Ellis soaring through the air. By the way, what's Biedrins doing?
"I know, it's depressing"
Those were the words of my girlfriend as I sat trying to think of what to write for this recap. Then I got confused, is she talking about the game we just lost or me just being a Warrior fan in general? Probably both.
"Man we just lost to the Hawks...again, this time at home."
"I know, it's depressing"
We had a chance to win it on a last second shot by Stephen Jackson at the buzzer but he came up short. I thought that when Matt Barnes brought the ball up the court, he had a lane to the bucket for a layup, but he decided to pass to Jackson. Then Jackson had his own lane to get to the rim, but decided to pull it out and settle for a 20 foot pull up. The game wasn't decided by this last sequence, but I really thought these two could have got a better shot. In fact, if Jackson hit that game winner, this recap would be much different.
Let's rewind though. The first quarter essentially is where the ballgame was lost. Giving up 34 points while only scoring 26 puts yourself in a bad hole. There's nothing like having to fight an uphill battle when you can't play any defense. The Warriors trailed the entire game and had to scratch and claw their way back into it.
"The injuries just keep piling up."
"I know, it's depressing"
In addition to our two stars, Baron and JRich, we're now missing another starter, Mickael Pietrus. He was out because of his twisted ankle from the Bulls game. Then, midway through the game Al "TMNT" Harrington gets injured and has to leave the game. He was able to make it back but his scoring was missed as he was only able to contribute 6 points. I know every team has to deal with injuries but seriously, how many teams consistently get injured like this and to this caliber of player?
"Dude, we're not making the playoffs"
"I know, it's depressing"
The Warriors are now 24-28, 1.5 games out of the last playoff spot and are 11th in the West. There are no "must win" games in February, but this was as close to a must win as you can get simply because the Warriors cannot win on the road and the Hawks are a beatable team. Look at the difference. With a win, we'd be 25-27 and just a half game out of the last playoff spot. If they managed to split the next two games before the All-Star break, the lineup would get a huge boost with Baron and JRich coming back. Instead, it's a bigger uphill battle to just get back to .500.
But there's still a chance! The Clippers, Nuggets, and the rest of the lower teams in the West just can't seem to pull away from the pack. Even though the Warriors are struggling to get back to .500, at least they're only 1.5 games out of it. Make no mistake about it though, we need to worry about getting back to .500 before worrying about the playoffs. I really can't see a team making the playoffs in the West while below .500. For me, I'm not really into tanking the season when we still have a chance. I know that having a better shot at a top draft pick is valuable, but there are no guarantees especially given the Warriors history with luck.
"So who's up next? Denver for the 2nd game of a back to back."
"I know, it's depressing"
Warrior Wonder: Andris Biedrins. Boy was all over the place tonight. 16 points, 16 boards, and 4 assists. He manned the middle again as the Warriors only other two "big men" Foyle and Powell combined for 6 minutes.
Big game tonight for AB