Warriors drop home opener to Hornets, 108-103

Opening night wasn’t supposed to be this close.

After all, without Baron, Monta, a banged-up C.J., an unhappy Al and the youngest squad in the league, the Warriors would be lucky to hang with the 2nd best team in the Western Conference by most accounts.

But close enough isn’t enough to get a win, and without a real closer in crunch time, this game could be an indicator of things to come.

There is a lot of fight in this year’s team. That’s one thing we uncovered in the Dubs 108-103 loss to New Orleans at the Oracle. Now if only they can get their offense in gear, they could surprise some people.

The Warriors were paced by Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette, both of whom will have to have big starts to this season if the Warriors are to going to stem the tide before Monta returns. Jack played all 48 minutes, but tired out in the 4th and ended up with 26 points, knocking down five treys.

Corey scored 27 and showed why the Dubs will have an inside game this year, getting to the line 10 times (knocking down 9 of them).

Unfortunately, the turning point of this closely contested game was when Andris fouled out with three minutes to play. ‘Dre played well, scoring 14 and grabbing 12 boards. But once he was gone, the Hornets kept scoring and outrebounding the Dubs down the stretch. Add a few critical Warriors miscues on their final possessions to the mix, and GSW is now 0-1. Chris Paul had a quiet 21 & 11, but made his presence felt when it counted, scoring twice with under a minute to play.

A hard fought game, but one that a more seasoned Warriors squad would’ve likely put away. Whether that seasoning take place during this season remains to be seen.

exclusive player audio

Al Harrington
Corey Maggette
Kelenna Azubuike
Stephen Jackson