RECAP: Warriors 104, Magic 95: Don't Stop Believing!

by YaoButtaMing on Mar 8, 2008 10:06 PM PST in Recaps Comment 45 comments

OH YEA! That's what I'm talking about! Did you see this game? Now I'm not one to EVER boast after a win or ever talk trash to other people (if you know me), but tonight feels downright good. Shame on you the Orlando Magic for not knowing what just hit them. Just because we're 8th in the West can't you see that we practically have the same record? You should have known what's at stake for us tonight and realize if there's one team in the league that will come back being down 8 at the half ... it's the Warriors!

Coming off a road victory the night before, our beloved Warriors beat the Magic 104 to 95. Yellow shirts were peppered throughout the stadium cheering the Warriors on as our now famous slogan "We Believe" has spread throughout the country.

Let's see how we did this tonight ...

Jump!

Yea it was this good! This is what we did to them tonight!

Many of you are probably still unaware of the Arnel Pineda movement sweeping the world. Arnel Pineda is a Filipino singer who was working for a cover band called Zoo and just recently became the lead singer of a famous US band called Journey. He reminded me of tonight’s victory. The story is quite amazing and it’s all based on achieving incredible heights. Not to get into too much detail of his life, but here’s a guy who came from absolutely nothing in the 3rd world country of the Philippines, sang for a cover band playing in clubs in the main city of Manila, and thanks to the internet and YouTube, Journey saw his cover songs and decided to contact him. The rest is history as they offered him a job as the new lead singer, touring the world.

The band stinks, but this guy sound exactly like Journey!

So how the heck does this correlate to the Warriors? Well, I’m starting to believe again. Winning 3 of the 4 on this East coast road trip, kept the Warriors within half a game of Dallas in 7th with Dallas and one game behind the Suns in 6th. More importantly, this gives the Warriors further separation from the Nuggets. This victory was even more impressive playing against one of the top teams in the league. Tonight’s recap is Journey’s song "Don’t Stop Believing" in a Warriors twist. (You’re going to have to imagine following my lyrics. Too bad I can’t sing for you guys)

(20 seconds)
Just a small town team, livin in an NBA world
We took the midnight train goin to Disney world
Against a city team, we were down in the third
They thought they had this game going their own way

The first half was bad. We were sluggish, not communicating, and shooting a dismal 33%. To top that off the Magic were shooting an incredible 56% and having their way with us. Howard and Lewis were combining for what seemed to be a good game for them as they spread the floor causing us to cramp up on offense. What surprised me was how we did not go to the hot hand of Monta Ellis. Scoring 12 in the first quarter, he only shot a couple times in the second quarter making me question why Baron never tried to set him up. However, the Warriors kept it close and ended the half down by only 8 points. I knew we had a chance. Shooting that poorly couldn’t last the whole game and it was up to Nellie to get our team going.

(1:10)
Our players in a hostile arena
With boos and bad ref calls
And our team never gave it up
Fighting on and on and on and on

After halftime it was all Baron Davis. 33 points, 9 rebounds, Baron had that fire in his eyes as he ran circles around the Magic guards and continually pushed towards the basket. Bob Fitzgerald had the best line of the night during the third quarter when he said

"Down by 8, up by 9 heading into the 4th."

Simple, elegant, and what the Warriors are all about.

(1:27 seconds)
Magic stinking, up and down the court
Warriors searching in the night
Hitting threes, and driving to the basket
Baron, flying in the night

Jackson was another key contributor after the half. Not doing anything the first half, he was able to produce key defensive stops and pushing fast break points in the third and fourth. Pietrus also had a wonderful defensive game assisting on 3 fast breaks with 3 steals, and seemed like a monster on the boards, grabbing 11 which made up for his poor shooting on offense.

(2:07 seconds)
Working hard is Captain Jack
Always trying to make a thrill
Pietrus passing to the streaking Monta,
Just one more dunk
Some will win, some will lose
But Warriors always choose
to push you to the end
Fighting on and on and on and on

However, my key to tonight’s victory was Andris Biedrins’ defense on Dwight Howard. Hands down! This was an incredible performance by Biens you won’t see on any stat line. Biens was all over Howard frustrating the Eastern Conference All Star by not allowing him to find ground and using his speed to front him. He also made it incredibly difficult for the Magic guards to pass down the middle, forcing Dwight to lose focus and control of the game. Andris had 4 points, 2 rebounds and 3 steals but came away as my MVP. This coming off surgery. Nice!

(2:38 seconds)
Magic waiting
Hoping and praying that the
Warriors will give a break
In the night
Nellie, genius
finding a way to win
victory, somehow in the night

As I always say in all my recaps, defense won the game. Even though we are not known for our defense, you can easily see the Warriors put the clamps down on the Magic after halftime. 14 steals in the game versus 3 from the Magic, allowed us to push fast break points which is our best type of game. Another reason for our win, we had 9 turnovers to the Magic’s 20. Controlling the ball and forcing other teams to make mistakes will help us secure a seat in the playoffs.

(3:25 seconds)
Don't stop believin'
Oh the Warriors are the best
We have the best fans
Don't stop believin'
Hold on to the feeling
Playoffs, here we come!

Don't stop believin'
We’re going to the top
We have the best fans
Don't stop

I know you all want Baron. But honestly I have to give it to Andris Biedrins. He only played 19 minutes and I know without Baron we would have lost, but Biens coming off surgery was able to close out Dwight tonight. Had Dwight been free to play his usual game we would have lost. This was a great team effort.

Side Note: AJC3317 is the winner of tonight contest guessing our Warriors would pull down 44 rebounds for the game. Great job! You are now our leading YaoButta’s challenge for a prize at the end of the year.

Photos courtesy of (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

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Hurray for Piettrus

haters eat crow.

by Dubmanny on Mar 8, 2008 10:31 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Pineda

Is killing it..Good for that guy.

by highflya on Mar 8, 2008 10:41 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

mmm

this game makes me nervous... once again the Warriors think they can dig themselves out of any hole. I hope this game doesn't discourage them from starting strong.

And I am guessing Wright is banished back to the bench now that Biedrins is back?

by saintdee on Mar 8, 2008 10:46 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

well...

I doubt these comeback type games discourage them from trying to start strong. Every player that i've seen that has been asked about this has pretty much stated that they would much rather start strong than play catch-up. It would be worse if they started strong then fizzled out in the 4th.

Although these come-from-behind victories are exciting to watch, i too would much rather they take control and keep it from the get go.

I pray i never have to use a gun again.

by ssmokinjoe on Mar 9, 2008 4:36 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Go W's!!

I was at the game tonight, and the Warriors looked fresh even after the long road trip!! The hustle was there all game, especially when defending Howard. The bigs stood tall (and fouled when necessary), while the guards had the energy to swoop in for effective doubles from many angles. And that run in the 3rd quarter was crazy!!

by Bucky on Mar 8, 2008 10:56 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

i think

it was the wrong matchup for wright. whose he gonna guard? howard turkoglu or lewis? he can't do either, and nelson wanted to spread the floor to lure howard to the perimete, just not a brandan type of game, i saw it coming. but I think he'll get more burn against toronto.

by bigbenny11 on Mar 8, 2008 11:04 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Warriors impressive defense tonight

The Warriors played impressive defense in the 3rd quarter, resulting in a 25-5 run. And most of the game was played at the Magic tempo.

Is this a sign of the versatility of our team? We can run with the pre-Shaq Phoenix and outscore them, but we can also grind out the win with defense, like the @Hornets game, and this game.

by IQofaWarrior on Mar 8, 2008 11:51 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

yeah

you're right YaoButta
it all started in 3rd Q when AB played defense against Dwight and made those steals
as result we saw some warriors fastbreak pts and Magics were forced to play @ Warriors pace
-as result they lose this Q with 17 pts

-perfect gameplan by Nellie
-keep it close (8pts @ half for Warriors is close enough) and kill them in 3rd

and it's nothing better then see how opponent fans left building with 5 minutes to go

build a team & destroy the roof

by Lat We N Trash on Mar 9, 2008 1:46 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

fans leaving

it was a legitimate mass exodus when the magic was down 12 with about 3:50. i couldn't believe it, but i could also tell that many of the fans had never seen the W's before, because they were in absolute shock after the 25-5 run in the 3rd. by the way, did y'all hear how loud they cheered for carlos arroyo? there's a large puerto rican population in orlando, and after every play arroyo made, there were the loudest cheers of the night.

by Bucky on Mar 9, 2008 8:04 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

MP

Led the team in rebounding one again. 11 boards, 9 pts, 3 steals, hustlin' D. 33 minutes, zero turnovers. Good job by Nellie giving this dude the minutes. Playing tough.

by Dubmanny on Mar 9, 2008 4:12 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

He's taken a lot of criticism

from me included, but he's playing well right now. Let's not get crazy though, he still makes poor decisions and his quick trigger from distance is frustrating. I would love to see him use more discretion in his shot selection because he's effective around the basket and he hit a few nice mid-range jumpers last night. If Monta can avoid shooting 3s, MP can too. Also, this new and improved MP has been around about a week so it's a little early to yell out 'in your face'. But I hope he keeps it up. The W's play better if he plays better, so let's all hope this MP is here to stay, and the bonehead who never left the corner and fouled out in 10 minutes is gone.

by givemontatheball on Mar 9, 2008 9:53 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

the haters were the ones getting crazy

Just that some of us just never hopped on the Pietrus bashing bandwagon that was so overblown and fashionable on this site. It was so tiring to read every little thing that Pietrus did wrong. People here blamed him for bad results when he wasn't even involved in a play.

Nelson and Mullin didn't trade him at the deadline for a reason. They could have traded him and his expiring contract for younger player They had sign-and-trade offers for Pietrus in the offseason and turned them down. Wonder why? He's a valuable and versatile defensive player who has speed, which is a tremendous asset for this style of play. I heard this same thing from a similar small and vocal lunatic fringe of Warrior fans about Tyrone Hill during the RUN TMC era. He played out of position, played his ass off and was hated for the same reasons as Pietrus. THe left, everybody celebrated and he was an all-star 2 years later. They used to rail on Tim Haradaway for being a bonehead and shooting too much and he was one of the most efficient point guards in basketball. Look, here is what is very clear among knowledgeable GS hoops fans:

Don Nelson > GSOM posters

Jeff Van Gundy > GSOM posters

Pat Riley > GSOM posters

Don Nelson > Fitzgerald/Barnett

There are plenty of NBA insiders and Warrior fans who didn't think Mickael Pietrus was the problem with the Warriors.

by Dubmanny on Mar 9, 2008 11:03 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think

that if Pietrus was playing at his current level all season then he would have actually had some value and he wouldn't be a Warrior right now. You can't deny that he was a shadow of his former self in the beginning of the year. No one wanted that Pietrus, the Warriors best offer for that Pietrus was Juan Dixon.

I don't think criticizing his play when he's not playing well is hating on him. I mean, now that he's playing well I agree that he should get less criticism, but if he plays bad he shouldn't be exempt, and he played bad up until the trade deadline.

by belilaugh on Mar 9, 2008 12:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Are you seriously comparing MP to Timmy?

And do you honestly think that if MP was traded away, he would emerge as an All-Star sometime down the road? If BD can't make the All-Star team, I'd say MP's chances are not good.

For all those who stuck by Pietrus for the first 57 games of the season, all 5 of you, enjoy your moment. And let's get on the same page here...all W's fans want him to succeed. He is on the team afterall. But given his performance record this season, he has to do more than play well for a week to show us he's reliable.

Also, Jeff Van Gundy said today that Rafer Alston is the best point guard in the league. I'd rethink using his opinions to support arguments.

by givemontatheball on Mar 9, 2008 6:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i

think dubmanny works for pietrus' agent or something because Pietrus is the only player dubmanny talks or posts about. Baron has a dominating game and all dubmanny can do is rave about Pietrus .

by saintdee on Mar 9, 2008 7:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

Glad I'm not the ONLY one tired of his I WUB PIETRUS ACT. Granted, Pietrus has gotten unwarranted hazing at times this year, but daayam, that poster dubmanny has been patrolling the open thread like a baby-momma in love. Is he your boo? Cuz you're WAYY to sensitive to criticism about someone who is not you.

In an open thread every warrior's fair game. BD, Jax, Monta, The Donn; Every one of those guys have been called out during an open thread. If someone does somtething DUMB, you can best believe that someone is gonna post about it. If EVERY GSOMer acted like manny, crying whenever someone says something hurtful about their favorite dub, I swear to GOD, there would be a mass exodus of all the thoughtful posters on this nice little weblog. All that would be left here would be a congregation of p#$$y hurt crybabies.

"To my dear brother, Noompsy."

by Tim N Chris Burger on Mar 9, 2008 8:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

yea

good point.. every warrior players has been criticized repetedly in the threads...

monta is bashed in the open thread all game about his lack of defense skills

baron is bashed for not driving the basket and for bricking 3 pointers repetedly again and again. There was even this thread earlier in the season titled "Baron stalling the offense?"

jackson is bashed for driving to the basket himself losing the ball and then arguing with the refs.. that or taking 3 pointers which never seem to hit. (Sidenote: remember that thread "When Jack gets back".. I wonder what happened to that thread)

al is criticized for his dumb fouls giving up 3 point plays.. bricking 3 pointers.. trying to take charges which usually results in blocks. Al catches a lot of flak cause hes been coming out cold a lot.

barnes... lazy passes, can't hit easy baskets.

I think the only one who is above criticism on the team is Biedrins. He does exactly what he is supposed to. He catches those funky passes that Jackson, Baron and Ellis tosses to him and lays it in 62% of the time. He rebounds and he tries to block shots.

by saintdee on Mar 9, 2008 8:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

thoughtful posters in this forum? where?

The point, children, is this: Pietrus is just one player, a rotation player at best whose impact does not make or break this team. But the idiocy of the comments here about him expose a breathless lack of knowledge. Stop the mob mentality, and please, someone, come up with one original thought. The depth of the analysis here is a per-game +/-. There are folks here who couldn't recognize two different zone defenses that the Warriors employ, yet talk about a player's basketball I.Q. Remember, proving an equation or proposition false is much easier than proving a positive. Spending time and energy making negative comments about the 7th best player in the team is lazy and brings nothing.

I am sorry that I had to make an example of you saintdee. You're probably a decent person, but someone has to call Bulls**t in here sometimes.

by Dubmanny on Mar 9, 2008 10:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You're spraying...

...vitriol at an unimaginable pace.

by Zack Vank on Mar 9, 2008 11:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

seriously, man

your the perfect example of using a sledgehammer to nail a thumbtack.

Honestly, I have no problem with you defending mp2. He DOES get more ribbing than he deserves. Its a good thing to have some posters that regularly defends him to offset those cats that blame him for everything short of global warming. When fools put up a "mp2 sux diary", I say go git em' dubmanny!. You'd probably hear me applauding in the background.

My problem, and I might even be alone with this opinion, is how you regulate the open threads, post-whipping guys, flooding threads everytime some says anything(positive or negative) about pietrus. You are calling posters out & making backhanded comments insulting the intelligence of anyone that has the audacity to badmouth your beloved peitrus. If everyone here are just neolithic, incompetent fools you make us out to be because we get upset when a player makes a mistake in a game, then maybe this isn't the place for you.

I mean, 90% of the time the posts are either praising or complaining, so it would be inevitable that your favorite player will have something bad said about them. No player is perfect. Hell, I got my faves. But you don't see me over posting people, calling them 12 year olds, when they say montas "d" sux in the open thread.

"To my dear brother, Noompsy."

by Tim N Chris Burger on Mar 9, 2008 11:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

kinda missed the point, sport

No one's comparing Pietrus with Hardaway. I have written NBA column and covered fans in other cities. I am a longtime Warrior fan. There is a weird phenomenon among a small barely knowledgeable segment of our fan base where they glom onto some players who are overrated and have an unnatural hatred for players who actually pretty good.

The Pietrus situation describes where this is happening again. It's not even objective anymore.

Givemontatheball (I agree, by the way), you should have heard what Warrior fans said about Robert Parrish in the day. It makes the dimwitted Pietrus comments look tame. Dumbs**t Warrior fans back then were delighted to have Parrish shipped out. He freaking made the Hall-of-Fame.

Quite simply the rants of the folks on this forum cannot be relied upon to be an accurate gauge of a players worth. In fact, you'd be better served taking an opposite view from this group.

by Dubmanny on Mar 9, 2008 10:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

hmm

hahaha Dubmanny.. one question.. do you also post on these forums too? Don Nelson > You, me and everyone else here. At the end of the day that's what matters. Just because you feel like Pietrus is a HOF players and a future allstar doesn't mean the Don and the rest of us feel the same way. If Don Nelson chooses to play pietrus it doesn't matter how much some of us choose to whine. And if the Don chooses not to play Pietrus, all your talk about how good Pietrus is won't matter either. If Mullin doesn't feel like Pietrus deserves a long term contract what does that tell you about what Mullin and Nelson thinks of Pietrus? The answer is no one knows. The point is no one knows what Mullin and Nelson are thinking and that's why it gives the rest of us a opportunity to rant/discuss things that could/will happen.

You can argue your case about Pietrus all you want but try not to insult people while doing it. It turns this board quite nasty and it only alienates people away from you. No one likes a hostile enviroment. Calling people "dumbsh!t" warrior fan or 12 year olds is not the way to go and only makes you sound obnoxious.

by saintdee on Mar 9, 2008 10:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

and, amen to the one love sentiment

...we are on that page.

I did hear the JVG statement about Alston. He's playing top 5 defense since the streak, but it's hard to defend that statement. Point taken.

by Dubmanny on Mar 9, 2008 10:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dubmanny...

Calling upon your prior experience in writing probably won't win you many credibility points. I played D-1 ball so I'd like to think I know my bball, but why would I expect anyone to believe that on this type of forum? Furthermore, what says an ex-college player or an ex-NBA column writer (did I get that right?) can't be an idiot? Like we both agreed on, JVG says some ridiculous stuff, and he's getting paid to voice his opinions (he also said no All-Stars should ever come from teams under .500...sorry D Wade).

Bottom line for MP, I just don't think he's very good. His biggest strength is the team's biggest weakness though, so while he continues to get minutes, I hope he plays well, which in my view would be overperforming for his ability. You obviously take the opposite stance, and I'm guessing you would call his subpar performance for most of the season underperforming. A few seasons down the line we'll see who's right. Until then, we're all rooting for him to continue making a positive impact.

by givemontatheball on Mar 10, 2008 8:07 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

consider Pietrus a microcosm

Look, I appreciate your posts, GiveMontaTheBall, and I am going to re-examine my approach to my posts because of them. But here it is in a nutshell: I do not believe that people here even know why Nelson plays Pietrus nor do they know what role he plays in the grand scheme. We all know he's probably going to be a Toronto Raptor or a Miami Heat next year, and he only plays 15-22 minutes a game and he rarley is a difference-maker. But negative comments about his game from people with no knowledge of what is going on gets under my skin. Of course he's not that great but he's clearly not as bad some knee-jerk folks around here think he is. And I am glad he's doing well, playing out of position and it's cagey that Nelson leaves him on the court for long stetches when he's getting killed by bigger players because that's how they get matchup benefit from other positions. And hating for hating's sake is lazy and unoriginal. But I guess you're right, man. Live and let live.

And yes, Don Nelson's basketball knowledge > me.

by Dubmanny on Mar 11, 2008 10:07 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

haha!

nice win for the dubs, a nice payback to the OT loss to the magic last december down there at Oakland! and yes dont stop believing... like arnel pineda! cuz here in the PHILIPPINES WE Believe! GO WARRIORS!

by antonalmeda on Mar 9, 2008 7:35 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

WOW

a filipino in the philippines warrior fan! i am amazed! i hope more come along.

What you thought that I only played basketball? I AM A Golden State WARRIOR!

by 24k state fan since 87 on Mar 9, 2008 4:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i'm gonna be in the philippines

in 7 days. how often do you get to catch Warrior games? Tivo isn't gonna be enough for me! What channel are they on? star?

Baron with 5.. 4.. 3.. pull up jumper.. HE GOT IT!!!

by DMJR on Mar 11, 2008 9:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

how 'bout a little love for Harrington's work...

...on Howard as well. it wasn't all Biedrins heading down the stretch. funny how Al does a more admirable job d-ing up guys he's absolutely outmatched by (see Ming, Yao) than those his size.

by 321 IN n OUT on Mar 9, 2008 10:11 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

this one is ROFL

fox Baron LOL

Dwight Howard reached out and touched Golden State Warriors point guard Baron Davis' hand before stepping to the free-throw line after having made eight in a row. He missed the shot.

"Baron said if he touched my hand I'd miss my free throws," Howard said. "Me, being silly, I touched his hand. He jinxed me. It worked."

from
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/basketball/magic/orl-magic0908mar09,0,6350385.story

build a team & destroy the roof

by Lat We N Trash on Mar 9, 2008 10:14 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Please Don't Stop Believing!

I watched this game with my aunts and they were all crying at Monta (THEY LOVE HIM LIKE A SON) , but I'm happy that two the dubz "big three" helped out. But where is the love for the subs? Buike? He gave baron some rest to ignite his crazy 3rd quarter shooting spree Oh and, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT BARNES! =)

"We're educated in the Bay Area."-- My momma's other Big Daddy: Baron Davis

by warriorgirl on Mar 9, 2008 10:36 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Buke gave Baron some rest? Huh?

so, 4 points, 2 rebs in 20 minutes. Buke pitched in a little, I suppose.

But Baron Davis played 46 minutes last night. How exactly did Kelenna give BD any rest? And how did he ignite Baron's shooting spree? He had 1 assist.

by Dubmanny on Mar 9, 2008 11:13 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Okay I may have

overpraised buike but i was saying that the rest helped him(BD) in the third as always.

Also, the Dubz are on the cover of Hoops Magazine. There is also a good read inside and a poster.

"We're educated in the Bay Area."-- My momma's other Big Daddy: Baron Davis

by warriorgirl on Mar 9, 2008 11:51 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Also ... Quietly

... a fantastic free throw shooting game.
22 of 26 from the line.

by soem on Mar 9, 2008 12:19 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

yay i won!

and it came in a victory. can't get any sweeter than that!

by AJC3317 on Mar 9, 2008 4:44 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

That's something like

18-0 when holding our opponents under 100 points. When our defense shows up, we win.

by Calamity on Mar 9, 2008 5:58 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Turning up the heat in the land of sun......

19-6 over our last 25...aaaaaaaahhhhhh yeah!

the math says that's ballin son.

Biggest Cheeeeer of the year for the

ENTIRE WARRIOR ORGANIZATION AND THE FLAGSHIP! WOW!

i really don't think you could script the last two years better...and thanks for the notrade. BWright and Air France are about to blossom. oh yeah, Air France to Orlando, yessir...

by NuestroOcho on Mar 9, 2008 11:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I was just

wondering. IF we had Dwight Howard on our team, would you say Dubs NBA champions 2008?

brb, going to ORACLE

by warrior510 on Mar 10, 2008 10:52 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

no

actually i wouldn't. On this team, Dwight wouldnt be the go to guy he is like on the Magic. I think the issue is debateable.

by saintdee on Mar 10, 2008 12:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

For Sure

I'd say YES to that if there was some way to keep Baron, Jax, and Monta on the team as well.

Probably not realistic at all, but we can dream.

by BALLINelli on Mar 10, 2008 1:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Another Reminder

This from Bill Simmons' column in espn.com. And a reminder everyday to be thankful that the W finally came to their senses and got rid troy and mike:
"From [the Artest/Jackson incident] on, professional basketball was effectively murdered in Indiana. The Pacers have never recovered. Now they have the worst cap situation in the league -- three brutal contracts (Jermaine O'Neal, Troy Murphy and Jamaal Tinsley), one semi-brutal contract (Mike Dunleavy Jr.) and no hope of getting cap space until 2010 at the earliest. Even worse, the fans hated the post-melee team so much the Pacers were forced to give away Harrington and Jackson to Golden State for the Dunleavy/Murphy pu-pu contract platter, putting them in an even worse financial hole. In retrospect, Larry Bird probably feels like Artest and Jackson charged into the stands and started beating the hell out of him. Because that's basically what happened."

"Dunleavy/Murphy pu-pu contract platter" says it all.

We Believe.

by NastyBoy888 on Mar 10, 2008 2:30 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs