Originally posted January 28, 2006 by Atma Brother ONE
Sure the Warriors lost, but this isn't a loss I mind. A one point overtime loss on the road without JRich is nothing to be ashamed about. For the most part they played tough. Are they headed to the playoffs? Well that's another story.
"What I have to pass the ball?"(AP Photo)Most of hoops nation had their eyes on their game to see how many points Kobe would drop. Pietrus played some pretty solid defense on Kobe on the first half (5 points) and then Monty used Derek Fisher to guard him for most of the second half (25 points). Yeah don't ask. I'm over simplifying it, but basically Monty doesn't have a clue about shutting down the other team's best offensive threat. Kobe didn't really seem to be trying in this game till the 4th quarter. Maybe the unfair criticism about his 81 point game got to him.
Air France took off!(AP Photo)His 1 steal and 1 block hint at the defense he's capable of. With Monty foolishly going with Fisher on Kobe in the second half, Pietrus pretty much shut down Lamar Odom. Odom was going at Dunleavy before he was knocked out of the game with a rolled ankle (keep reading), but looked like a scrub against Pietrus.
Monty- START PIETRUS INSTEAD OF DUNLEAVY. Dunleavy has had every chance in the world and still hasn't shown he deserves to be starting. Pietrus gives the Warriors defense and aggressiveness- something they need to avoid being down by so many points early in games.
T-Double had 15 points and collected 14 boards. His defense has really picked up the past few games. Aside from one perfectly timed block on Odom late in the game, Foyle had a pretty bad night. 4 rebounds in 27 minutes from your starting center is unnaceptable.
Derek Fisher really likes to shoot. No, I mean he really likes to shoot. He took 15 shots, but at least he went to the line 10 times. Have you noticed that every time he plays the Lakers he tries to be like Kobe (more so than usual)? My theory is that Fish wants to play for Phil and the Lakers real bad and he's trying to put on a show for them.
Before he rolled his ankle, Dunleavy looked like he was headed to another bad game. He's usually a pretty solid free throw shooter, but he missed both of his attempts last night. But for the first time, I think I saw why maybe some clueless Warriors fans think he's so smart. I always thought people believed this because a) his dad is a coach (which is dumb since intelligence is not genetic) and b) he's white (which is dumb because race has nothing to do with intelligence). It's because he has a big head.
His head is 3x the size of Smush's!(AP Photo)Dunleavy rolled his ankle in the first half after landing wrong when trying to collect a rebound. If you've ever played hoops, rolling your ankle is pretty painful. It's usually not a serious injury, but one that lingers and isn't fun. On a side note- is Mike Dunleavy Jim Barnett's love child? After Dunleavy landed wrong, he blamed Mike's ankle roll on Andris Biedrins (aka the Human Foul Film) for being out of position. Huh? Look Andris might be pretty uncoordinated (his free throw stroke makes Ben Wallace's look like Ray Allen's), but how is he responsible for Dunleavy's rolled ankle? Just insane.
Baron: "Get this scrub out of here!"(AP Photo)Hate to say this, but the Warriors are a better team without Dunleavy getting 30+ minutes a night. Even Jessica Alba who sat courtside seemed happy to waive Dunleavy goodbye.
Jessica: "Seeya Mike! My post up moves are more fantastic than yours!"(AP Photo)Tough loss, but good effort. Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?! Let's not get into that.
Warrior Wonder
Aside from jacking up an impossible shot at the end of the 4th when he was triple teamed, Boom Dizzle played like a superstar last night. 29 points, 10 dimes, and 3 steals without JRich is incredible. Baron took it to the hole, set up his teammates, and played pretty good defense. Great game.
Boom Deazy even had time to tickle Devean George behind his knee as he drove past him!(AP Photo)