UPDATE 2 (10/30/09 1:31pm): The Dream Shake recaps the Rockets win: Game 2 Recap: Scola, Ariza fuel Rockets' 108-107 victory over Golden State
UPDATE (12:51pm): My sincerest apologies for forgetting to name a Warrior Wonder. Chalk it up to opening night craziness. We take our Warrior Wonders seriously around these parts. To make it up to all you golden folks there's a game highlights video from NBA/Yahoo! added to the end of this piece in addition to the Warrior Wonder.
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Nellie to "Captain" Jack: "Look man- Riley's on the phone right now trying to trade you.
Please do something- anything- to boost your trade value tonight."
Trade Talks Heating Up? Jackson Could Be Moved By the End of the Week [SB Nation.com Story Stream]
Preview/ Game Thread (1475+ comments)
Final Box Score
Blog Buddy: The Dream Shake
We'll have much more in store for you on the Warriors season opener, but here's a first recap to get things started off right in 2009-2010. Jump for some quickies.
Quick bullets:
- Thanks to all 600+ of you who came to GSoM Night 7! It was great seeing so many of you cool folks at the game rocking some very fly blue and yellow jerseys. Your continued support of this entire project is most appreciated.
- Overall the crowd was relatively subdued and quiet- it was a like a LA Fakers or San Antonio Snores home game. The frenzy of the Roaracle that we've come accustomed to just wasn't there- thank you Chris Cohan, Robert Rowell, and Stephen Jackson. There were quiet a bit of empty seats as well- not that I blame anyone with the sad state of 1) the economy, 2) the Bay Bridge, and 3) the Warriors.
- Props to the Houston Rockets. They are not fielding a good team at all because of all those injuries, but they're a smart squad especially on defense. Rick Adelman and the rest of their coaching staff does a fine job keeping this squad prepared. It was a like a chess game and the Rockets knew the Warriors next move every time. Part of this is undoubtedly due to the low IQ-ness of the Warriors personnel, but let's give credit where credit is due.
- Aside from the 6 turnovers I was pretty impressed with Trevor Ariza. Isiah Thomas sure knows how to pick them. Clever Trevor was knocking down his WIDE OPEN shots and sprinkled in some dimes and boards. It was like he was playing with Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and Pau Gasol again. Playing the Warriors will do that to you.
- The Rockets are NOT a good team. They came into Oakland tonight on the second night of a back-to-back after a tough loss to the Portland Trail Blazers and beat the Warriors on their home opener. That's unacceptable from the Warriors. If the tables were turned and the Warriors lost of the road under this scenario, we'd be hearing a ton of excuses from the usual homers.
- Stephen Curry really showed me something in his debut tonight. On D he was very quick and pesky which is reflected in his 4 picks. It's nice to see some scrappiness on some D from a Warrior rookie, because the vets (Andris Biedrins, Stephen Jackson, and Corey Maggette) sure weren't bringing that on defense tonight. I also appreciated Curry's sharp passing and ability/ willingness to distribute the rock and try to run an offense. Sure he made some mistakes (that pass towards the end of the 4th to a cutting Biedrins in the key which just needed a little more masala), but he's the last guy to blame about the season opener loss.
- Anthony Morrow aka Chocolate Rain aka Ammo- did the rest of his teammates pay any attention when he received the award for being the 3pt % champ earlier this evening? Any attention at all? Seriously can the Warrior do a better job of setting him up and getting him the rock? It was painful to watch how under-utilized he was the entire night.
- Andris Biedrins was very sloppy with the ball, didn't show any improvement on D, and didn't bring it on the boards tonight. Ronny Turiaf did very little positive as well. Very disappointing performance from the starting 4-5 combo against a non-elite NBA frontline.
- Monta Ellis had some nice drives to the bucket, but also looked very stoppable on a few of them which wasn't the case back in his breakout season of 2007-2008. I wasn't too impressed with him handling and distributing the rock overall, but it's just one game so we'll see. It was a decent enough performance. I wouldn't put this loss on him.
- Why did Anthony Randolph even play 10 minutes? I thought he was hurt. Major props to him for that swat on a fast breaking Rocket though. I love that don't quit mentality. Too bad it was erroneously called as a foul. The story of the Warriors right there.
- Stephen Jackson's line doesn't look all that bad at 17-4-4, but to tell you the truth he didn't look that good out there. The body language just seemed off, but my perception could be distorted by all those (deserved) boo's. They aren't at that Mike Dunleavy boo-bird level or anything, but it is noticeable. I wonder if the boo's are a wakeup call for the former "Captain" and his negotiation buddy Robert Rowell. What a disaster. It all could have been avoided too.
- At the end of the day it's just 1 loss. Sure it's a bad loss to a bad team at home, but still- just 1 loss.
- Props to the Warriors for holding BOTH Houston Rocket superstars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady scoreless tonight. Who says the Warriors don't play any defense!
Rudolph and Masala Ain't No Joke!
Don't sweat the technique.
Blogtastic Shout Outs
- DT and Meschery over at Fear the Beard - Behold the dichotomy of a team divided: meet your 2009-10 Golden State Warriors.
- JG from BallHype
- AlanaG from Yardbarker
Please do make sure to see what our buddies in Houston thought about tonight's festivities over at The Dream Shake. These guys are pretty hilarious and make far less bad jokes than you're accustomed to reading from me.
Looking for more of the Dub-ness? Don't miss out on our 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Preview Super Blowout Special:
- Micro-Warriornomics :: GSoM's 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Preview (Part 1 of 2) [Player Previews]
-
Macro-Warriornomics - WE BELIEVE WE SUCK :: GSoM's 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Preview (Part 2 of 2) [Team Preview]
Stef-fun Curry gets the game 1 honors and I have a feeling this rook will be collecting many Warrior Wonders this year and beyond.
Stephen Curry's debut: 14 points (7-12 FG), 7 dimes (only 2 turnovers), 2 rodmans, and 4 picks, tying him for the best plus/minus on the Warriors last night with Kelenna Azubuike at +7.
Don't sweat the technique ya'll!
Oh and for all you Nellie haters constantly spouting that nonsense that he doesn't play rookies (um, he simply doesn't play players who aren't good regardless of age) ROOKIE Kid Curry played nearly 36 minutes last night second only to Monta Ellis. ROOKIES Chris Webber and Mitch Richmond won the Rookie of the Year honors under Coach Don Nelson back in the day. ROOKIE Tim Hardaway made the All-Rookie 1st team under Coach Don Nelson.
With Blake Griffin sadly out for a few weeks, anyone think Curry has a chance to win the 2009-2010 ROY? I know, I know it's only 1 game, but watching Curry this year is going to be fun. Here's to Stef-fun.
Game Highlights