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Behind strong performances from Latrell Sprewell and Joe Smith, the Golden State Warriors defeated the hapless San Antonio Spurs, 108-94. Just the third to last Valentine's Day of this millennium, which makes the win all the more sweeter — romantic, even. We're all about romanticizing here at Golden State of Mind.
Now, let's not get too excited about this win. The Spurs are terrible, let's be honest — in the tank, even. With David Robinson going out earlier this year, and GM Gregg Popovich sending head coach Bob Hill home after a 3-15 start, it's clear that winning isn't necessarily the goal. But, hey: for Warriors coach Rick Adelman, winning IS the goal, and we won, so woohoo! To paraphrase the biggest hip hop star of today, Puff Daddy: "Can't nobody hold us down!"
I'm really excited about Joe Smith, guys. 20 points and 13 boards last night, and we're seeing more and more 20+ point games from him — despite being lukewarm on him early on, I think maybe we can really build something with him. And, I mean, that shouldn't come as a surprise; you get the #1 pick in the draft, you should come away with a foundational player. You know the Spurs are trying to do the same thing — they want to maximize their chances to land likely top pick Tim Duncan, of course. But hey fellas — good luck with that! Tanking is a dangerous game, and you might not come out on top.
Back to Joe Smith: well ok, his 20 points DID come on just 6-20 shooting, in 45 minutes. But he sure got to the line last night, hitting 8-8 from the stripe. He had an assist, a steal, and a block — about average for Joe in all those categories, but this is really looking like a turning point for him.
Spree, meanwhile, filled 'em up. 32 points on 12-22 shooting, tallied seven assists, four rebounds, two steals, and hit three threes. Spreeeee! Yep, I'm glad we "showed him the money!" if you get my drift — he's going to be a Warrior for a good long while. Coach Adelman should continue to bring the most out of him. I'll go ahead and give Spree the Warrior Wonder.
Let's not forget our beloved Chris Mullin, last of the old guard, still contributing 18 points and five assists. Ok, he did get cooked by a suddenly rejuvenated Dominique Wilkins, who came off the bench for the Spurs to pour in 22 points. After spending last year on Greece, it must feel great for Dominique to be back on the court with smart, motivational players like Avery Johnson, Monty Williams, and Vinny Del Negro. ... Haha, I was totally joking about Del Negro, he's a dumbo.
Anyway, even against the lowly Spurs, a win is a win. And it'll be nice coming into San Antonio in the near future — it'll take awhile for Popovich to become a confident head coach in this league, who knows if Robinson will regain form after his broken foot this season, and the draft lottery is of course a wild crapshoot. We should be able to pencil in some wins here for the next couple of years.