Final Boxscore!

Washington Wizards minus Gilbert Arenas > Golden State Warriors


Boom Dizzle puts on a clinic in the nation's capital
(Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

Okay, so now that my arithmetic injustice has gotten your attention, let's get to the actual game.  With one game left in their east coast swing, our Warriors are at a decent 3-1 record against some of the worst of the Other conference, finishing the game strong in spite of a depleted Wizards team where several unexpected players -- Blatche (pronounced blatch-aye), Haywood, and Young -- and former (Jamison) and could have been (Caron Butler) Warriors stepped up big time.  In a shootout we haven’t seen since the historic Warriors vs Mavs (2006) upset, we Warriors fans have much to be excited about in a eerily disappointing season so far.

They had a decently even offensive output for 4 full quarters with 7 players hitting double figures.  If you told a sports fan that the Warriors shoot their 3s at almost the same clip as they shoot freebies, they would no doubt be impressed.  Except, the Warriors seem to inverse common basketball logic, like Antawn Jamison and his abilities to score, by shooting over 50% from 3s and less than 66% from the line in this game.  But hey, maybe that’s why we love them so much.  


Mr. Unorthodox is crafty in exploiting defenses
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

However, it might be safe to say that the Warriors will go as far as Boom Dizzle can take them.  In another MVP-esque performance, Boom finished with 33 points and an incredible 15:1 assist to turnover ratio that coaches dream of.  Boom got dimes on and off the court.



Despite getting much help from Jax (28 points), it's clear again from the lulls in the spare and rare 4th quarter break that Boom gets per game that the Warriors are lacking a decent backup distributor or game plan if (and lets pray to God, Allah, Krishna, Ganesh, Vishnu, Shiva, and any other deity that will keep him healthy) he goes out long term.  Without Boom, how do we plan to counteract the 30 point tandem of the b-level stars of the NBA in Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison and their combined 23 rebounds and 11 assists (10 by Butler… the ball is going up 9 times out of 10 if you give it to Jamison near the block)? What do we expect to do when promising and potential beasts in athletic and semi versatile (and buffed) 7 footers in Andre Blatche come barreling into the paint?  

Before we go any further, I would like to note the Wizards forward tandem that abused the Warriors tonight could have been…should have been with the Warriors.  The Warriors handed Dunleavy the future of the organization by not only selecting him with the 3rd pick in that 2002 draft (instead of Caron Butler who many thought was the next Paul Pierce and of course isn’t) but by soon after trading away the guaranteed and proven 20 point per game scorer in Antawn Jamison. I’m beating on a dead horse here, but I just wanted to prove again how skewed perceptions of Dunleavy’s worth are when placed in comparison not only by his contract but by the actual skill of the players that he’s been traded for or picked over.

Anyway, now that I got that out of the way, the Warriors overcame their shooting woes for the night though unable to control the middle with Haywood and Blatche having their way with Biedrins at several points in the game.  I guess you can’t really blame him when the rest of the team doesn’t quite box out as best they should.  It’s kind of frustrating too when your point guard, no matter how burly he is at 6’3, is grabbing more boards then the two forwards combined.  Though the rebounding disparity is not that great, the Warriors look like that pushover boyfriend or girlfriend that lets their partner get tons of second chances to screw them over again.  At one point in the 4th quarter, the Washington Wizards announcers on FSN flashed a sign showing how the Warriors had only 12 second chance points in comparison to the 30 that the Wizards had.    


For those Grey's Anatomy fans, your Warriors are looking as pathetic as this guy who after getting dumped 10 times by Meredith, still thinks he's got a chance. Fellas, don't let this happen to you!

Which really means that someone needed to block out Jamison, like f’reals.  Whereas Butler couldn’t miss no matter how many hands were in his face, Jamison just seemed to be in the right place at the right time all the time.  Perhaps it's skill or maybe its just luck, but this guy gets the best position (or maybe this goes back to the Warriors poor rebounding).  In the second half alone, he seemed to have at least 4-5 put backs that looked accidental more so than an actual display of his athleticism.  For some reason, Atma’s term "unorthodox" is inadequate for describing his ability to "get his shot off at any place on his body."  

A win is a win.  With or without Arenas, the Warriors did what they should have in spite of all the red flags popping up throughout the game.  This team has a ways to go and their rookies and young players need to step up if the Warriors are going to have any chance of getting to the playoffs.  With Bellinelli and Monta’s minutes seemingly dwindling but the trainer finally having to wash Brandan Wright’s jersey now, cross your fingers that the future comes sooner than later.   


It's not Valentines Day yet, but we're all always and already looking for Mr. Wright.
(Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

Warrior Wonder is easy like Sunday morning.  The man put the team on his back again, this time dropping a triple double.  I would also say that every point, rebound, and assist in his stat line was needed to keep this team in the game.  MVP!