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Upcoming Warriors home games
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Warriors get busted by Utah The good smell from last year's playoffs run quickly turned bad and the packed stadium at the start of the contest was half empty by the middle of the 4th quarter. The Warriors got ran off their home court 117-96 by the Utah Jazz. It was a far cry from the close tense playoff games the two teams engaged in last season. Golden St. found out one thing for sure in their season opening loss. They need to get bigger and better on the inside. The Jazz trio of big men, Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap were too much for the undersized Warriors. Head coach Don Nelson has really opened up the flood gates with his small ball, or "Nellie Ball", whatever you want to call it. He started the 6'5" Mickael Pietrus at power forward. He did not know what to do with Boozer. Carlos burned the Warriors for 35pts and 15-rebounds. Millsap (16pts) and Brewer (18pts) had a dunk fest as nobody from Golden St. stepped up in the paint on defense. Baron Davis did his usual thing, putting up 25pts and dishing out 10-assits, but Golden St could not keep up with the Jazz. Utah took control of the game with an 18-2 run in the second quarter that was fueled by a 10-0 run. the Warriors tried to make a game out of it in the third quarter, cutting the Utah lead to just six, but the Jazz answered with a 17-7 run to close out the quarter and the fans began heading towards the exits and into the night. Golden St. had five players score in double figures. Besides Davis Pietrus and Monta Ellis had 17pts, Kelenna Azubuike had 11pts and Al Harrington chipped in with 10 off the bench. First round draft pick Marco Belinelli hit his first two shots of his career, both three's, and he finished with six points in the game. Jazz point guard Deron Williams picked up where he left off last year by burning GSW for eight of his 25pts to help stop Golden St's rally in the third. It does not get any easier for the Warriors. They host Cleveland, Dallas and Detroit in their next three games. All three of those teams won 50-games last year and the Warriors could have a hole to climb out of if they don't watch out. Golden St. played the game without swingman Stephen Jackson who had to sit out the first seven games of the year because of a suspension. A game against the Los Angeles Clippers Nov. 16th will end a four game home stand to start the season. The Warriors will then head out and play six of their next eight on the road.
Golden St. shakes things up at the 2007 NBA Draft The Warriors continue to change right before our eyes. This time last year the Warriors were mired in a salary cap mess with a team full of over paid, under achieving players. Jason Richardson is now a member of the Charlotte Bobcats after a draft day deal sent the six year guard to Charlotte for 2007 first round pick Brandon Wright out of North Carolina. Golden St. used their own pick, #18, to draft Marco Belinelli from Italy. Marco is a young vet, just 21 and he has already played a few season's in the pro league over in Italy. Marco should fit right in with Nellie ball. The 6'5"guard can drive to the basket and shoot the three. The one question people have about him is does he have the strength to take the 82-plus game grind that is a NBA season. The same thing has been said about Wright, just one year removed from high school and now in the NBA. He is 6'8" and on the thin side, but he showed last year at North Carolina that he is a player that can do a lot of things with the ball. It remains to be seen if either can score like J-Rich who improved every year since getting drafted out of Michigan St back in 2001. That was one of the best drafts in Warrior history were they drafted Gilbert Arenas in the second round of that draft after selecting J-Rich with the fifth pick of the first round. Jason Richardson was a class act, holding down the fort on some pretty bad Warriors teams. His stats across the board improved each year he was in the league until last year's injuries held him back. If healthy I am sure Michael Jordan will help J-Rich get the most out of his ability. Richardson is a winner having won a state title in high school and a NCAA Championship at MSU. It has not been smooth sailing so far in the 2007-08 season. Young guard Monte Ellis hurt his neck and had to be taken to the hospital the first week of the pre season, but he his fine and should be ready for the regular season. Golden St. is glad to see that 2006 first round pick, center Patrick O'Brien has improved a lot since his rookie year. O'Brien spent his rookie year in the NBA in the D-League. Now in his second year in the NBA he has won a spot on Nellie's team. Golden St. needs him to be a rebounding big man who can clog up the lane on defense and score. He was a first round pick in the draft. Kelenna Azubuike has been the star of the pre season for Golden St Given the starting off guard spot in pre season, Azubuike has shined giving head coach Don Nelson something he did not know that he would have to start the season, a starting off guard. He knew the teams weakness in the wake of the J-Rich trade would be getting big points out of the two guard spot. That is a big position in a Nellie run offense. He has also had good off guards. The Suns look like they will repeat as champions of the Western Conference, but after that it is up for grabs. Golden St finished tied with the Lakers for second place in the west last year. The Los Angeles Clippers were on their way last year until injuries to their point guard Shawn Livingston slowed their roll. They also lost forward Elton Brand to a ruptured left Achilles' tendon. Brand was just working out during the off season when he got hurt. That will big a major blow to the Clippers hopes who have to get by without their best player until the first part of 2008. The Clippers will try to replace the 20pts and nine rebounds a game that Brand averaged. Sam Cassell, Corey Maggette and Cuttino Mobley will have to step up their game. LA did do themselves a favor by drafting Al Thorton out of Florida St. The 6'8" forward has played well so far in the pre season. Thorton scored 24pts in the Clippers 99-89 win over the Warriors last week. It was LA's first win, improving to 1-2. Thorton made his first eight shots of the game and he had 18 of those points in the second quarter. The Clippers finished 40-42 and they finished the regular season 5-5. They could not keep up with Golden St., who went 9-1 over the last ten games of the regular season to snatch away the last playoff spot from the Clippers. Sacramento finished 33-49 in 2006-07. The Kings still have a pretty good nucleus of players in point guard Mike Bibby, small forward Ron Artest and forward Shareef Abdul-Rahim. Two guard Kevin Martin emerged as a go to threat for the Kings last season. Martin, in his third year out of Western Carolina has improved his scoring average for 2pts and game in rookie year to 20pts a game last season. He went from 2 to 10 to 20 and he looks like he is still getting better. Center's Mikki Moore and Brad Miller will man the middle for the Kings in 2007-08. Sac went big in the 2007 NBA Draft, selecting canter Spencer Hawes out of Washington. Hawes had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Wednesday, possibly putting an end to his season. Shareef also had surgery on his right knee and he will not be available for a month. If Shareef can bounce back fast he will give the Kings another scoring option in the run and gun Western Conference. It boosts two of the highest scoring teams in the League, Golden St. and Phoenix, and not very many solid big men. They are all hurt, or so it seems. Amare Stoudemire in Phoenix, Brand with the Clippers and Sac's first rounder Hawes.
GSW is one win away It can be the hardest one to get. I do not care if you are playing tennis, baseball, football, golf or whatever, getting that last out, run, hit, touchdown or win can be the hardest thing in sports. Having it so close, but yet so far can be the most frustrating thing there is. That is where the Golden St. Warriors are right now. Coming into the series the Warriors stressed the fact the Dallas had the best record in the league all year and what they did to them in the regular season meant nothing in the playoffs. Well guess what. It means a lot more then they thought. Or was that just a ploy to to give the Mav's a since of false security. Get them to relax thinking they could turn it on at anytime to beat the Warriors and advance to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. They had better think again. Each game a different Warrior has stepped up to help Baron Davis lead the way for a Warriors win. This time that player was swingman Mickael Pietrus doing his thing against Dallas. The Warriors even came from behind in the fourth quarter. That is not something that happens to the better team, playing for their playoff lives. After all that had happened in the series, a Dallas win in game four would have made it a best out of three series with two of the games being played in Big D. "I was very proud to be a part of this game tonight either way, win or lose. I know everyone thinks we are in control but we don't feel that way. We expect a long series. We feel good about our position and we have a great deal of respect for the Dallas Mavericks with what they did this year. If any team can come back from this, it's them." said head coach Don Nelson after game four. Now the Mav's have their backs against the wall trying not to get ousted in the first round of the playoffs. If the Warriors close them out both teams from last years NBA Finals will be out of the playoffs in round one. Miami was rudely swept away by the young and hungry Chicago Bulls in four games. Dallas head coach Avery Johnson does not know what to do with his team that won 67-games during the regular season. It was one of the best seasons in NBA history and it could turn into a disaster if they lose one more game to the Warriors. "I don't think we played our best possible basketball that we can play. We had 19 turnovers that they turned into 33 points. We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball. We mixed up our defense and had good phases but we got jump shot happy towards the end. The only thing we are thinking about right now is winning our home game." said Johnson after the game four loss. As long as Baron Davis in on the court, Dallas has no answer for GSW. Davis breaks down the defense of Dallas so much that somebody seems to always be open when Baron penetrates to the basket. "As long as we believe in ourselves, we will be alright. Knowing we were up 2-1 we had some gloss in our eyes. We were a little rattled in the beginning, and coach just told me to be dominant. I felt like I could carry the load in the 1st half. In the 2nd half they doubled teamed me a lot and I just had to be patient with my teammates. We were able to force them to take shots late in the shot clock." said Baron after the game. Davis led the way with 33pts and eight rebounds. Jason Richardson scored 22pts, but it was the play of Pietrus that help get the crowd and the Warriors back into the game. Pietrus only scored 16 points, but they came at a time when the Mav's tried to take control of the game. "The guy who won the game for us was Mickael Pietrus. I thought his effort, not just scoring, but defensively and rebounding wise, he went out and hustled and was able to score some points. He got the game ball tonight. Fantastic game by Pietrus. He is the kind of guy who can miss eight-straight shots, then make the next eight. This is the most fun I have ever had coaching a team." said Nelson about Pietrus's effort in game four. Golden St. does not want to let Dallas even think for one second that they have a chance to win the series anymore. The Warriors want to put them away in Dallas and not wait to they get back to Oakland so they can win it in front of the home fans. Dirk Nowitzki, The Mav's best player, stated Saturday before game four that a Mav's loss would spell doom for Dallas. The Warriors hope he is right. Welcome Back It had been 13 very long years and you could feel it in the air. Playoff basketball was back in Oakland at the now called Oracle Arena. The Golden St. Warriors shook off their game two meltdown in Dallas to pound the Mav's 109-91 in game three of the Western Conference playoffs. The victory gave GSW a 2-1 series lead and it reaffirmed the advantage they have over Dallas. As a whole, with Baron Davis healthy, Golden St guards are better then the mav's group of guards and small forwards. Dallas does not have the talent on the offensive end to exploit the Warriors lack of size in the post. When Baron can get some help like he did in game three when Jason Richardson entertained the home crowd with 30pts and eight rebounds on 12 of 19 shooting. The whole Warriors team pitched in on this one. All five starters scored in double figures. Davis scored 24, Stephen Jackson 16 and Monta Ellis chipped in with 14. Oakland showed much they love their basketball. A California record 20,629 fans packed their way into the arena to watch the game. J-Rich and Andrins Biedrins got GSW off to fast start. J-Rich had 17pts early in the second quarter as the Warriors jumped out to a 61-48 half time lead. It was the Warriors defense that paved the way for the win. GSW held Dallas to .388% from the field. Whenever you can hold somebody under .400% you give yourself a great chance of winning the game. Combine that with the fact that GSW shoot almost 50% (.481) you have the receipt for a victory. Sometimes a a big lead can spell disaster in sports. The Warriors played well with the lead. never allowing the Mav's to get within striking distance. Dallas got 20pts apiece from Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard but the rest of the squad shot 16 of 47. Biedrins was a big part of that. His post defense affected the way Dallas shot the ball down low. He scored ten points and pulled down ten rebounds and his energy help fuel the team. The Warriors have a long ways to go but they are playing like the team that won 67 games this season, not the 42 that they won. Coming into the playoff series the team and their head coach played down the perfect 3-0 season GSW enjoyed over Dallas, but after Friday night's blowout who are they kidding. If the Warriors do not feel like the better team by now then they are in trouble. Confidence is a must in anything you do and the way GSW has done the Mav's this year the series is the Warriors to lose.
GSW gets split in Dallas The Warriors followed up their game one victory in the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs with a meltdown loss in game two. A close game game in the first half turned ugly in the 3rd quarter when first Baron Davis got ejected for clapping and in the fourth when Stephen Jackson was run for "Cheesing" What is 'Cheesing?" It is when someone laughs or smiles in a mocking manner. Those two events put the finishing touches on a 112-99 Mav's win that evened up the series at one game apiece and broke the spell that Golden St. enjoyed over Dallas since head coach Avery Johnson took over. The Warriors had won six games in a row, including all four played this year until Weds day night. Jason Terry (28pts) Josh Howard (22pts, 11-rebounds) and Dirk Nowitzki (22pts, seven rebounds) led the way for Dallas. Golden St. was out of sync all night. They had 24 turnovers and only nine assists which was why they lost more then anything else. Dallas has improved on the defensive end the past two years and you can bet they came out with something to prove after losing game one. Baron Davis was not having a great game by his standards, but his ejection in the last second of the third quarter was un called for. It was a case of I will show you when he got tossed. Upset over a foul call, Davis had a big grin in his face while clapping loudly on the court. The ref's asked him to stop and Baron kept on clapping. That was enough to send him to an early showers effectively ending any hopes of a Warriors win in game two. It was a 15-2 run midway through the third quarter that turned a 58-56 Warriors lead upside down and the Mav's never looked back. Monta Ellis got GSW off on a good foot in game two with 13 first quarter points on five of six shooting. Stephen Jackson led the Warriors with a game high 30pts but Jason Richardson (14pts, 10-rebounds) and Baron Davis (13pts, two assists and six turnovers) did not have good games. The Warriors need Baron to play well to have a chance to win. He is the X factor.When Davis is healthy there is nobody on the Mav's who can guard him. Golden St will have to control their emotions if they want to advance past the first round of the 2007 playoffs.
Warriors open post season in Big D Golden St, flush with pride after breaking their NBA high 13-year playoff drought knew what was staring them in the face. A seven game series with Dallas, the team with the most wins during the 2006-07 season. Not only were the Warriors the only team to have a winning record against the Mav's, but the Warriors won all four games they played this year. No way GSW was coming in under the radar in this season. Golden St. came in the to the playoffs on a 16-5 run. In game one both teams sputtered out to a 38 all tie at the half. Baron Davis tried his best to take the game over in the third quarter scoring 19pts to help turn a five point Dallas lead into a six point Warriors at the end of three periods. "Stephen Jackson carried us in the first half. I knew I had to do something in the second half to get us going. We are a good team and we showed that tonight. Jason Richardson and Matt Barnes hit some big shots and we played great D." said a happy Baron Davis after having his way with Dallas to the tune of 33pts, 14-rebounds and eight assists. Dallas stayed in the game on the boards, out rebounding Golden St. Stephen Jackson hit a three to make it 75-68 Warriors with 10:30 left in the game. It was the Warriors 7th three of the game. The Mav's quickly closed the gap to 76-74 before Jason Richardson turned his sixth rebound into a put back basket for a 78-74 lead. Golden St did a great job of containing Mav's forward Dirk Nowitzki. He was just 4 of 14 midway through the 4th quarter. Every time he touched the ball there were at least two people swatting at the ball. Dirk could not get any room out on the wing were he likes to use his size and quickness to get off his fade away jumper. The Warrior's Matt Barnes came away with a huge offensive rebound that led to a J-Rich lay up and a 84-79 Warrior's lead. Stephen Jackson hit a three with 3:19 left to give the Warrior's their biggest lead of the game, 87-79. It was part of a seven zip run that saw the Mav's go scoreless more then five minutes. It some of the best defense the Warrior's have played all season and they did it when the team needed it the most. J-Rich had a big block off a sure lay up by Devin Harris turned into a Barnes bucket and a 92-81 Warrior's lead with two minutes to play in the game. Baron Davis put the game away with a three to give GSW a 97-83 lead with a minute to play. Davis and Jackson combined for 56pts and the team held Dallas to just 37% from the field. "I am a happy man. It's just one game and it looks like it will be a long series. I do not have any secrets. I play eight guys and we do what we do. It is good to get this first one." said head coach Don Nelson after the game. GSW seems to have the Mav's number in Dallas. This was the fifth straight win in Dallas for the Warrior's.
GSW continues to push for playoffs Faced with playing against some of the best teams in the NBA down the stretch while trying to overcome the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth and final playoff spot, the Warriors are on the verge of climbing past the Los Angeles Lakers and into the seventh playoff spot in the west after knocking off the Sacramento Kings 125-108 Friday night in Sacramento. The win kept Golden St. a game ahead of the Clippers, who also won Friday night. Golden St. got 26pts from Stephen Jackson and 25 from a banged up Baron Davis in the victory. This win was fueled by a red hot second quarter in which GSW scorched the nets for 42pts to open up a 74-53 half time lead. The Warriors have been doing it with defense as well. Second year pro Monta Ellis and Baron Davis combined for 9-steals and the Warriors had 11 as a team. GSW played perhaps their best first half of the season. The third quarter was gut check time for the Warriors. Sac made up all but seven points of the Warriors lead in the 3rd period. Golden St scored 26pts in the third, but they gave up 40. Missed shots lead to frustration on the defensive end and that's what happened. The result was GSW started to hack which led to the King's going to the line. A few free throws made later the Kings got hot. The Warriors put Sac in the bonus with 7:32 left in the third quarter. Any foul after that put Sac on the line while stopping the clock. Slowing the game down was Sac's only chance and they got what they needed. The Kings took 18 free throws in the third quarter, making 16 of them. Sacramento picked up their defense, holding GSW to just 10 of 27 from the field in the third. It looked like the game could be slipping away, but a missed dunk by Sac's Francisco Garcia at the start of the fourth started a cold spell for the King's. Golden St. went on a 8-0 run before Kevin Martin hit a three to make it a 108-95 Warriors lead and GSW were on their way to a win. Baron Davis picked this time to show the few thousand Warriors fans in attendance up in Sac and those watching on TV why he is the franchise player in Oakland. Davis put the game away with a step back three in the corner over two players to making 113-95 with six and half minutes left in the game. Davis answered a King's basket by making steal's on the next two times the King's had the ball. A lay up and two free throws later was followed by a Jackson three and it was 117-97 Warriors. "He is our leader. When he goes we go. He set the tempo and we follow" said Jackson after the game.
J-Rich to play after missing 22-games It has been a long year for Jason Richardson. He started out the year missing much of training camp and starting the season hurting. He played hurt much of last season, but he was too tough to take himself out of the line up. Jason is paying for it in 2006-07. Baron could be back in the line up next week after surgery on his knee three weeks ago
That stretch was highlighted by a Warriors 111-102 win over the Spurs Nov. 27th. in which Jason scored 26-points. The Warriors were 9-6 at the time and it looked like the knee injury that had kept Richardson out of the line up through training camp had heeled. Richardson was not ready and after back to back games in which he scored a combined eight points, he was put back on the shelf for the next eight games. Jason made another go of it for seven more games before breaking his hand against Sacramento Dec. 30th. You could tell that J-Rich was not right before breaking his hand. He shot better then 50% just once (a 1 for 2 shooting night) in the seven games before hurting his hand. If he can stay healthy, J-Rich in the line up will give head coach Don Nelson another weapon that he can use to wreak havoc on opposing defenses. The Warriors are second in the league in scoring (105.9) a game a full five points behind Phoenix. Golden State looks up to nobody when it come to giving up points. They led the association by allowing 107.5-points a game. That is not going to get it done. Despite being four games under 500 (25-29) Golden State sits just a game and a half out of the last playoff spot being held down by the 25-27 Minnesota Timberwolves. A little defense will go a long ways for Golden State if they plan on ending the leagues longest playoff drought. Golden State is just hoping to put their 1st string on the court, something they have not been able to do all season. Point guard Baron Davis is looking to return in a few games as well, maybe as early as this weekend when they play at LA against the Clippers Saturday night and at home Sunday against the Lakers. The Warriors have won back to back games only once since they knocked off Boston and Philly Dec. 26th and 29th. Richardson got hurt the next game and Golden St. enjoyed a two game win streak against the Nets and Hornets Jan. 24th and 27th. Other then that it has been one win and a couple of losses for the Warriors. They need to put together some small winning streaks. The Timberwolves are not running away with the last playoff spot. Six of Golden St's next seven games are on the road and their fans will have a better idea about the Warriors playoff chances after the trip that will take them through LA, Milwaukee, Chicago, New York, Washington and finally Detroit. It will be a tough trip, but if J-Rich and Baron Davis come back ready to roll and they get on the same page with Al Harrington, Monte Ellis and Stephen Jackson it could be quite a show when Golden St. hits town. GSW pulls the trigger on block buster deal It is not often that a team with the longest playoff drought catches the attention the of entire NBA, but that is just what the Golden State Warriors did when their GM Chris Mullin pulled the trigger on a eight playing deal with the Indiana Pacers. Out went swing man Mike Dunleavy, power forward Troy Murphy, still owed a combined 83-million over the next four and a half years. They were the principles in the trade in exchange for forward Al Harrington, swing man Stephen Jackson, point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius and forward Josh Powell. Golden St. also gave up guard Keith McCloud and promising young big man Ike Diogu, who Pacers GM Larry Bird raves about. His development seems to be the key to Bird making the deal. The pacers sit seventh in the eastern Conference playoff race, but they have been treading water the whole season. They sit just a game and a half ahead of the hard charging defending world champion Miami heat, who have won four of their last five and they are looking to get center Shaquille O'Neal back next week after the big man missed the last 32-games with a knee injury. Indiana is lucky to play in the East where their 20-19 record puts them just 3.5-games behind the conference leading Cleveland Cavaliers who seem to be taking that next step behind their all world swing man LeBron James. The East is so bad the Toronto is 19-21, but they lead the Atlantic division and they hold down the fourth seed in the East. Golden St. has the same 19-21 record, but that is only good for ninth place in the West. A 4-6 stretch over the Warriors last ten games has seen the team fall out of the eighth and final playoff spot behind Denver and Minnesota . The Timberwolves have been hot lately, winning 7 out of their last 10 games. Mullin must have seen the writing on the wall and he did not want Golden State to fall back into a pattern the Warriors and their fans know all too well. The Warriors invested a lot of money in a group of core players that included Murphy, Dunleavy, Jason Richardson and center Adonal Foyle two years ago. Realizing his mistake, Mullin did a good job of selling the upside of Murphy and Dunleavy, Diogu was wanted in Indy and McCloud was just a throw in to make the deal work, money wise. Mullin went after Harrington last season, but Al resigned with the Pacers. Now Warriors head coach has two more pieces to his kind of puzzle. Harrington and Jackson can play the up-tempo style that Coach Nelson likes to run and they are versatile enough to mix and match with different players as Nellie see's fit.
Bottom falls out in Texas As bad as the loss to the Buck was, nothing could compare Golden State for the drubbing they took at the hands of San Antonio and Houston. The Warriors were out of both games midway through the first quarter. Head coach Don Nelson is one win away from 1,200 and it looked like the team did not want him to get that victory in Texas. Golden State's fast start raised the stakes and now when teams play them, especially a team like the Spurs who the Warriors beat this season, hard. Losing at San Antonio and Houston is not that bad. They are two of the best teams in the Western Conference, but the way Golden State lost was disturbing. The ex cues about needing time to gel are getting thrown around, but this team has been together long enough now to adjust to what coach Nelson is trying to teach them. The Players looking forward to Nellie's tutelage Commanding respect can be the difference between winning and losing in the NBA. The Warriors know a lot about losing, failing to make the playoffs for a league high 12 years now.
Nelson is also the coach that gets some credit for setting Golden State on their current playoff drought when he clashed with star power forward Chris Webber. Webber got traded and the Warriors have never been the same. Golden State has the same kind of make up that coach Nelson flourished with back in the late 80's with Run TMC. That group featured Tim Hardaway at point guard, Mitch Richmond at the off guard and Chris Mullin at the small forward. The trio averaged over 20pts a game for a few years in a row and they made the playoffs year after year. Warriors Baron Davis and Jason Richardson make up Hardaway and Richmond, but where they will get Mullin's numbers from remains to be seen. This is not 1989. It is 2006 and Nelson will have to work with what he has. If healthy, Golden State can run with anybody. Their 2006 first round pick Patrick O Brian has already broken his foot and second year pro Chris Taft has a bad back, but other then that, GSW is healthy. Staying that way through out the season will make Nellie's job a whole lot easier. One more thing that will help Nellie was the teams work ethic during the past off season. To a man, each player spent the summer working on parts of their game, trying to get better. J-Rich worked on his ball handling, Ike Diogu practiced on his outside game, wanting to become better players. Mike Dunleavy worked on his outside shooting and his defense knowing it will help him match up with players anywhere from a guard to a forward. "I have to be able to match up with players at three and sometimes four different position on the court and being able to guard each one of them takes hard work. I worked on the this off-season. Getting stronger." said Dunleavy. Shooting guard Jason Richardson is one of the hardest working players in the league. He has improved his stats across the board every year in the league. "I worked hard on my dribbling and free throw shooting this summer. If you can dribble the ball it will open up all kind of things on the court. The key is keeping you dribble after you get past the first man and being able to take it strong to the basket. That leads to getting fouled and going to the free throw line. I need to shoot better from the line. I took a lot of free throws over the summer trying to improve that part of my game." said J-Rich after practice. After a 12-6 start in 2005-06, the Warriors fell into the basement and never looked up. Now there is a light at the end of the tunnel with coach Nelson back on board.
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Inside Sports 1st String Magazine All Rights Reserved 2000-06 |
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His year so far has amounted to a week and a half span between Nov. 11th and Nov. 27th when he scored in double figures in nine games in a row.
Don Nelson comes aboard being the last Warriors coach to lead Golden State in the post season. 
