GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
by Fantasy Junkie of Golden State of Mind
Recap Rewind: Ouch, what a rough week! Without Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson, two major ballhandlers, the team went 1-4 on a major road test, nearly eliminating any hope of making the playoffs. First let's cover the losses. The first came in an ugly 101-122 loss to the Bucks where the Warriors were just never in it. Michael Redd and Mo Williams dominated them with Redd on the outside and Williams distributing. Ugly only begins to describe it. Up next was a nasty, NASTY 30 point loss to the Bulls, 83-113. Let's just forget that one and move on. The next game was on the 45th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a single game against the New York Knicks. So who was up next? Of course, the Knicks. But just like the previous 2 games, the Warriors suffered a defeat 97-106. This game was actually close for 3.5 quarters. With about 6 minutes remaining the Warriors completely fell apart and within a few minutes, a 92-90 lead turned into a 92-100 deficit. From then on, they just couldn’t recover. Close but not quite. The 4th game of the road trip brought them to the Nation's capitol to play former Warriors Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison along with the rest of the Wizards. Let me put this bluntly, the Warriors got screwed. With a 106-104 lead and 2.9 seconds to go, Arenas drew a foul after the game ended, 2 free throws. Nellie couldn't believe it, had a light-hearted discussion with the officials and received a technical. Arenas now gets 3 free throws. Guess what happens? Wizards defeat the Warriors 107-106. This is just a blatant case of the referees deciding a game, not the players. So after what was their 6th loss in a row and facing the toughest game on the road trip, the 2nd game of a back to back against the East's best team, the Detroit Pistons. The losing streak looked like it was going to continue even though the Warriors had blown out the Pistons in their previous meeting, 111-79. So what was going to happen this time? Another blowout of course! The Warriors came out on top with a big 111-93 win and a little momentum to get back into the playoff race.
Notable News: March 2, 1962. You know what happened? Wilt dropped a bomb on the Knicks. This year was the 45th anniversary of Wilt’s 100 point game. This truly remarkable event was seen only by about 4,500 people in Hershey, Pennsylvania that day. Thankfully, the Warriors organization did a great job covering it... Monta’s rise to stardom is accelerating day by day. Recently, his story was covered in SWISH magazine. Make sure to check it out... Lastly, KNBR radio host Damon Bruce donated some of his busy time to do a quick Q&A with Golden State of Mind, separated into Part 1 and Part 2. He always has some great takes on the Warriors, so be sure to drop by and check out his answers.
Fast Forward: Things really don't get a whole lot easier for the Warriors. Every game is critical at this point as the Warriors slip farther and farther away from the playoffs. That means the upcoming home games against Denver on Wednesday and the Clippers on Friday are against two teams fighting for the same last 2 playoff spots up to 8 teams are fighting for. After those two games, a back to back looms with an away game against Portland and a home game against Dallas.