Archive for the ‘Episode Notes’ Category

“It’s just like last year — it’s just that we have a better record this year, but we’re still fighting to get in the playoffs like last year,” said Stephen Jackson.

Jack knows it, as do Nellie, Baron and the whole crew. The Warriors are in for a fight to the end and losses like this one will not help their cause. The Spurs played as they typically do against the Dubs, and thus for 20th straight time in San Antonio, the Warriors walked out with a loss.

Baron had 19 to pace the Warriors, but Jack and Monta were off and that spelled doom for GSW’s hope for a sweep of the Texas two-step. With eight games to play in what has been a terrific season, the Warriors are still on the outside looking in - ninth place in the Western Conference.

While the Warriors’ big three were held in check, the same could not be said of the Spurs’ big dogs. Tony Parker dropped home 26 points, Timmmmy added 17 & 12 rebounds, while Manu the Flopper scored 16.

Adding insult to injury, the Spurs stifled GSW’s streak of having scored 100 or more points in 37 straight games. A stinging loss at a crucial time. We’ll see if the boys can fight back against Dallas in what could be labeled as the biggest game of the year.

Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News and I break down the recent stretch of games, including this one, and look to the final eight regular season contests in our latest podcast.

Also, we have some breaking news regarding Marco Belinelli, as you’ll read here.

Or maybe not.

The Warriors redeemed themselves in grand fashion to cap off their road trip.

After suffering a brutal loss at the hands of J-Rich and the Bobcats, GSW ended their roadie with back to back wins over flameless Heat and a solid Magic squad. The Warriors have won every road trip longer than three games this season, ending this trip 3-1, while keeping pace in the absurdly competitive Western Conference.

The Dubs’ defense, non-existent for stretches of the road trip, magically appeared in time to stifle Orlando’s stud center Dwight Howard. He torched the Warriors for 19 points in the first half, but Superman was “held” to 26 and 12.

Credit Nellie and the staff for sending double-teams to attack the big man in the second half before he got in too close for easy buckets.

Baron poured in his standard 33 and 9, MP nearly had a double-double again and Jack hit three treys, on the way to 20 points.

After a win like this, against a team that beat them on their home court, it’s hard to find much to complain about.  As you’ll hear in our latest effort, Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News and I gush over the successful road trip, the stellar contribution from the bench and whether the Dubs are officially an elite squad.

Some interesting games against the Raptors and the Suns await.

Boxscore

The Dubs have now won seven of their last nine games, but this win, like a number of the others lately, left us wanting more - more discipline, more consistency and more of a bench. The bench part may be addressed soon - to my shock -but if the boys are going to land a spot in the upper echelon of the Western Conference, it’s time to lay the hammer down for 48 minutes.

The W’s played great in the 1st quarter and poorly in the 2nd. They were average in the 3rd and played like world-beaters for most of the 4th. Their saving grace was Andris Biedrins, who pulled down an NBA league-high 26 rebounds. Jack hit some big shots in the 4th, as the Big Three all scored more than 20 points each, but ‘Dre stole theshow. Playing well for 36 minutes will not get it done in the playoffs and we emphasize that point in our latest podcast.

After a long respite, Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News and I go over (download - mp3) the most recent eight-game stretch (including the two ugliest losses of the season), explain why we have such high
expectations for this squad, predict where things will shakedown in the Western Conference…and we even talk about the rumors involving Chris Webber rejoining the squad.

I’m numbed just writing that, let alone perhaps having to confront it in the weeks to come. This season is just getting started, my friends. Prepare for what could be an even wilder ride than last season.

Holler at us: mailbag@warriorscast.com or (415) 691-6185.

The Road Warriors came out and played the World Champs for 48 + 5 and
came away not only with a win on the scoreboard, but a win on the
boards as well (44-43). Both numbers are hard to believe, considering
how the team played in losses against the Mavs and Hornets.

Baron played like the All-Star he should be, pouring in 34 points and
14 assists, without a turnover in sight.

Captain Jack started slowly, but eventually connected on backbreaking
triple after triple in the 4th and in OT and finished with 29.

Andris held his own against the Big Fundamental, Buike was perfect
again from the floor (7 for 7) and the Warriors snapped the Spurs 13
game winning streak when they score 100 or more.

After the game, Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News and I
discussed (download - mp3) Baron and Jack’s clutch play, touch briefly on the recent losses vs. the Mavs and Hornets, and lambaste Manu Ginobili for his
poor acting ability. Seriously, call Scott Baio or something for some
lessons.

Check out post-game audio clips from:

Kelenna Azubuike

Andris Biedrins

Baron Davis

Stephen Jackson

Don Nelson

We love your takes, so hit us up at mailbag@warriorscast.com or (415) 691-6185.

A grudge match with Portland awaits. From what we saw against the
World Champs, the Dubs should be ready.

We post this brief recap out of necessity only – it was that ugly. The
Pistons blew the Dubs out of the Palace at Auburn Hills and that’s
about all I care to expound upon in this forum at least. It was that
difficult to stomach.

In this episode of Warriorscast (download - mp3), Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News and I took a step back, reflected on the glorious win against the Lake show, and then came
back to discuss the poor play in the Detroit game and touched upon the
coming of age of Brandan Wright.

Hit us up with your thoughts at mailbag@warriorscast.com or (415) 691-6185.

Off to Tennessee they go, and hopefully, their game will return in kind.

Nellie was hopping mad and with good reason. The Warriors did not play
well on this backend of a back-to-back and the Blazers made them pay.

The youngest team in the league knocked down clutch shot after clutch
shot and gave reason for Warriors fans to worry about the future,
since the Blazers will only get better in the years to come (that Oden
guy will be a force when healthy).

In this edition of Warriorscast (download - mp3), Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News and I tackle the losses
versus the Lakers and Blazers, the W’s wins versus the Heat and Spurs,
the rematch against Kobe at Oralce and the lengthy road trip ahead.

Email us about the big win at mailbag@warriorscast.com or give us your
take at (415) 691-6185.

The worst team in the Eastern Conference, less than two years removed
from a NBA title, looked like a playoff contender for 45 minutes. But
in the end, the Miami Heat ran out of gas against a Warriors team that
really needs to be thought of as a legitimate contender this year. The
evidence from the 11 wins in their last 13 games supports such a
claim.

Nellie wasn’t happy the team wasn’t ready to play from the get-go, but
he was certainly pleased with the outcome. Behind a dazzling 21-4 run
midway through the 4th quarter, the W’s overcame plenty of miscues to
earn an unlikely victory.

Baron played like an MVP, dropping in 13 points in the 4th alone.
Stephen Jackson kept the Dubs in the game in the 1st half and ended
with 28 on the night. And Kelenna Azubuike had seven rebounds in 20
minutes, while hitting a clutch bomb from downtown to pull the W’s
within one in the waning moments of the game.

In this edition of Warriorscast (download - mp3), you’ll get postgame reaction
featuring Don Nelson, Monta Ellis (who gets gentle ribbing from
Stephen Jackson, who we spoke with next), Al Harrington, Matt Barnes
and Baron Davis.

E-mail us at mailbag@warriorscast.com or give us a shout at (415) 691-6185.

Next up, the Lake show. Can’t wait to see if the Staples curse is over.

You know it’s been a good game when Austin Croshere is dropping bombs
from downtown and Troy Hudson and Brandan Wright are working on
alley-oops in the 4th quarter. Once again, the Warriors put away an
overmatched team early and this time, Nellie was able to limit the
minutes of his starters - a move applauded by all of us.

The well balanced attack featured 20 points a piece for Baron Davis
and Stephen Jackson, and long range contributions by seven Warriors.
Perhaps it was a statement game, after the way the Dubs fizzled away
the Magic game. Nellie was even found sporting a sharp red tie in the
matchup versus his old squad. The poor Bucks didn’t stand a chance.

In this episode of Warriorscast (download - mp3), Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News and I compliment the
Warriors on the thorough beatdown of the Bucks, and look to forward to
their next three matchups against real competition - the Heat, the
Lakers and the Spurs.

E-mail us with your take at mailbag@warriorscast.com or (415) 691-6185.

The meat of December’s schedule is now upon us and we’ll see if the
Dubs are up for the challenge.

Had the Warriors pulled this game off, I think it would be fair to say that unrealistic expectations for this young squad would start to set
in. Instead, we’re left with the taste of defeat for the first time in
seven games.

The Warriors looked flat in the 1st half (our main man Jack didn’t
even have a point during the first 24 minutes), yet they had the lead
late in the 4th behind the Western Conference player of the week’s
clutch play.

But Baron fouled out, Dwight Howard asserted himself in the OT and the
Warriors wound up with a real tough loss.

After the game, Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News and I discussed the Warriors’ shortfalls, looked to the upcoming games vs.
the Bucks and Heat, and otherwise chalked up this game to tired legs (download - mp3).

E-mail us with your take at mailbag@warriorscast.com or (415) 691-6185.

In many respects, the loss was justified.
Offensively, they put up tons of threes and didn’t work for easy
shots, and defensively, they could not get to Orlando’s white-hot
shooters. We’ll see if Nellie can get the troops back in line
Wednesday vs. Milwaukee.

Call it chemistry, camaraderie or family, the bond these Warriors play
with is deep and you see it every night on the floor and in the locker
room.

Playing the Rockets on the backend of a back-to-back, GSW dominated
from nearly start to finish, withstanding one brief run by Houston,
and are now over the .500 mark for the first time this season.

Their 8-7 record may not look impressive, but they reached the high
water mark faster than any other team in NBA history that started off
so poorly (0-6, as you may recall – scroll down to revel in our agony
of a couple weeks ago).

In this episode of Warriorscast (download - mp3), Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News and I analyze the relative ease with which the Dubs handled the Rockets, give a game ball to Al
for fending off the Ming Dynasty, and talk about what’s next for a
team that is without question the best the Bay has to offer right now.

For your listening pleasure, we have postgame from the following gentlemen:

Monta Ellis

Stephen Jackson

Baron Davis

Al Harrington

You know where to find us - mailbag@warriorscast.com or (415) 691-6185.

Durant and Seattle are next. Five in a row would be awfully nice.