Warriors (W-L): 38-40
Kings (W-L): 32-46
Time: 7:00PM PST tip off
TV: Fox Sports Bay Area Plus
Radio: 107.7 KSAN"BEAT LA...BEAT LA...BEAT LA...!"
It was a little odd chanting that while watching the Lakers vs. Clippers game last night. I hoped for a miracle that for some reason, both teams would lose, catapulting the Warriors into the playoffs for good. (Un)fortuntaely, the Clippers would not be denied. More specifically, Corey Maggette (and Sam Cassell) would not let their teams lose, blowing up for a near triple double (39 pts, 8rbs, and 9asts) while withstanding a more than devasting blow to his... ya know.. his one's and two's by Andrew Bynum's Karl Malone-like knees. Funny thing was that when TNT did a replay of that scene, the announcers seemed to show explicit concern for Maggette's injury.... until the slow-mo showed him grabbing his manhood, which they then immediately cut to a commercial break without any warning. In my opinion, getting hit there is as important as a torn acl injury-- they both may affect your future, albeit in different ways of course.
Anyway, the race for the 8th (or even 7th) is even tighter now. The Warriors are sort of sandwiched between the surging Clippers, the creeping on the come up Hornets (damn they're resilient!), and the titanic-like Lakers. But lets not forget that our beloved Warriors are 12-5 since that questionable game against the Wizards (that extra win could really come in handy right now...) and have actually won a few games on the road. As we always say at GSoM: THIS IS THE BIGGEST GAME EVER!
Really folks, it is.
Which leads us to our game tonight with our Northern California rivals. The Sacramento Kings-- who might be without MC Ron Artest (I would love to see him go 16 bars with Tony Parker... HA!) and Brad Miller tonight-- have been pretty average at home (20-18). Lets just hope they don't have a repeat of the last time these two met, an unexpected blow out by a reasonably subpar team. At any rate, the Warriors need this win and Arco is still not an easy place to play in despite the Kings recent struggles.
Another interesting subtext for the game is that tonights win would give the Warriors the most wins since their last playoff season back in 1993-1994.
Vegas odds: Even (Foxsports.com as of 6:34 am pst)
Predictions:
* Warriors creep back from 12 down in the 3rd to win by 7.
* Francisco Garcia has a "breakout" game
* Monta goes for his usual efficient 17-5-4 with two twisty lay-ups that make you say: WTF!
* Some great TMNHarrington photos.
You know who else is turtle-like? Anyone catch "I Love New York"? Chance, one of final suitors, called Tango, the eventual winner, "Turtle guy" and I think at times called him "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle." That dude definitely had turtle-like qualities.
Make sure to give us your predictions in the comments before tip off and post any comments you have during the game right here.
UPDATES:
- FSN Bay Area (the mothership channel) will cut to the Warriors game as soon as the Sharks game is over.
- Game Preview from our friends over at Sactown Royalty. They're good folks, but let's show them who the real kings of Northern California are tonight.
UPDATE 2: Live Box Score from Yahoo!
UPDATE 3:
Warriors Win #39! 125-108
Let's see if the Blazers can put on a crazy comeback against the Clippers right now. Fakers vs Sunny Delight on ESPN- BEAT LA!
Stay tuned for the Recap!