, they would be giving a huge boost to their young core.

It's tough to believe that the Warriors would be able to pull this one off, but if the Pacers are willing to bite Mullin HAS to pull the trigger. Even if Ron leaves in 2 years (which I doubt since it doesn't take too long to fall in love with the Bay Area), the Warriors will hold his Bird rights and control his sign and trade options.

We need this Tru Warier (we'll help him with his spelling when he gets here).

A Case for JRich to be an All Star

2005-12-14T01:03:00.000-08:00

Vote for JRich

He's averaging 22.9 points per game; among West guards, only the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant (30.8) and Seattle's Ray Allen (23.7) average more. Richardson is averaging 6.6 rebounds per game; among West guards, only Sacramento's Bonzi Wells (7.8) averages more.

``He definitely deserves recognition for that and the way he's basically carried us on his back for the first month of the season,'' said Baron Davis, Richardson's backcourt mate and another candidate to end the Warriors' eight-year All-Star drought.