Warriors Refuse to Back Down

I have to admit, even I had my doubts about this team coming into the postseason after David Lee went down and without seeing much in terms of production out of Andrew Bogut. Instead though, the Warriors head into play Friday night looking to take a 2-1 lead over San Antonio in the Western Conference Semifinals.

As has been the case this whole season for Golden State, as each player goes down, it seems the Warriors just keep getting stronger and stronger. Early on, it was Andrew Bogut who couldn't get on the court, and many thought it would to a rough start for the Dubs. Then Festus Ezieli and Carl Landry each stepped up big and the Warriors instead thrived out of the gate. Coming into the postseason, just as Andrew Bogut starting finding his rhythm, the Warriors lost their other big man, David Lee to what many thought would be a season-ending hip injury. After that happened, I don't think many outside of the Bay Area gave the Warriors a glimmer of hope in round one vs. Denver. Again though, they had other players step up and help overcome the loss of their 20-10 machine in Lee. Harrison Barnes has excelled in the postseason, Jarret Jack has been a steady veteran influence almost like Baron Davis was in 2007 and although it's taken a year and some change, the Warriors are finally reaping benefits from the Monta Ellis trade. It's taken a true team effort to get the Warriors to where they are. They really should be taking a 2-0 lead into the game Friday, but by coming back and taking game two after blowing that 16 point lead in the waning minutes of game one is a testament to what kind of fight this team has.

Now, the Warriors could lose the next three games, and be out of the tournament and it would still be considered a great season by Golden State's standards. The players know that, and I think that this team is really taking that underdog role and riding with it. It reminds me a lot of the Giants in 2010, as they weren't necessarily the best team in the game that year, but rode that late season momentum and became an unstoppable force in the playoffs. Mark Jackson's role in this run cannot be overlooked either, as he's seemingly pushed all the right buttons so far and has kept his team in the right mindset all year despite all the injuries. Jackson has this team in a defense first mind-set and they've all bought into the system and have executed it well. Since Lee went down, Jackson has had to mix and match starting lineups, going with a small, three-guard look with Jarret Jack, but he switched it up and used Draymond Green in the starting lineup Wednesday to give the team a little more defense. Despite Green not lighting up the stat sheet, it worked out well defensively for Golden State and I wouldn't be surprised to see that same lineup take the court Friday night.

Note: David Lee is still listed as active for this series, but I highly doubt we'll see him make any kind of impact. That being said, should the Warriors advance past this round and make it to the Western Conference Finals, it wouldn't surprise me if #10 wills his way back into the starting lineup. He's still having some issues pushing off of his right leg, which would hamper his play inside, but he is practicing and is getting some of that strength back each day.

Warriors should rest Curry

Steph Curry has been playing the best basketball of his life this season. Curry has been carrying the Warriors over the past few games, making up for a lack of production from the bench. The Warriors and the fans have been anxiously awaiting the visit of that team from Southern California that shall not be named. The Lakers beat the Warriors handily at the Staples Center on Nov. 9 and let the Lakers steal the game at Oracle on Dec. 22 thanks to a fourth quarter Warriors meltdown.

The Warriors are having a better season than the highly touted Lakers, but have yet to quiet the loud voices of the overflowing Lakers bandwagon. The Warriors lead the Lakers by 3.5 games in the Western Conference and lead the Rockets by a game (it could be a half game if the Rockets pull off the win against the Spurs- the game is tied at 89 with under 4:00 to go in the game). The Warriors need to win this game to keep ahead of the Rockets. The Warriors need this game to prove to themselves that they can beat a team that has haunted them throughout their existence in Oakland.

The obnoxious Lakers fans will occupy Oracle, as they always do. It would be deeply satisfying to see the Warriors wipe the smug grins off the faces of basketball's Yankee fans. The task of beating L.A. would be less tall with number 30 on the floor for the Warriors, but the Warriors need to rest their best player for a few games.

Curry's X-rays came back negative for a fracture, but it looked bad last night. He could put weight on it. I would be surprised if Curry played at all. Coach Jackson will probably have Curry dress to keep Curry in the game plan for the Lakers, but he rest. Steph has been averaging over 40 minutes per game since the All-Star break, the most of any player in the league. He needs to give his body a week's rest. After the Lakers game, the Warriors play some weaker opponents (Kings, Blazers, Hornets, @ Suns). Now is the time to let him recover.

Harrison Barnes is starting to realize how good he can be when he is aggressive. He needs to stop using a right pivot foot when he gets in triple threat. Once he cleans up that footwork, he will really be hard to stop when he goes to the rim. If Curry doesn't go on Monday, Klay Thompson needs to shoulder the scoring load and get to the free throw line.

Warriors Are NOT Better Off Without Bogut

With the way the Warriors started their season and kept their stronghold on 2nd place in the Pacific Division without having their star center present for most of it, many started wondering whether or not the team needed Bogut.

Since Bogut made his return at the end of January, he's been in and out of the lineup, and the Warriors are an even 4-4 with him out there since his return. Essentially, they've played .500 ball with Bogut in the lineup, and they sit 10 games above .500 as of now, so I can see where the question comes into play. However, there is absolutely no doubt that this is a much better team with a healthy Andrew Bogut out on the floor. Heck, even a 75% Bogut, which is about where he had been playing before this new back injury came up. I mean, Carl Landry has been a nice scoring option, but let's face it, he just can't handle the big centers in this league on the defensive end as he's really a power forward. Bogut showed that he was starting to work his way back into game shape a bit before the back spasms hit, so hopefully they turn out to be minor and he's back on the court in a week or two. He played just shy of 30 minutes in his last game, and although he didn't light it up offensively (7 points), he showed exactly what the Warriors need, and that's rebounding (11) and defense (3 blocks, 2 steals) while also creating for others (5 assists). You put those numbers with his typical 12-15 points he'll give you when he's right and there's no question this team is better with Bogut.

That being said, the 'Dubs have looked a bit out of sync at times with the 7-foot Aussie on the court, and the reason being is simple. He's hardly had any time to mesh with this team whatsoever. He had virtually no preseason, and missed all that time to start the year, so it's like this is the real start of the year for him. Until his back returns to full strength though, it looks like Mark Jackson will be rolling with the forgotten one, Andris Biedrins, as the starter at center. Festus Ezeli has started seeing less and less time and apparently Biedrins has been stepping it up at practice, so he'll be the first guy out there, at least on this road trip. It's still going to come down to Carl Landry and David Lee kind of sharing the duties, but it would help ease the load if Andris can give them 20 quality minutes. This is the exact reason why I really wanted to see the Warriors bring in another veteran big man before the deadline. With Bogut always a question mark health-wise, they should have been in on another defensive minded big-man to take some of these minutes being forced on Biedrins and Ezeli.

Warriors' Trade Deadline Analysis

Well, the NBA trade deadline came and went this week, and it ended up going down as one of the most uneventful deadlines in recent memory.

The Warriors did manage to make a few cost-cutting minor trades, finding new homes for Jeremy Tyler and Charles Jenkins. They didn't, however, manage to get some help in the front-court which is where I would have liked to see them improve. They never really found a suitable replacement for Brandon Rush after he went down, and I can only imagine how better this team would be looking right now with him getting some of the minutes at the 3 spot. I mean, Harrison Barnes looks like a bright young rookie with big upside, and Draymond Green is a gamer, but those are young, green basketball players your going to be asking to carry big minutes down the stretch in the hunt for a playoff spot. Now I'm not exactly sure who was available that would have maybe fit that mold, but a few names that I was monitoring were Denver's Wilson Chandler or Cleveland's C.J. Miles. I was actually one of the ones who would have been for a deal for Rudy Gay had the Warriors and Grizzlies been able to work something out just because the 'Dubs looked poised to make at least a semi-serious run this year. I like Barnes, but you give me a Curry-Thompson-Gay-Lee-Bogut starting five and I'll take it any day!

Throughout all talk, the one move that was discussed the most regarding the Warriors, and one that was starting to gain some steam apparently was a potential Klay Thompson-Eric Gordon swap. Now, I know they sort of struck out on the Andrew Bogut deal thus far, and it would have been a huge, huge risk dealing away another young budding player for an injury-plauged potential superstar, but Eric Gordon has some kind of talent when he's on. True, had the deal been made, it would have given the Warriors another smallish back-court like when they had Ellis and Curry together, but Gordon's game would have fit much smoother with Curry's than Ellis' did. I think a big reason why the 'Dubs were considering dealing a younger, cheaper scorer like Thompson is because he and Curry really do much of the same thing for you. They both like to live on the perimeter and don't really create going to the hoop. Curry has gotten better at it, but Thompson is more one-dimensional on offense. Gordon would have given the Warriors another guy who's quick with the ball and can not only go to the hoop, but shoot the lights out when he's on. I really like Eric Gordon and would have been intrigued to see him and Steph together, but I certainly see the W's logic on passing with Gordon's injury past.

Also, for all you NCAA Hoops enthusiasts, we all know that March Madness is setting to heat up and is just around the corner. We'll be doing a lot of the Madness coverage over at our partner site, The Bay Area Sports Journal, but we figured we'd give you guys the heads up. Early on, it's tough to pick against Indiana, but if your looking to do any wagering on the games, be sure to check out Sports Lynx Betting Service!

WRD 2013 All-Star Picks

All-Star weekend couldn't have come at a better time for the Golden State Warriors, who started off the season on a tear, but have hit a bit of a road block here in February, losing 5 straight and causing some to wonder whether their first half was a mirage.

So, since we'll be doing a first half review as well as a look towards the second half in our next post, I wanted to use today's post to put together a list of the players that should have composed both the East and West rosters in the upcoming All-Star game.

Eastern Conference

Starters: 
PG Kyrie Irving, Cle. (Simply having best season of any PG from East)
SG Dwayne Wade, Mia. (May be last year as East's top 2-guard with Paul George on the rise)
SF LeBron James, Mia. ( At 27/8/7 per night, playing as well as he's played in his career)
PF Carmelo Anthony, NY (He's led NY's turnaround, and is a serious MVP candidate)
C Brook Lopez, Bkn. (Leading EC centers in scoring, and has become legit defender)

Reserves:
G/F Paul George, Ind. (17.6 points, 8 boards and 4 assists per night)
F/C Chris Bosh, Mia. (17.7 ppg/7.4 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 55% FG)
PG Jrue Holliday, Phi. (19/4/9, 1.5 spg)
SF Paul Pierce, Bos. (18.5/6.5/4.5
F/C Al Horford, Atl. (16/10/3, 54% FG)
G Brandon Jennings, Mil. (18.5 ppg, 6.5 apg, 2 spg)
F Josh Smith, ATL (17.4/8.6/4.1, 2 bpg)

Western Conference

Starters: 
PG Steph Curry, GSW (I'll take his scoring over CP3's assists in an AS game any day)
SG James Harden, Hou. (I like Kobe, but Harden has played the best 2-guard in the league)
SF Kevin Durrant, OKC (Leading league in scoring, probably first half's MVP)
PF LeMarcus Aldridge, Por. (Underrated star, having best year of any western PF)
C Dwight Howard, LA (I know his FT% is rancid, but he's still the premiere man in the middle)

Reserves: 
PG Chris Paul, LAC (Despite me picking Curry, Paul is still the West's all-around top PG)
SG Kobe Bryant, LAL (LA's struggling, but #24 is still at the top of his game) 
F/C Tim Duncan, SA (Minute-for-Minute, there still aren't many big men better)
PG Russell Westbrook, OKC (22 ppg, 8 apg and still not even close to his max potential) 
F David Lee, GS (Carried the W's front-court to a strong in 1st half w/o Bogut)
F/C Blake Griffin, LAC (One of the most explosive front-court guys in the NBA)
SF Danillo Galinari*, Den (Not quite Dirk Jr., but many similar skill-sets)
*Gallinari may be un-available do to illness

These lists were compiled by taking into account a players overall value from scoring and shooting percentage to blocks, steals and turnovers. These are the guys who have been playing the best basketball in both conferences, and we did not look once at the actual list of all-stars when creating this post. For example, Steph Curry didn't even make the team, but when comparing his overall numbers to those of Chris Paul's, he's edged out Paul in every category except assists and field goal percentage. Another thing about the All-Star game is the roster size. I'd like to see that number of reserves go from 7 up to 10 in order to get a couple more guys onto the roster as there are always about 4-5 guys who were plenty deserving that get left off (Curry this year is a prime example of just that)

Anyway, as a Warrior enthusiast, I am glad we finally got one in after all these years, as David Lee got the nod as one of the West's reserves. And as always, fell free to leave your feedback, snubs or even your lists if you'd like in our comments section.

Curry Outplays CP3, Again

After watching Monday nights game vs. the Clippers, and seeing Steph Curry just destroy Chris Paul and help lead the Warriors to victory, I got a nostalgic 2006 feeling all over again. That year the Warriors just kept winning big game after big game, and this year, that trend has started again.

The Dubs improved to 25-15 with the victory and have now made it through 1/2 of the '12/13 season with a firm grasp on 2nd place and stranglehold on one of the 8 playoff spots in the Western Conference. Most people looked at their start as a fluke that would even out by December, or January at the latest, but here we are, approaching the All-Star break, and the Warriors have the best record they've had in 2 decades. We saw the major reason why on Monday night too, and that being Step Curry. I know I've gushed about Curry as well as the roles David Lee and Klay Thompson have played in the Warriors terrific half, but the clear-cut team MVP is Steph Curry, and it's the significance of the games he's stepping up in that has me in awe. He's had Chris Paul's number all year, and I know CP wasn't quite 100% for this game, but seeing Curry lead this team like that against the top seeded team in the West for the third time in a row gave me a sense of reassurance that this team will be ready to answer the bell come playoff time. And that's with or without Andrew Bogut.

It was a perfect way to close out the first 40 games of the season, and hopefully will set the tone for the back half of their schedule. As good as they've looked in these big games, there is still room for improvement with this squad. First and foremost, of course, is Andrew Bogut. Mark Jackson has said that he's not counting on anything from anyone who's not with the team right now, whether it's a potential trade, or the return of Bogut, he's only counting on the guys he's got in uniform right now.  That said, Bogut has made strides toward a possible return over the last few weeks, as he's started sprinting and some on-court activities. He's still a ways away from practicing, but whispers of a return following the All-Star break are at least encouraging. Even if Bogut is only able to come back and contribute 20-25 minutes a game, it would be a welcome addition. The Warriors have done a tremendous job covering that vacancy, but they could use another big, useful body down in the paint that can guard other centers and give them a touch of low-post scoring. It's been incredible the Warriors have done this well without a consistent post-presence, but doing it in a best-of-7 series against a premiere team is a different story.

Curry, Lee Should Be All-Star Locks

Although their first half success without Andrew Bogut can be attributed to many factors, the Warriors aren't sitting at 22-10 at this point had it not been for Steph Curry and David Lee. One, if not both of those players should bring the Warriors all-star drought to an end.

The Warriors getting a player into the all-star game has been about as rare as them sneaking into the playoffs the last two decades, but this year they've got an excellent opportunity to do both. In one of the most impressive victories of the season to date, the Warriors took care of the first place LA Clippers at the Oracle, and made it look quite easy. Steph Curry outplayed Chris Paul, putting up a 31/6/8 line to Paul's 23/4/6. Meanwhile, David Lee went up against Blake Griffin and absolutely dominated the youngster. Lee pitched in 24 points, 13 boards and 7 assists while Griffin managed a pedestrian 10 points and 6 boards as Lee held him to just 2-11 shooting. One could make an argument for both Paul and Griffin to each be starters in the upcoming All-Star game this February, but if that's the case, where does that put Lee and Curry? Those two helped pace the Dubs throughout the night and lead them to a 115-94 beat down on their SoCal rivals and the hottest team in the league. It's a shame the Warriors still aren't being noticed on a national level and so far Curry and Lee have gotten no love in fan voting.

Now, next up, the 'Dubs get a rematch with the Clippers as they head down to the Staples Center for what I'm expecting to be a much cleaner game played by Los Angeles. I don't expect this one to be a 20-point blowout either way, and I'm expecting a rebound performance out of Blake Griffin. This is going to be a good test for the Dubs though, as they'll be getting the same, clear-cut playoff team in back-to-back games. Good teams like the Clippers will make adjustments and aren't going to be nearly as easy to beat the second time around. What the Warriors have to do is just keep up their tight defense and continue to let their offense come out build off that. That's what's made this team so special this season, the complete 180 turn they've taken on defense, despite being without their premiere defending center, thanks in large part to the play of rookie Festus Ezeli. He's not giving much offense, but he's allowed this team to keep it's defensive mentality strong in the middle without Bogut, the guy they were building their defense around. Ezeli had a nice defensive night against DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin Thursday, and if he can do it again Saturday, the W's will be in good shape.