Warriors Motor Through Detroit

One night after arguably the most disappointing loss on the season, the Warriors showed what they look like at full strength. Golden State (27-35) rolled over Detroit (37-21) 111-93, in what turned out to be the first time the Warriors had Jason Richardson and Baron Davis on the court at the same time in months.

It was also the first time since the trade that the Warriors were able to showcase their newly acquired talent (Steven Jackson and Al Harrington) along with Richardson and Davis.

The Warriors began the game sluggish, which was expected since they were on the tail end of a 5-game East Coast road trip. The Warriors trailed by 8 points early in the first quarter, but hustled back to cut the deficit to 2 points at the end of one. Then, in a possible preview of what's to come next season, Golden State decided enough was enough. They outscored Detroit 35-27 in the second quarter to establish an 6 point halftime lead. But if you've watched the Warriors consistently this season, you know a half time lead is anything but safe, especially against a team like the Pistons. But this was a different Warriors team than we've seen in the past. The Warriors came out strong and didn't seem to be affected by what happened the night earlier in Washington. They outscored Detroit 27-16 in the third quarter to build a commanding 17 point lead heading into the fourth quarter. They cruised out to a 26 point lead midway through the fourth quarter and beat Detroit by 18.

Baron Davis played for the first time in 13 games and scored 15 points, but it was Jason Richardson who carried the Warriors with 29 points in 37 minutes. Al Harrington finished the game with 16 points and was the game leader with 10 rebounds along with Andris Biedrins, who also contributed 12 points.

The Warriors were not to be taken lightly this night; not after the devastating loss they suffered the night before against the Wizards. Leading by 2 points with about 10 seconds left in the game, the Warriors were in good shape to steal a game on the road, which have been hard to come by (7-25 away record). Gilbert Arenas drove to the basket and seemed to have released the ball after the clock was at 0.0 seconds but the referees reviewed the play and decided that Arenas was fouled with 0.1 seconds left in the game. Don Nelson was infuriated with the call and according to the Associated Press, dropped the F-bomb when shouting at the referee. The referee had no part of it, and gave Nelly a Technical to give Arenas a chance to win the game with 3 free throws. Arenas nailed all 3 free throws and buried the Warriors into last place in the Pacific Division.

Rather than folding and ending their 13 consecutive season without a playoff appearance (longest in the NBA), the Warriors came to play in Detroit with a new found energy and determination. The last time the Warriors faced the Pistons was earlier this season, in Oakland, where the Warriors also cruised to a double digit victory.

Splog's Note
The Warriors are now in last place in the Pacific Division, trailing the Clippers and Denver by 3.5 games for the 7th and 8th seeds. Golden State is behind three other teams (Hornets, Kings and Timberwolves) to reach the 8th seed in the Western Conference, but it seems time is running out. At least with a healthy squad it should be an exciting finish to the season.

Will The Real Warriors Team Please Stand Up?

On occasion, the Golden State Warriors look like a team well capable of sneaking into the playoffs as high as the number 6 seed in the Western Conference. Other times, it seems the Warriors aren't even capable of beating a Varsity high school squad. Which team is going to show up each night?

At 21-25 the Warriors have no consistency. They are a mediocre team, but in todays NBA Playoff picture, a team well below the .500 mark can easily sneak into the playoffs. They have some big wins in the season: They beat Dallas, in Dallas, 107-104; destroyed Detroit 111-79, beat Utah 91-78; they even beat San Antonio at home 111-102; they have also beaten Houston, New Jersey and Orlando...all playoff teams. But as nice as some of those wins seem, they have also blown some very winnable games. They have been beaten by bottom feeders in both the Western and Leastern Conferences. Some losses include: Milwaukee, Seattle, Sacramento, Memphis, and Atlanta. Everyone of those teams have records well below .500 and are beatable teams.

They recently pulled off one of the largest trades this season. They brought Steven Jackson and Al Harrington over from Indiana for Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy (also Ike Diagu and Kieth McCloud). It is expected that they will take a little time to mesh and start playing playoff caliber basketball.

I was at the game on Saturday night against Charlotte. The Bobcats were coming off of a huge win in LA against the Lakers and I fully expected them to bring it to the Warriors. I even put a bet on the Bobcats to cover the spread at +12 with a buddy of mine from KNBR. The wager was that if the Bobcats covered the spread, my buddy would have to wear all Giants gear at a Giants game (he is a huge A's fan, but hates the Giants). If the Warriors covered the spread, then I would have to wear A's gear to an A's game (I hate the A's) but that night the Warriors looked unstoppable against Charlotte in a blowout. Then last night I bet on the Warriors to beat the Atlanta Hawks, which is one of the worst teams in the league, and they looked like chumps.

So which team is going to show up? The team that dismantled a bad team like Charlotte, or a team that gets dominated by over 20 points like Atlanta did the other night? If they want to end one of the longest playoff droughts in NBA history the Warriors, especially GM Chris Mullin, better hope they start playing like they did on Saturday night.