Ouch.
Well, I guess that the only comforting thing about this loss was that it came at the hands of two beloved ex-Warriors. Well, to be honest Antawn "Fugly Shot" Jamison didn't do as much damage as, say... Caron Butler did, but seeing as Antawn has once graced the floor of our beloved Oakland Arena on a regular basis we must always assume two things about him.
1) He has a holy glow that will surround him for the rest of his life. It can never be shed, even when he is playing Hide and Go Seek. And that must really suck because he's probably always the first one found. Y'know, what with the constant glow and all...
2) In post-game analysis, his game points (18) count for double. Why, it looks like he chalked up a nice little 36 point game then today! Wow, Caron, that's two higher than your petty 34. That's right Butler. Bow before the might that is an ex-Warrior. Bow.
Okay I gotta be honest, I can't apply rule number two to Arenas because I would have to give that guy credit for 90 points tonight. But for all of you old school Dubs fans, you gotta love Arenas. Man I miss that kid. Okay, enough tomfoolery , let's get started.
Does anyone see anything wrong with this picture? (AP Photo)
That was a buttload of scoring. I wish I could say that for the defense in this game, but to our credit, the lack of D was prevalent among both teams. The result? Well, short of the loss, a hell of a fun game to watch.
MP2 put up some solid supporting stats tonight but defensively he wasn't really on his game. Most of Warriors Nation can agree that we love seeing him on the Starting 5, but it's important for him to realize that part of what got him there was his solid defensive capabilities. Now to be fair, the rest of the Dubs weren't much better in this regard. Frankly, I like Caron Butler, but 34 points and 15 boards? As much as he earned himself his season high tonight, we did nothing to stop it. As for Arenas, we can all agree that 45 points is excessive, but at least our boys had the excuse of being occasionally blinded by his ex-Warrior holy glow as he came down the court. All indications are that it can be distracting.
Dunleavy, you're looking better and better off the bench. In 19 minutes he went a productive 5-8 shooting with 13 points, 3 boards, 2 dimes, and 2 jacks! As much as I like MP2 as a starter, I'm starting to like Dun off the pine! Now make no mistake, in no way am I inferring that he gets his starting position back. I just find it noteworthy that since the major starter change has been made, he's been statistically contributing more to the team in proportion to minutes played.
We saw a fine double-double and an assist game (13) from Boom Dizzle tonight. Unfortunately, we also saw a horrendous shooting night. (8-21 on shots; 1-6 on 3pt attempts) Overall there were a few other chuckers on our side tonight in terms of putting up the 3, (MP2: 2-6, JRich 3-7) but overall, I think the Warriors are getting better and controlling their urge to throw the long bomb. Plus, when you look at the Wizards' 3 pt shooting tonight, we don't look so bad! HAHAHAHAAAA! Oh wait... we lost.
Smelly pit D. The most flagrant of all fouls. (AP Photo)
Other shout-outs, good and bad:
(GOOD) Troy Murphy with a double-double? SHOCKING. Aggressive on the boards, and efficient with his shots (5-6), I love this kid more and more every game.
(BAD) Are you kidding me Adonal? If you were trying out for First Team All Useless tonight; congratulations. Two swats aren't going to cut it. YOU ARE OUR STARTING CENTER. Get a board! Get a bucket! Grab that mop from the kid and wipe the sweat off of the floor. Do SOMETHING.
(GOOD) Monta Ellis was looked pretty sharp out there in the time he came out. His past few games were a bit stagnant, but I'm glad to see Monty testing the waters with this one. He's got some killer speed.
(BAD) Biedrins. Dude. Seriously. Stop fouling. Please?
As always, more improvements need to be made here. Friday we meet Indiana. For those of you that remember our last showdown, they didn't have their major starters playing, we went down 20 points in the 1st quarter, and I wept like a little girl. Let's put this one behind us, and look forward to a lot more D, and hopefully a win under our belts.
WARRIOR WONDER: I can't give this one to Arenas, can I? Judges? Anyone?
Fine. I gotta give it to Rich. Solid offensive effort tonight with 31 points off of a respectable 13-20 shooting. Most fly.