I’ve been reading up on a couple of articles of last night’s game. Everyone seems to be happy that the Warriors have found some kind of solution in the scoring department, not only depending on Monta Ellis. But, let’s be realistic again and note that the win was against the lowly Nets who have just won 2 and lost 20. Although according to coach Keith Smart, the Warriors were walking into a team that won it’s last two out of three games and not a 2-20 team. BUT, with that said, it was a good solid, road win for the Warriors who would like to carry the winning momentum into the next game. The Warriors made the Nets look foolish causing at least 13 steals, 20 points off of turnovers and 28 points off fastbreaks. It was however a pleasant surprise to see the other Warriors chip in for the win, when it was clear that Monta wasn’t going to have another 45 point performance. C.J. Watson and Ellis finished with 18 points a piece, Mikki Moore finished with a 16 points,  Stephen Curry with 14, Corey Maggette with 13 and Anthony Randolph rounded out the group with 11 points and 9 rebounds. A solid win for a team that is still looking to find itself after the whole Jackson trade.

Next up for the Warriors is the Chicago Bulls who have lost four straight and nine out of their last 10. Last night, the Bulls got routed by the Atlanta Hawks and a former GS Warrior, Jamal Crawford who finished with 29 points. It will be a good test for the Warriors to see how well they match up against another team that is struggling of late.

I can’t really remember when the last time the Warriors had an explosive star such as Monta Ellis. Yeah, we had Baron Davis, Jason Richardson and yes, even Stephen Jackson. I didn’t live in the Bay Area, when Chris Webber was still here and it was the first run for Nellie. So last night, besides that wicked dunk by Davis against the Jazz in the playoffs, this is probably one of the most spectacular game that I’ve watched from the Warriors. First, they made an improbable comeback. They were down by 14 and then up by 14, a 28 point swing. They went on a sick 37-14 run, all led by Monta. And finally, Monta scored a new career high, 45 points, grabbed 5 boards and 5 steals, only to foul out with 6 minutes or so left and the Warriors played fantastic defense not to hold off the Warriors, to beat the Warriors. In fact, for a moment, with Monta in they were up by 14. When he left they even uped the lead by 1! Not a big difference…but still good. Monta now leads the NBA in steals with his 5 from last night.

Of course, even though Monta did a fantastic job on offensive by himself, the other Warriors played just as well. I was fairly impressed by rookie Chris Hunter. Everyone has heard how the Warriors have been lacking in size with the injuries to Ronny Turiaf and Andris Biedrins, but also the fact that they don’t really have size.  If Hunter can contribute to the Warriors, not necessarily on offensive, but in other areas, including those that may not show up on the stat sheet, the Warriors can give some teams a run for their money.

Corey Maggette finished with 14 points, 7 boards and 6 assists, though he did have 6 turnovers.  C.J. Watson finished 5 boards, 6 assists, 2 turnovers and 18 points. With those two bench players contributing greatly, the Warriors held on for the “W” and for once looked like a complete team with their starting group setting the tone and the bench picking up where the starters left off.

The only bad note was that Anthony Randolph, who played very well and finished with 12 points, rolled his ankle. His is probable for the game tonight. That is good news for the Warriors since they already had a thin bench.

Finally, this is good momentum for the Warriors as they head later into the week facing Devner tonight, at home against the Rockets on Thursday and home versus Orlando on Saturday. Seeing how most of the teams that the Warriors play are above .500, I can only hope for the momentum that the Warriors gathered from the “W” last night, they can play well in the next three games and get some more w’s.

Warriors have looked decent in the last couple of games, especially against over .500 teams. Minus of course the slapping the Lakers gave to them the last game. However, just speaking in stats,the Warriors are no better than they were before the Stephen Jackson trade. They were 3-6 when they were with him and are now 2-4 after. There are two ways to look at these records. The Warriors are still under .500 but they were already under .500 when they had Jackson, so clearly his play didn’t help the Warriors. Even if he was still here, the last 6 games included teams that have been to the playoffs in the past two years and have added their personnel.  I honestly don’t think Jackson would have made a huge difference even if he was here still. I think that if he was still here, the offensive explosiveness that Monta Ellis has shown in these last 6 games, we would not have seen. Even better, the Warriors learned how to win in the dire situations as in the example of beating the Mavericks with only 6 players suited up. Tonight, hopefully, the Warriors can pick up a win against the Pacers before taking on the Rockets and Magic, in the two games after. One other thing that was promising for the Warriors? They had another sell-out against the Lakers. I’m pretty sure most fans were there to see the Lakers, but that means, at least the Warriors are keeping interest in!

After a crazy performance by rookie Brandon Jennings of the Bucks, a pretty good basketball game by the Warriors, the weekend ended with a pretty sweet note, Captain Jack is no longer running the ship and is shipped out of the Bay Area.  A few blog posts back, I had written that because of all this drama, Stephen Jackson was causing, it was almost bad Karma for him to do it. I had written that if I were the GM, I’d ship him off to another rebuilding team, since he is locked in his contract to about three years, so he can’t escape the losing. It’s just business, I’d say.  And it’s even more fitting since he even went on to say that he only signed the extension cause he needs money! We all know that it’s about money, but sheesh, it makes him look like a gold digger and not really a basketball player. Apparently, he isn’t one of those guys that “love” the game, but rather a “business man.” Well despite all the bickering I’ve had about management, the Warriors shipped him off to another rebuilding team, worse, in my opinion than the Warriors, the Charlotte Bobcats! We got Raja Bell and Vladamir Radmanovic for Jackson and his hefty contract. Unfortunately, I am sad to see Acie Law go, but we are already guard heavy and I don’t think he would see much time. Money wise, this is an excellent trade for us, since Bell’s contract expires after this season and Radmanovic will only get paid if he exercises his option for next year. So we are off the books for Jackson’s salary and at a good time. As everyone is looking forward to next year’s off season, I hope maybe the freed up salary can convince a decent player to come to the Warriors and get them over that edge. Next year’s free agent class will have superstars and basketball players to choose from, not drama queens like Jackson.

As for Warriors though, the players that they traded for will help the team in many different ways. Finally you have a guy on your team that is a veteran and will help stabilize the leadership, in Bell. Though he wasn’t a leader wherever he went, he is a steady player and a good presence in the locker room. This is definitely needed in Monta Ellis, since he has been the latest player to bicker a lot and was influenced a lot by Jackson. Bell also provides a steady guy that can lead on the defensive end. I’ve watched him play over the years and he was known for getting in Kobe’s face. If you’re the guy that has the assignment of watching Kobe for that night or series, the team obviously thinks that your “D” is a lot better than the other guys. This is good, since the Warriors play few and far in between defense. He also played with Steve Nash where their style of play was an up and down tempo. This is good for both the team and Raja, since he is familiar with the style of play and likes to play that way. I think he is most effective when he has free reign on the court.

As for Radmanovic, he can provide a steady outside shot. Even though he didn’t see much time in LA, he was still effective playing for them. And he wasn’t on the court all the time with Kobe. He can add another element to the Warriors offensive and give them another option on the offensive end. Though his defense is stellar, I think he will fit nicely in the Warriors offensive and be a nice option for Stephen Curry or Monta Ellis to kick to after a drive that draws the defense in. Overall, I think he spreads the court for those two explosive guards and will open up lanes for them.

I think this is a good trade for us. We got rid of a disgruntled player, a heft contract and a bad taste in our mouths. The storybook ending for Jackson, ended a long time ago, and he turned in the ugly, deceiving, selfish sister. After the big brawl in Indiana the Warriors helped him re-build his NBA image and even named him Captain because he showed maturity and leadership, which the young Warriors needed. How does he repay? He signs a three-year extension and says he wants to stay as a Warrior, only for a few months to pass and have him say that he only signed the contract because of money and he wants to play for a contender and not the Warriors anymore, BUT, that if he was to get traded to another rebuilding team, he would rather stay a Warrior. Well he got his wish. Not only did his teammates say he was a distraction now, but they didn’t think that they could move on as a team if he was still here. And now, he is gone, but not to a contender. but to another rebuilding team, but worse than the Warriors. And he’ll hopefully have teammates that want to play with him. If that isn’t Karma, I don’t know what is.

I know, I know. I even promised on the last post that it would be the last time I talk about Stephen Jackson, and his impending departure. But how can I help it, when his antics are screaming across headlines on several different fronts. Just last night, the commentators were commentating about the Stephen Jackson situation. This morning the NBA sports section of Yahoo!, has a massive article about this dilemma by Marc J. Spears, and even SportsNation, Warriors Blog made something of there is, “No I in Team.” What else can I do, but do my duty and comment on the situation even further. Now rumors have been stirring from the Warriors locker room, that even after a beating of the Wolves, the Jackson situation is further distracting the team and that the chemistry of the team won’t get better until the situation is solved.  This is getting quite ridiculous. Even Jackson’s agent is blasting Coach Nellie. Though I’m not too much of a fan of the coach, having your agent talk smack against the coach is just adding the to the pile. According to different sources, the Warriors are no longer looking to fix the relationship with Jackson but rather hope that they can settle this situation and move on, without him. And there is only one solution to this major problem: Pack his bags and kick him out. Ah! If only that was that easy. But moving Jackson is a big problem, because of his big contract. His three years and $28 million remaining are making teams that want the veteran swing-man shy away because of the class of free agency next week. The most serious team out there that would be willingly to take on that hefty contract are the Cleveland Cavaliers. But they don’t want to part ways with their big center,  Zydrunas Illgauskas and the Warriors would like to add a big body to their small roster. But with that said, the trade is not even in motion and the likely hood of Jackson moving on that easily is again just a dream. Jackson did say that he would like to stay as a Warrior, if they were only going to trade him to another rebuilding team. However, I don’t think that Jackson has a no trade clause in his contract, so if I could dump him anywhere, I would. Even Jackson, knows that it is business and that the  business will do whatever is best for the business. This has a been a roller coaster ride that has not been fun at all. I’m ready to get off and start anew with some other player. Like my other posts in the past, this is past the point of no return, and adding to validate that point, several of Jackson’s teammates tell their disgusted feelings about this situation. I can hardly wait until a rumor comes up and becomes reality of when Jackson, all but disappears from this team and this situation. Then I think that the Warriors will have something else, and more positive thing to look forward to for the rest of the season.

146 points. I believe that is the most this year, so far. And I’m excited that for a moment, the Warriors are on top for something. Maybe it was the lack of defense the struggling Wolves were displaying and a combination of being at home where all things click.  But at the end of the day, the Warriors got a “W” and beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 146-105. Kelenna Azubuike led the Warriors with 31 points, followed by Anthony Randolph with 23 and Anthony Morrow with 20. Stephen Jackson only had 10 points, but had a career high 15 assists and 4 steals. Monta Ellis finished with 18 and rookie Stephen Curry finished 8. Numbers wise, it wasn’t a bad night at all. Everyone that got in the game scored at least one basket. As I was watching a bit of the game, things seem to flow nicely for the Warriors. It was a good feeling for Warrior fans last night as the team shot 57% from the field, 52% beyond the three and only 78% from the free throw line.  Maybe the Warriors can keep up this kind of intensity all the time and we can win at least a third of the season! Let’s start praying!

The Rockets looked terrible and the Warriors looked no better. It’s almost like we wanted to lose when both superstars of the Rockets are out!  They played ok, not great, but ok.  Who impressed me the most? Of course our young rookie, Stephen Curry! First, him being named starting PG, that almost seemed like it was the match to start another fire with Monte Ellis. But no news is good news, and unless they had some issues internally that were never  shown to the public, Ellis, seems to take it all in stride. The rookie had a very good showing. He ended up with 14 points, 7 assists and 4 steals. Pretty good in my book. One up him was Ellis who finished with 26 points. But even with more points, he didn’t seem like the impressive Ellis that we saw a couple years ago. It wasn’t his best performance, but it wasn’t his worst. I hope that he continues to accept his new role and improve overall as  a player, not to be so one dimensional.  Jackson, who was showered with boos, finished with 17 points. He looked kinda lost out there, as if he didn’t know his team any more.  But overall, the team played poorly. We should have won against the short-handed Rockets. They even had to ride a ferry to get to the Oracle! Come on!!!! (Bay Bridge collapsed and we are just gluing the pieces back together!) But let’s give the Rockets credit.  With both Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady down, newcomer Trevor Ariza and Luis Scola fueled the team to a victory. With the majority of your scoring on the bench, Rick Adelman, has to learn how to cook with the ingredients he has now, not the ingredients he wants. But in the end, the Warriors should have won this game. The Rockets are not a strong contender this year, and it would have been a good way for the Warriors to start the season. What I hope is that the same energy that Curry had last night, he brings in every game. I hope he doesn’t become a sellout and only plays for the money. He should play for the money and his love of the game. If Curry plays that way he did and improves in other areas, Warrior fans have some hope to look out into the future and see a bright future for this franchise. Let’s hope game 2 is better by coming out with a victory.

I swear, this is going to be the last post about Stephen Jackson and his situation with the Warriors.  It’s getting ugly and boring and really a distraction to a team that needs all the focus it can get. We’ve got a young team and someone who was supposed to provide leadership, stability and maturity has not done so. So in fact, as the GM and the owner, they should take a step back and realize that the relationship is over. We’ve got to trade him, move on and nurse our wounds. I’m so tired of reading and hearing news of the saga, it’s sickening. So finally what did we learn?

1. We thought Jackson would be a mature leader, especially after giving him the “Captain” title.  Let’s be serious for a moment. I personally believe that he was given this title because, well who else do you give it to? Your PG walked away to the Clips and then you had just traded Jason Richardson to some other team, who else has the “skills” to be the leader. Imagine the title be given to, Andris Biedrins? You think Jackson would really like that idea, listening to an unproven player? Well this has worked out really bad I think.

2. Jackson’s greedy. He said it himself, “he was born at night, not last night.” So he didn’t test the free agency market, but rather picked up a $30 million/ year extension for 3 years because he wanted the money.

3. Management needs help. This obvious. Obviously, they should have consulted someone about offering an extension to Jackson, who was clearly declining and BUT still had trade value. Maybe we could have traded for a better player and when I mean better player, I don’t just mean on the court stuff. Stuff in the locker room and team cohesiveness is very crucial to winning, in a long season. Just ask the past champions.

4. Time to move. Jackson wants out, I want out and so does a lot of basketball people. It’s clear that Jackson was never a good guy in a sense he could never appreciate what the franchise did for him. They rebuilt his image, he was a superstar, not just a role player, and he was making tons of money. I was reading some article and it said that Jackson had won a championship with the Spurs. Man, I don’t even remember seeing him on the bench, let alone win a championship! Clearly the writing is the wall and both sides just need to close the deal to get out.

With all that said, I wish him the best of luck. I hope he isn’t like Stephon Marbury, who has clearly lost his mind and is more a distraction to a team than depth. I hope we get this saga done with soon, because it is annoying to hear and watch. And I want the Warriors to win some games.