Four of us were there tonight, Atma Brother ONE, dj fuzzylogic, YaoButtaMing, and me, Fantasy Junkie. We handed out a ton of posters and GSoM business cards, and there might be some new folkers to the site so I just want to welcome all the people who've never been here before. You'll soon find out that we're all about having fun even though the Warriors can be so frustrating. Anyways, we hope you enjoy the Baron Davis posters and our GSoM site.
Facing Boston without Paul Pierce really doesn't get the juices flowing. It was hard to take the Celtics seriously tonight with a lineup composed mostly of Wally, Delonte West, Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Tony Allen, and Sebastian Telfair. I was actually excited to see Al Jefferson tonight since he's been playing so well. I wasn't disappointed. Despite his 6 turnovers, he looked real smooth out there and looks like he's got the tools to be a very good player in years to come. But this game was about the Warriors and watching them beat up on a team that didn't have their star.
Pietrus' Perfect Play
He really worked his butt off tonight. He hustled all over the floor tonight. He's still got problems with understanding the game, but his athleticism is carrying him right now. He can jump higher and run faster than many of the players in the league, which makes up for his other shortcomings. Tonight was one of those game where he was able to beat up on inferior talent. He was able to put up 26 points including 3-6 from 3's.
Biedrins' Blocks & Boards
Tonight was a battle of the blossoming young big men. Al Jefferson vs. Andris Biedrins and Kendrick Perkins vs Andris Biedrins. Guess who came out on top? Yup, Andris the Giant. Dude had some great moves in the post to get by the Celtics' big men and guarded the paint very well for most of the night. Most of all though, he collected nearly half of all of the Warriors rebounds for the night. He finished with 20 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 swats. He came to play tonight and came up big.
Beautiful Breaks
The play of the night came off an absolutely amazing fast break. I think it was Biedrins who got the rebound then threw an outlet pass to Barnes with a streaking Baron and JRich. Barnes took 1 dribble and lobbed the ball to Baron at the 3 point line. The pass was a little short so Baron came back to the ball to catch it. But instead of coming back down with the ball, in one motion, he caught it, spun and lobbed a perfect alley-oop pass to a flying JRich who caught it and hammered it through. Beautiful fast break. It wasn't just the alley oop that made the break great, but the fact that ball barely touched the ground. It was as if the guys were telepathic and knew exactly where each other was going to be.
Popular Powe
We Want Powe! We Want Powe
One of the best highlights from tonight wasn't a Warriors highlight, but rather a Celtics highlight. With about 4 minutes to go in the 4th quarter and the Warriors up 11, the crowd started chanting, "We Want Powe! We Want Powe!" This was of course a plea to Celtics' coach Doc Rivers to put the former Cal student and local favorite, Leon Powe into the game. With just under 3 minutes to go, Rivers relented and stuck the 2nd rounder the Warriors should have drafted into the game. He didn't disappoint. He picked up a board immediately, then came down the court and scored on a layup. The crowd erupted. The next time the Celtics came down he scored and drew the foul to complete the 3 point play. As a big Powe fan when he was at Cal, it was great to see the Warrior fans show him some love.
Entering Eighth
With tonight's win the Warriors are now a full game up on the Minnesota Timberwolves and two games up on the Clippers and Kings. Check out the standings. Now is the time for the Warriors to put together an extended win streak. With Sac, NOK (no Chris Paul), Memphis and Seattle up next, the Warriors should be able to string together a 6 game win streak. Of course, with this inconsistent bunch you never know what you'll get. But right now, the schedule is favorable for a nice run.
Randoms at the Game
- Props to the season ticket rep, who shall remain anonymous for now, who was standing outside in the freezing cold chatting it up with YaoButtaMing and I. Fun guy to talk to.
- The concession lines were sooooo slow tonight. What happened? We were just trying to redeem our family 4 pack hot dogs and drinks but it wound up taking 20 minutes even though we were 5th in line.
- To the guy who we gave 3 of our 4 hot dogs to, I hope they were good or at least you shared them with your buddies. Haha. Right place, right time, I guess.
Toying with the Celts
It could go to Andris Biedrins who did get Player of the Game at the Oracle Arena, but my pick is Baron Davis. It felt like he was just toying with the Celtics all night. He seemed to do as he pleased, which ended up with some ill-advised shots, but played excellent overall. His 27 points, 6 boards and 9:0 assist:turnover ratio were spectacular, but on par for the course for Baron this season.