I Still Believe... Even if None of You Do

I don’t think that the majority of fans are quitting on this Warrior’s team, but rather venting their frustration which is completely understandable. The drop-off in excitement and wins, leaves a bad taste and fuels disappointment. This combined with what was the ultimate tease of continued future success in the 06-07 playoffs, makes the result on the court less than satiisfactory.

Injuries are a key reason for the 8-20 start, i mean Monta has been out all season, and Maggette/Jackson have missed a combined 16 games, which makes consistency in terms of a rotation and team chemistry impossible. Hopefully when all of the pieces are back together we will get to see the complete maximization of this roster.

I like the example of the 96-97 Suns, who were (0-13), (10-24), and (22-37) during points in that season, only to finish (40-42) and sneak into the playoffs. However I don’t see a (40-42) team reaching the playoffs in the western conference this year. I do think that when the pieces are back together the W’s can make strides as a team and improve their record and chemistry as the season progresses.

Here’s hoping Monta’s return sparks a remarkable run to the playoffs, either that or the rebirth of Nellieball for this team. Worst case is they continue to lose in which case they pick up a true PG in the draft and improve.

Here’s to rest of the season and what might be….

I still have hope for this team, they’re capable of winning games, it’s just that they’ve sucked so far which has been pissing me off. Of course, losses are expected, but the WAY they lose is really bothering.

It’s easy for this post to be made after a victory, isn’t it?

At this point I do not care about the wins (this is not a playoff year), I care about the future – specifically:
1. Player Development for Players that Will Stay or Become “Trade Bait” for a star
2. Getting Rid of Players that do not fit our system (I really think almost all of our players have talent but maybe not for the W’s system)
3. Future Financial Flexibilty.

Right now I don’t think we are doing this. I agree with the G. Wallace comments – this is the type of guy that could lead to future playoff runs.

If you want something done … add this link to your signatures on all GSW forums
lets get the word out … and hopefully things will change

GO AND VOTE

www,FIRENELSON.com

Maggs has played hurt all season, if Maggs quit shooting the 3, kept his shots from 15 feet or less or drives to the hoop he will kill it. I know thats a big IF, but everybody has to learn their limitations some time…. and I think he has shot the 3 so much because he has been hurt… I BELIEVE that this team is 2 pieces away from being a 4-5 seed, we may even have one of those pieces here already…. I BELIEVE that with Monta back it will be much harder for teams to lock down D on us like they have been able to…. I BELIEVE we by February 15 we will find one more key piece to our puzzle………………………..

This is a lost season. We’re 8-20. That’s not a decent team struggling, that’s awful basketball.

Having said that, I’m not at all convinced that we’ll end up among the very worst teams in the league. I think we’re far more likely to finish 34-48 than 24-58. There’s a good argument that the latter record would be better for the team long-term… I don’t necessarily dispute that. But I don’t think we’re going to finish that low, for four reasons:

1) Monta. Obvious, but let’s not forget how many things the guy does well. We could use a high-percentage-shooting guard, we could use another good passer (whether he’s a point guard is up in the air, but he’s a pretty good passer)… Monta’s not a very good defender, but he’ll defend point guards better than Crawford, Marco or Watson. Speaking of which…

2) Defense. I don’t know that Keith Smart is a great coach in the making, or that he’s a defensive genius; he is most likely neither. But anything will be far better than the Nellie-guided D we’ve seen thus far. Our defense will still be bad under Smart, but it might not be record-breakingly bad.

3) The demise of smallball. This is a hard concept to kill, but I think Nellie may have finally seen the light in the last couple games. The Keith Smart arrangement should help ward off small ball as well… you’ve got to imagine a defense-focused guy won’t be pushing for Stephen Jackson at power forward.

4) Oracle. This is maybe the biggest factor, and one that’s been lost in the shuffle.

We’ve played 11 games at home so far and 17 on the road. Only Milwaukee has played more road games; only Milwaukee has a bigger gap between their number of home games and road games.

We’re horrible on the road. Even with yesterday’s win, we’re 4-13 away from home, with about a -9.0 point differential. That is bad. That is bowling-shoes ugly.

How about at home? We’re 4-7, with a… -0.2 point differential. Those seven losses include the Miami heartbreaker, and four other games that we lost by five points or less (oddly, we lost all four by exactly five points).

In the middle of this nightmare season, we are actually perfectly competitive at home. Is that just random noise, or is that meaningful? I’d argue that it’s meaningful. Even in dark years, the full crowds at Oracle tend to give the team a boost. We haven’t been an actually weak team at home in seven years, and I don’t think we’re one now. We have 30 home games left… I’d be willing to bet money that we win over half of those.

If we go, say, 17-13 at home the rest of the way, and continue to stink on the road — say 7-17 — that makes us a 32-50 team. I’d expect our final record to be right around there. Again, 19-63 might be a better outcome. But I’ve never seen sixty losses in this team, and I still don’t.

he isnt mags or buke but he has hops and rebounds very well for a PG/SG…. gets up and gets long rebounds…. anyway his role is not to box out underneath and be charles barkeley.

If Monta can give us a similar boost this year, it will make the team less painful to watch. I can’t stand the jacking of jump shots with no one to rebound. Monte will get into the lane and take high percentage shots. If Wright/Wallace can get their sealegs in terms of defense and rebounding, then Monte’s return could be sweet!

But I would manuever some of our young talent to get a player that is aggressive and fearless like Wallace – him and SJax – damn they wouldn’t take crap from anyone!