RECAP: Warriors 108, Sonics 104 - Too Close for Comfort

Final Boxscore

He'd look good in a Warrior uni.

There are 3 good things about Seattle. Ray Allen. Ray Allen. Ray Allen. He was absolutely amazing tonight. I know this is a Warriors site, but as a basketball fan he was truly a joy to watch. His stroke is silky smooth and so quick. Can't we trade for this guy? He always seems to light up the Warriors. Look at the efficiency of his game tonight. 38 points on 17 shots! He was 11-17 from the field, 7-11 from 3 and a perfect 9-9 from the line. Not only that, but he played the entire 4th quarter with 5 fouls. That sure didn't affect his stroke as he knocked in 3 after 3 with a hand in his face. But Jesus Shuttleworth was not enough tonight.

Nothing is ever easy with these Warriors. What should have been an easy win turned into a struggle. Although it did make for good TV and an exciting end of game, the Sonics should never have been that close. They were without their second best player, Rashard Lewis, and their frontcourt consists of Nick Collison and Chris Wilcox, not exactly the scariest PF/C combo around. But hey, a win is a win.

It was basically a back and forth game for much of the night. But in the end, the Warriors were able to pull it out by taking the lead on a Baron to Barnes layup (the 2nd offensive rebound of the possession). Barnes played a key role in the Sonics' final possession. Ray Allen came off of a screen and Barnes switched on him. He didn't fall for any pump fakes and forced Allen to take an off balance 3 that hit the side of the rim and bounced away. Pietrus grabbed the board, was fouled and hit one of the free throws to put the Warriors up 4. Game Over.

Just a couple quick notes:

Back in full force!

Monta is back! He looked like his old self showing the same speed, quickness, and explosiveness drives to the bucket that he had before the injury. His 20 points helped assure the Warriors won the game. He was so good that after he subbed in for the starter, Azubuike, he never left the game again.

MP2 with a big 3 in the 4th!

Pietrus looked like a much smarter player tonight. He was much more patient with the ball on the break, stepped in from the 3 point line for some mid-range jumpers, and still knocked in his corner 3's.

Baron played all 48 minutes again. This is starting to become a trend rather than an aberration. He put in another nice game with 22 points, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds. The 5 turnovers are too high, but he kept the team in the game the whole time.

Barnes hustlin'
Barnes is growing up. After his monster run of scoring (~23ppg in his last 6), he really struggled tonight with his shot going 5-15 and 1-8 from 3. But that didn't stop him from contributing to the team. His cut to the basket to score the bucket to put the Warriors up for good and his end game defense on Ray Allen put the Sonics away. So despite not being able to help out in scoring as much as the previous games, he was able to be a valuable contributor in the Warriors win.

Biedrins inhaled rebounds. He was all over the boards tonight with 16 rebounds, 8 of them being offensive. He kept alive a lot of possessions tonight with his long arms and hustle on the boards. His most important offensive rebound came on the possession in which the Warriors got two offensive boards and came away with the game winning field goal.

Please make some free throws! 18-34 (59%) is horrendous. Makes you want to throw up.

One funny thing that happened during a timeout:
So if you are a casual observer of any team and don't really know the important players, you can always tell which players matter during timeouts. The ones who don't really pay attention are the guys who don't get any burn. During a 4th quarter timeout, with the breakdancers at halfcourt doing their thing, both Adonal and Troy had their heads turned towards the entertainment rather than the coach. Now, I'm not surprised Adonal wasn't paying attention since he doesn't get any time, but I didn't expect Troy to not be paying attention. Just shows you how far down the depth chart he's fallen.

Warrior Wonder: Baron... again. His leadership on the court and ability to make key plays tonight really kept the Warriors in the game. Not sure where this team would be right now without him. It's scary to think about.

Your Warrior Wonder