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DARE TO DREAM: "Critics can talk all they want, but we're goin 'to the playoffs," says Jax (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)..
Warriors, come out and play
How can they be so bad one game and so good the next?
That's the question I asked myself after watching the Golden State Warriors take apart Phoenix at Oracle Arena on Thursday night in a game Golden State desperately needed to win to stay in the playoff hunt.
Three days after being booed off the floor by the home crowd in a 37-point loss to San Antonio, the Warriors looked unbeatable against the Suns. They exploded out of the gates for 45 first-quarter points, continued their blistering pace for two quarters and then withstood a late Phoenix rally to win 124-119. The victory pulled Golden State within one game of the Clippers for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoff race.
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If you were at the game – or watching it on TV – you had to wonder why the Warriors can't play that way more often. They are a very talented team with the kind of versatile, athletic players Don Nelson loves. They have a terrific point guard in Baron Davis, who is one of the most difficult players to defend in the NBA. They are capable of playing an attacking, ball-hawking defense. (The Warriors lead the NBA in steals and are third in blocked shots.) And they play in front of one of the most loyal fan bases in the league – a knowledgeable, rowdy bunch that is desperate to see its team make the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.
Golden State also has one of the game's best tacticians in Nelson, who made the key strategic move in Thursday's game by benching regular starter Andris Biedrins in favor of Monta Ellis. The move was classic Nellie. When in doubt, go small. And when further in doubt, go smaller. The Warriors' lineup was straight out of the old 6-foot-5 and under league, and it allowed the team to basically "out Phoenix" the Suns. Golden State was quicker, faster and more explosive than the league's highest-scoring team, and it was in control from the outset.
So why can't the Warriors do that to more teams? Granted, Phoenix plays the frenetic style Golden State loves, so the Warriors were in their element Thursday. But with the talent Nelson has and his ability to manipulate lineups and expose matchups, one would think that Golden State would be better than its 34-39 record.
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The issue is consistency. The Warriors have been up and down all season, partly due to the midseason trade that brought Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington to the Bay Area in January. It's difficult to manage a major personnel change on the fly, and it has taken some time for Golden State to jell after the shakeup. The Warriors lost 14 of their first 21 games after the trade, and Nelson was so dispirited after a blowout loss in Chicago in late February that he essentially threw in the towel.
That comment came during the three-week span that Davis was out with a knee injury, which explains a lot of Golden State's disjointed play this season. The injury-prone Davis has missed 19 games with various ailments, and his backcourt mate Jason Richardson has missed 32 due to injuries of his own.
With both guys healthy now – and with Jackson and Harrington comfortably in place – perhaps Nellie will eat his words (gladly, of course.) The Warriors are playing their best ball of the season and have won eight of their last 12 games. Their play – other than in the Spurs' debacle on Monday – has been much more consistent. They're taking care of the ball and actually rebounding well, something they haven't done all year (they are dead last in the NBA in rebounding margin). And Golden State's athletic personnel are creating mismatches all over the floor.
NAJBOLJE NOĆAŠNJE AKCIJE (01/04/07) - on the rise: Tyson/Tyrus, prošlost i budućnost Chicago Bullsa..
If the Warriors can finish the season's final nine games playing the way they've been playing of late, they've got a chance to catch the Clippers and make the playoffs for the first time since 1994.
The question is, which Warriors team is going to show up down the stretch?
By Steve Kerr
Yahoo! Sports
Post je objavljen 01.04.2007. u 09:58 sati.