GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
by Fantasy Junkie of Golden State of Mind
Recap Rewind: Playing Memphis at home was a great way to start the post All-Star part of the season. The Warriors escaped with an exciting OT win even though Mike Miller was playing out of his mind and dropped 45. Monta and JRich kept the Warriors in the game in the 4th and in OT to hold off the Grizz. Next up were the Clippers in LA and Golden State of Mind made a small wager with the ClipsNation. I think you can tell who won by the title of our recap, 5 reasons why I love the Clippers. Next up were the Lakers who constantly dominate the Warriors. Sunday was no different as the Warriors suffered a blowout loss to the Lakers. The Warriors needed a win against one of the Los Angeles teams and managed to let them both slip away.
Notable News: The Warriors had already made their big splash in the trade market with the January deal with the Pacers so it’s not surprising that they stood pat as the trade deadline passed. But that didn’t stop the rumors from circling, Jason Richardson was apparently "offered to everybody" while Mickael Pietrus was the most likely to be traded... The hottest retro jerseys are back. The Warriors are breaking out The City jerseys for all of March. Hopefully this spurs the Warriors to a hot home streak in March... The Race to the Playoffs is on. There are 7 teams within 4.5 games of each other for the last 2 playoff spots. The Warriors are right in the thick of it just 1.5 games out of the 8th spot...
Fast Forward: This is a big week for the Warriors. A notoriously bad road team (6-21) is going to have to deal with a 5 game road trip in the midst of the playoff race. An 0-5 or 1-4 road trip could literally break all hope the Warriors have of making the playoffs. Neither is an impossibility either. They start out in Milwaukee who just got Michael Redd back so won’t be the roadkill that they had been for the last few weeks. Then they head to Chicago for the 2nd game of a back to back. The Warriors record in 2nd games of a back to back? 1-14. They finish the road trip with a visit to New York on Friday, Washington on Sunday, and Detroit on Monday. Those will all be difficult games and the Warriors must play their best ball to stay close in the playoff race.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
by ClipperSteve of Clips Nation
Recap Rewind: The portion of the NBA season after the All Star break is often referred to as the second half, though of course it's closer to the last third, but who's counting? At any rate, the Clippers had two chances to start over this week – the first after the break, and the second after the trade deadline. The first one didn't go so well – the Suns dominated from start to finish Tuesday night in Staples Center for a 115-90 win. OK, maybe not start to finish – the Clippers did lead 8-4, but it was all downhill from there. Shawn Marion scored 31 for the Suns while the Clippers were led by Corey Maggette with 19 and Elton Brand with 17. The second fresh start went a little better (albeit against different competition) as the Clippers used a strong fourth quarter to snap a 4 game losing streak, beating Golden State 103-90. Brand always plays well against the Warriors, but he outdid himself in this one scoring 31 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking 8 shots to tie his career high. Shaun Livingston had 14 points and a career-high 14 assists in what looked like a real break out game. But then disaster struck two days later against Charlotte when Shaun dislocated his knee in a gruesome injury that can only be described as Theismanesque. No word as of now on the true extent of the injury, but there's no way he'll play again this season. Oh, the Clippers won the game 100-93 on the strength of 25 points from Maggette, who was 19 for 20 from the line. The win actually lifted the team back into the 8th position in the Western Conference, but no one was in the mood to celebrate.
Notable News: With a disgruntled sixth man, two first round draft picks in next year's draft and two F-DEC's (Foreign Dudes with Expiring Contracts) you'd think that "the most disappointing team in the NBA this season" (according to Charles Barkley) might have done something at the trade deadline. But like almost every other team, the Clippers stood pat, choosing instead to play the hand they've been dealt. Team chemistry has been a lab explosion waiting to happen, so one can only hope that the passing of the deadline will force them to come together in the knowledge that they're all here for the duration. The team's problems are myriad – but it's basically the same team that won a playoff series last season, so there's still a possibility they can find a groove for a playoff push. Of course the injury to Livingston will force Sam Cassell to play big minutes, and Daniel Ewing (who looked good against Phoenix and OK against Charlotte) will have to step up. Is it possible that the Livingston injury will cause the remaining Clippers to rally and find the defensive energy they've lacked this season? Or will they simply phone in the rest of the year, write off this season to bad luck, grab a good draft pick and try again in November?
Fast Forward: With three winnable games coming up (a home-and-home Wednesday and Thursday with the Sonics and then home Saturday against the Pacers) and only a half game out of 7th place in the West, the Clippers have this week to build some momentum. The schedule gets decidedly tougher after that and remains stiff the rest of the season.
