Kings 116, Golden State 97: Game Recap

As I did for both Phoenix and Clippers fans, I'm going to do a recap of the preseason game yesterday from a Warriors perspective.  It's a shame that so many of these games aren't televised anymore.  I will give Warriors fans this though, a fair amount of them traveled all the way to ARCO to watch their Dubs play.  If you're interested in my Kings recap, its here.

The Warriors are still going to get out there and run with the best of them.  Keith Smart hasn't changed that.  Everyone in that lineup (other than maybe Biedrins or their other centers) has the ability to score in different ways and pass the ball.  During the times when they were flowing, particularly in the fast break, it was beautiful to watch.  The Warriors were also seemingly committed to playing defense surprisingly, and they were led in this regard (also surprising to me) by Monta Ellis.  Ellis and the rest of the Warriors did a great job at forcing turnovers, and collapsing the D, especially on Tyreke Evans.  The entire Warriors team did a great job at playing the passing lanes too.  You will not be able to throw a lazy pass or have a loose dribble around these guys, or they'll take advantage of it quickly.

The Warriors did have a couple problems though, and it mainly involved interior defense and perimeter shooting.  The Warriors definitely had an off-night from range, or this game might have gone a little differently. The Warriors had a lot more success in the mid-range.  As for interior defense, the Warriors couldn't handle the Kings big combo of DeMarcus Cousins and Carl Landry.  They did a good job collapsing when Tyreke drove, but Carl Landry kept beating David Lee with the same move, and DeMarcus was just way too powerful for any of the Warriors bigs, although Biedrins started off playing nice D on him with an early block. The Warriors had difficulty rebounding the ball as well, and once the bench came in, the offense got sloppy as well.

Still there was a lot to like about the game from the Warriors perspective, and after the jump I'll have player evaluations.

2010-11 Season Previews: Golden State Warriors

Not sure how I feel about the new Uniforms yet.  Better than the last ones at least.

The NBA season is fast upon us, so its time for the Pick and Scroll to begin previewing each team.  We're going to go in order from worst record to best.  Yesterday we did the Kings, and now we move a bit down the highway to the other Northern California team, the Golden State Warriors.


2009-10 Record: 26-56
Additions: Guber & Lacob (Owners), Keith Smart (Coach), David Lee (Sign-and-Trade), Charlie Bell (Trade), Dan Gadzuric (Trade), Dorell Wright (FA), Ekpe Udoh (Draft), Jeremy Lin (FA), Lou Amundson (FA)
Subtractions: Chris Cohan, Don Nelson, Corey Maggette, Ronny Turiaf, Kelenna Azubuike, Anthony Randolph, Devean George, C.J. Watson, Anthony Morrow, Chris Hunter, Anthony Tolliver

Unsung Heroes: Pacific Division

Players are often described as being "overrated" or "underrated".  In the NBA, this often translates to overrated players being players that are good, but vastly overpaid for their abilities, or who get more media exposure than some other players, while underrated often means a player who is making a pittance for his current production (funnily enough, underrated players tend to become labeled overrated when they get new, bigger contracts).

I do think there are some underrated players though, players that aren't as widely known for their roles on their team, who don't often get mentioned for their contributions but are indeed integral parts of their team.

Today is the last day of this series, and after the jump, we finish off on the West Coast with the Pacific Division.

Chris Cohan Sells the Warriors

After years of poor management and penny-pinching, Chris Cohan, owner of the Warriors since 1995, has sold the team to Peter Guber and Joseph Lacob for what is now an NBA record $450 million.  Many Warriors fans were hoping billionaire Larry Ellison was going to buy the team, but he was outbid by Guber & Lacob.  The fact remains though, that the Warriors are no longer under Cohan's ownership, and that is cause to rejoice right there.