Predicting the Rest of January

by Atma Brother ONE on Jan 13, 2007 5:02 PM PST in Science Comment 13 comments

In case you've been lucky enough to miss it, the Warriors have gotten blown out in three straight games to the Suns, the Magic, and the Heat. The scariest part about the 3 game plunge is that the Magic and Heat defeats were suffered at home in the Oracle Arena where this team had been dominant. Still, the Warriors are only 2 games below the .500 mark at 18-20. Are the Warriors headed towards the playoffs or the NBA Lottery?

Here's my picks for the rest of the Warriors' games this month:

Jan 15 vs LA Clippers 1:00 pm : Win
It's a MLK Day game in the Bay. Donald Sterling is destined to lose this game after his recent embarrassing antics. The gods are on our side. We CAN NOT lose.

Jan 17 @ LA Clippers 7:30 pm : Loss
The Warriors forget how to pass the ball on the road and the Clips are a smart team. Throw in the fact that Mike Dunleavy Jr. always plays extra poor against his dad and it could get ugly fast. Get ready for a blowout loss.

Jan 20 vs Cleveland 7:30 pm : Loss
Much like DWade got every single call in the Arena last night, LeBron is going to get those and possibly more. Look for Cav bigs Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to dominate the Warriors inside. Something tells me it's going to be raining Donyell Marshall from outside too.

Jan 22 @ LA Lakers 7:30 pm : Loss
The Lakers might be the most overrated team in the league right now, but they're still superior to the Warriors especially at Staples. Whatever Laker bigs are available at game time are going to own the Warrior interior. Luke Walton is going to show us why he's Dunleavy on steroids. Also, I don't think Kobe is going to need to score that many with the other role players on the Lakers giving the Warriors nightmares.

Jan 24 vs New Jersey 7:30 pm : Win
JKidd comes back home, but the Warriors will be able to protect the house. Baron will match Kidd and the combo of Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus (if available), and Kabuki will hang with Vince and RJ. Plus, there's no Nenad Krstic to embarrass the Dubs this time around. But I guess Haystack product Eddie House could come out of nowhere and drop 63 points on us. Hey, it's happened before.

Jan 27 vs Charlotte 7:30 pm : Win
You know looking up and down their roster, the Bobcats are not that bad on paper. With a nice pick in the 2k7 draft these guys could be a force in the East very soon. Thankfully it's January 2007, not January 2008.

Jan 30 @ Cleveland 4:00 pm : Loss
Ohio's an ugly place and this is going to be an ugly loss.

Jan 31 @ Atlanta 4:00 pm : Win
There's no reason to lose to a team this bad even if it's on the road on the second of a back to back. No reason at all. Baron Davis is going to go nuts in this game.

If things fall into place like I think they will, we'll be watching a .500 ballclub for the rest of this month. That will set the Warriors at 22-24. They could still be in the playoff hunt in February. We'll see.

What are your predictions for the rest of January? Post them in the comments before Monday's game.

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i think they'll lose in atlanta

they're just that bad on the road. but we do need to be right around the .500 mark by the all-star break to have any sort of real shot at the playoffs.

by AJC3317 on Jan 13, 2007 5:07 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

a sweep

by the Clippers will be a death blow to our chances to slip into the 8th spot as it would hasten our slide and give them momentum ... we are stuck in limbo ...

my prediction? Mullin & Nelson will make a trade - not a call from hope, nor faith (ha!) but from the sheer realization that Mullin's job hinges on making the playoffs and buying him one more offseason chance, and Nelson's $1m motivations ...

by hardcore on Jan 13, 2007 5:15 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

this pretty much sums it up.

it should be doable w/ the clippers being as bad as the w's on the road & i think cassell isn't full strength yet.

it'll be important to beat the cavs at home. we beat them both times last year, so hopefully we match up well against them.

by the evil monkey on Jan 13, 2007 8:58 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Zorgons off the wall opinions....

Jan 15 vs LA Clippers 1:00 pm : Win
The Clippers have been crapping it up lately, and were basically down 10 to the HORNETS all game, before the hornets finally ran out of steam. Easy win.

Jan 17 @ LA Clippers 7:30 pm : Win
Difficult on the road, but I think we can do it. Dunleavy has a good game, because his dad is watching, same goes for the prior.

Jan 20 vs Cleveland 7:30 pm : Win
The Cavaliers got killed by the Suns, and I don't think their season will really kick into gear until Later Feb, early March. In the poor Eastern Conference, they can afford to sit around and do this, while saving their energy for the 'offs. Awesome game for Donyell Marshall, on the basis that he's 1/5th of the DREAM TEAM and that he's kinda like Kapono.

Jan 22 @ LA Lakers 7:30 pm : Loss
We have matchup problems with these guys, plain and simple.

Jan 24 vs New Jersey 7:30 pm : Win
At home, and New Jersey isn't doing too well right now. They have a charmin soft interior, which means a field day for Biedrins.

Jan 27 vs Charlotte 7:30 pm : Win
These guys are good, as evidenced by random upsets on random teams. However, I think that we can pick them apart today.

Jan 30 @ Cleveland 4:00 pm : Loss
Eh, I just had to stick a loss in there somewhere due to randomness, and thins seems fit, no the road against an above average team.

Jan 31 @ Atlanta 4:00 pm : Win
I'm a Warriors fan, and lets just say I'm very happy that I'm not a Hawks fan. Now THAT'S a bad situation.

by Zorgon on Jan 13, 2007 9:34 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Zorgons off the wall opinions...

All those wins without Foyle? You gotta be kiddin big guy!

by Skeptic con Urquell on Jan 14, 2007 9:07 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Atlanta on the road second night ofa back to back?

Chalk up a loss there even if Atlanta sucks. I say Jason Kidd comes home, amidst all his family issues and feels better and then gets a triple double and the Ws lose at home. I think this month BD finally succombs to all those hard earned minutes and pulls a muscle or something; it's his history though he's played just awesome this year and he's in shape too! The Ws slowly drift out of playoff contention. Unless... if Mully pulls off an epic trade or roster move like when he got BD and when he brought back Nellie! Then all bets are off!

Kirk

by kirkkazas on Jan 13, 2007 11:49 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

why not....

We've haven't made the playoffs since I was 4, why not be optimistic....

Jan 15 vs LA Clippers 1:00 pm : Win
It's home where we are winning (generally) consistently, and the Clippers just aren't the team they were last year.

Jan 17 @ LA Clippers 7:30 pm : Win
The clippers will have just lost to us and therefore, because they are an unenthusiastic team, will have zero confidence in themselves. Plus, the staples center will be filled with confused Lakers fans who thought that there was a Lakers game tonight instead, and decide to stick around and boo everytime Sam Cassell touches the ball.

Jan 20 vs Cleveland 7:30 pm : Win
It's at home, the Dubs will be riding a much-needed win streak (2 games in a row baby!), and the cavs a losing streak. Baron Davis and the Warriors do their Steve Nash and the Suns impersonation and blow-out the Cavs like Phoenix did thursday...

Jan 22 @ LA Lakers 7:30 pm : Win
The Warriors (and myself) are still angry about that opening night loss, Biedrins, Monta and Barnes are angry that Bynum is being mentioned more than them for Most Improved Player, and Keleena Azubuike is angry because Jack Nicholson was tired and decided to sit this one out and now Azubuike doesn't even get to see the star in his first NBA game against the famed lakers. Oh wait, there's always that Kobe kid...

Jan 24 vs New Jersey 7:30 pm : Win
Another home game against a team fading fast. The young PG dealing with personal issues (Boom Dizzle) beats the old PG dealing with personal issures (JKidd). Even though Kidd out-rebounds Biedrins...

Jan 27 vs Charlotte 7:30 pm : Win
Murphleavy outduels Morrison in the battle of the long-hairs. 'Nuff said.

Jan 30 @ Cleveland 4:00 pm : Win
The Warriors. On the road. Against the Caveliers. There is no reason the Warriors should win this game, and as the Warriors tend to do as told as often as a spoiled 4 year old, we win.

Jan 31 @ Atlanta 4:00 pm : Win
The embarrasing thought of losing to the Hawks a night after beating LBJ and the cavs on the road leaves Baron to take over the 4th quarter and hit a long, game-winning 3, after an extremely sluggish first 3 quarters....

and there you have it. The Warriors go undefeated in the second half of the month of january...

by bradyk2 on Jan 14, 2007 12:46 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

why not be optimistic....

Cause it's a dead end street. If you get into the playoffs then what's left to look forward to? Winning the championship?? Then what??? No. it's better to have no expectations and just enjoy the games, for instance Foyle was great for 2 minutes last game, Wade was spectacular, and the refs were hilarious! Life is good!!

by Skeptic con Urquell on Jan 14, 2007 9:12 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

if they...

get swept by the Clips in this two game set is it a foregone conclusion that Mully will pull a trade?
That would be 5 straight L's and the team would be 4 games under .500
That my friends is PANIC time for this franchise...pretty sure that would be the proverbial straw.

Let's Go Oakland! Gas, Brake, Dip.

by OaktownFunk on Jan 14, 2007 12:48 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

if they...

"get swept by the Clips in this two game set is it a foregone conclusion that Mully will pull a trade?"

Trading from a position of weakness is never a good idea, We'd just get someone worse. The other teams are not stupid. We are stupid because we don't trade from strength when we get the chance like artest and iverson where their old teams were the ones desperate to make the trades.

by Skeptic con Urquell on Jan 14, 2007 1:52 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

all i'm saying is..

there may have been a false sense of hope with the team hoving around .500 all season. Mully could have thought, well were right in this thing...let's give them some time. But, if they begin to slide further under .500 then that sense of hope could disappear pretty quickly.
I agree with the buy low sell high philosophy...but, losses in the next two could force their hand if they intend to salvage THIS season.

Let's Go Oakland! Gas, Brake, Dip.

by OaktownFunk on Jan 14, 2007 2:15 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

january looks

bad. Honestly though at best we'll win 4-5 more games than last year, UNLESS they get their heads straight and they pull a trade. Otherwise it'll be 13 goin on 14 =\

by djchuckdeez on Jan 14, 2007 4:40 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

road woes is the problem

GSOM's Jan predictions have Warriors winning 1 of 4 on the road, which is pretty on par with the going rate of barely above the Mendoza line at .250 at best.

That being said, for the Warriors to secure a spot in the playoffs, let's say they gotta go 4 games over .500 overall.

To do that, if you assume .250 on the road, then they gotta go 16-3 at home the rest of the way. I think there's more than 3 elite teams left on the home schedule.

Yikes. '93 Til Infinity...

Poor Man's Commish

by dreamleague on Jan 16, 2007 3:01 AM PST reply actions 0 recs