Posts tagged ‘Kaz’

Your Warriors stayed one step ahead of the gimpy Mavs.

Box Score

The Dubs were shut out for the first 3 minutes, getting down 12-0 before Al Harrington threw down a frustrated dunk and put his teammates on notice that Dallas wasn’t going to kick its own butt.

The Warriors got with the program and rallied to take a 1 point lead by the end of the first quarter. The Mavs made small incursions throughout the rest of the game, but never got it closer than 3 points down.

Josh Howard stepped up to fill the Dirk gap for Dallas. He went off for 36 pts, 9 boards, and 2 blocks in his normal understated style. The other Mavs standout was their young forward, Brandon Bass. The 6-8 delicious Bass punished Andris in the paint late in the game. He repeatedly muscled his way down low, created space, and made his shots, often getting fouled in the process. Jason Kidd nailed some nerve racking threes when he felt like it but as usual focused on his passing and rebounding, picking up 14 dimes and snatching 9 boards.

The Dubs’ big three was the unlikely trio of Monta, Kaz, and Al. Monta has lately become the first option on offense. He was stellar in this victory. His jumper was falling and he was driving and finishing with grace and style. 30 points for All Day the most improved Mississippi Bullet.

Al kicked the Warriors in the arse in the first quarter, sailed through some questionable foul calls, and kept his aggression up all game. He’s taken it on himself to put in extra effort on the boards and it’s paying off. 9 boards for Harrington.

The final golden child was Kaz. The stain from his hideous night against the Nuggets was wiped clean by his gutsy play in this game. Azubuike willed in 15 points and snatched 9 boards. He made two separate momentum saving shots in the fourth, a three with 4 minutes left and an open jumper with just under 2 to go in the game.

There’s some serious congestion going on at the bottom of Western pack. We now share our 45-28 record with Dallas and Denver. It’s like 7am on the freaking Bay Bridge down there.    

Well, at least Kobe got his grill piece busted open.

Box Score

Regulation was insane. The Warriors again came out strong and swarming in the first half. They attacked on offense and defense, leaving the Lakers scattered and turning the ball over. Jack and Baron lit it up, going for 17 and 20 respectively.

Al’s three-point shot woke up; he added 12 points and pounded the boards hard - snaring 8. Warriors up by 11 into the half.

It was another gut check third quarter for the Dubs. They looked tired and were unable to get any kind of consistent scoring runs going. Kobe got his head into the game and he teamed up with Fisher and Odom to outscore the dubs 35-23 in the third, putting the Lakers up by one going into the fourth.

The Warriors looked dead in the water halfway through the fourth. Their legs looked gone and Kobe started doing that annoying superstar thing, hitting step back jumpers, threes, and grabbing rebounds. He had possible the lamest sidekick ever in the form of the floppy haired, flop prone Yugoslavian, Sasha Vujacic.

Vujacic was deadly from three point range and he hit two big ones, helping the Lakers stretch their lead to nine points with a little under 4 minutes to play. Things looked bleak, but Monta and Kaz saved the day by converting drives off of steals to bring them back within one with 33 seconds left. Odom missed one of his free throws and Baron made two huge ones of his own and the game went into OT, much to the delight of the raucous crowd.

OT was a battle. The Dubs got up but Fisher and Sasha “Vermin” Vujacic nailed killer threes to keep the Lakers on top. Kaz made a tough, tough tip-in off of a Monta miss to tie it up with 30 seconds left, but the Lakers went up once again as Odom found himself deliciously open right under the basket.

Final play: Warriors inbounding the ball down two with nine seconds left. The Dubs run a congested rotation of screens and Monta goes down in a heap on top of Fisher. It looks like they got tangled up and Fisher may have stumbled while pulling Monta down on top of him.

Referee Bob Delaney called an offensive foul on Monta giving the Lakers two free throws and ending an incredibly exciting and hard fought game with a huge let down. The call was a bad one. Fisher either fell back and grabbed Monta as he fell, or he intentionally pulled Monta down on top of him for a call.

Talk about anti-climactic. The Dubs and Lakers battled for 52 minutes straight only to have the game be decided by an official. No one wanted to see that. Horrible.

exclusive postgame audio

Don Nelson

Phil Jackson

Kobe Bryant

Derek Fisher

Lamar Odom

Your Warriors create mad drama.

Box Score

If you ever need a time capsule game to demonstrate to our future robot overlords what the big deal in Oakland in 2008 was, this is the one.

The Warriors completely controlled the first half. They ran circles around the Lakers, tricked them into trying to play their chaotic game, and robbed them blind. Monta, Baron, and Jack ran the show with tough defense and blazing breaks. Kaz chipped in with a few points and out-of-nowhere D on Kobe. Bryant didn’t score a single point in the second quarter, Kaz absolutely blanketed him.

The Dubs went into the half with a 23 point lead and the sweet, sweet sound of Lakers fans booing their own team.

There’s a popular anti-apathy slogan out there: ”If you’re not outraged you’re not paying attention.” Here’s the Warriors version: “If you’re not concerned about losing this massive lead you’ve never watched this team.” As much as I wanted to believe that the game was in the bag after such a dominant first half - I knew nothing was safe.

The third quarter was a horror-fest for the Dubs. The Lakers stopped trying to run wild with the Warriors, executed their offense, shut down Monta, and proceeded to outscore them 32-15.

The Dubs couldn’t get anything going and didn’t seem all that concerned with trying. They started walking the ball up the court, dribbling around at the top of the key and hefting a three-pointer. 7 of the Warriors’ 15 points in the third came from free throws, they shot under 20% for the quarter, and went into the fourth with a tentative 6 point lead.

The Lakers continued to pour it on in the final quarter, eventually taking a 2 point lead with 5 minutes left. The Warriors were still having trouble shooting the ball, but Al hit a couple, and Monta and Jack were making their free throws. Brandan Wright got some good minutes, and some great blocks. The Dubs weren’t able to shut the Lakers out like they had in the first half but they were at least playing them a lot tougher.

Kobe Bryant did his best to take over and win the game. If he had been up against anyone else he probably would have gotten away with it. He nailed a deadly three to cut the lead to 1, Captain Jack answered with a three of his own, Kobe hit another cold blooded three with 30 seconds left and the place went bananas. The LA fans could smell the win, their superstar was working his magic and there was no way the Warriors were going to leave Staples alive. Captain Jack got the ball well behind the three-point line, hesitated just a second, and launched….swish. Jack’s second three pointer to answer Kobe put the lead back up to 4 with 8 seconds to play - game over. The man only made two (non free throw) shots in the entire second half, and they were the biggest ones possible.

This is the 2008 Warriors. This is why they had such an awful start to the season. Jack is that important.    

How you like them road apples?

Box Score

Warriors fans invaded Arco, but they had little to cheer about.

The Kings played hard and well from tip-off to buzzer. Kevin Martin was killing at will, Ron Artest was hitting hard shots and Mikki Moore was obnoxiously excited and effective.

The Warriors never got hot. They shot an appalling 5-27 from beyond the arc and no one beyond Baron and Kaz could get any kind of Mojo working.

The game was neck and neck for the entire first half but you could just feel the lack of fire from the Dubs. Their energy on defense was low and their shooters were cold. Monta was getting torched by Kevin Martin (whom he narrowly beat out for most-improved player last season). There was some chilling news regarding Monta’s brother yesterday that may have contributed to his rough game - but he wasn’t alone in his slump.

There was a general lack of intensity from the starters and regular rotation players. It took a Captain Jack led bench squad with CJ running the point to make a come back run in the fourth, after the starters got into a 23 point hole during the gruesome third quarter. They were able to cut the Kings’ lead to six with 5:35 to go, but that was as close as it got. Nellie put Baron back in an attempt to put them over the top, but he couldn’t buy a bucket and appeared to be checked out mentally.

Brandan Wright did well for himself - 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 14 minutes.

The only good news from last night is that both Denver and Dallas lost as well. No playoff position change.

Tonight’s game against the Clippers is the last “easy” one on the schedule for the rest of the month.

exclusive postgame audio

Don Nelson

Stephen Jackson

Kevin Marton

Anthony Johnson