The Warriors are in a funk. Not to mention they have now lost 9 out of 11 in the month that began on April 1 – April 18th. The season is lost that’s for sure. The only thing that the Warriors are playing for now is pride and experience. Experience for a young team. Experience for a rookie coach. And experience on what it feels like for another lost season for fans.
Oracle still gets packed and that’s a positive sign. Fans still care. Fans want to win. But if more losing seasons follow, how long can this team survive.
Nothing is certain. The only thing that is constant is change. And change is going to happen this off-season. It made be a big splash in the free agency (though there aren’t a lot of good options in that category) and certainly changes in personnel (my preference would getting rid of Andris Beidrin’s contract).
But for now, the Warriors continue do what they do best: Losing.
Monday night was no exception. The San Antonio Spurs came to Oracle with one goal. To help their cause in having a better seeding in the West. Their season will no doubt continue after they had already locked up one of the top seeds. They do not need any more games to lock their place in the history books as Manu Ginobilli has joined the 10,000 point club. All they wanted was another game to perfect their perfection. Labeled as old, they weren’t expected to do well against these young high power teams. But quietly, they’ve put a fantastic record (45-16) and all but secure home court.
And probably the slap in the face the Spurs did on Monday night (you mean besides the 120-99 spanking?!?!?!) is that Tim Duncan only played 12 minutes. In fact, the three top Spurs (Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu) spent more time on the bench than on the floor. A deep, young and healthy team, the San Antonio reserves just outplayed the short-handed Warriors.
And the Warriors are more than short-handed. For starters, Mark Jackson put out, Charles Jenkins, Klay Thompson, Dorrel Wright, Jeremy Tyler and Michael Gladness, who had just signed a 10 day contract not too long ago. Who are these guys? (Makes you think why he didn’t start Nate Robinson or Brandon Rush)
Robinson, coming off the bench, had a tremendous game. Basically playing starter minutes, Robinson scored 30 points and collected seven rebounds. Thompson was equally outstanding and finished the night with 29 points, eight boards, five assists and two steals. Wright, continues his sometimes complentary role, with 17 points and six boards. Jeremy Tyler scored 11 points but collected 10 boards, good for a double double, while Chris Wright had no points, but did collect seven boards and three blocks.
Understandably, the Warriors never contended in the game. By the end of the first, the Spurs were up by 15. Then they were down 51-30 before cutting the lead down to a manageable number. But the Spurs, who had taken Duncan and Parker off, put those two all-stars back in and pushed the lead back up. The Warriors were down 70-49 at half. The start of the second half was no different from the first, as the Spurs began to pull away and stay away.
Statiscally, the Warriors did a good job. They outscored the Spurs in the paint, they shot well from the field, from the strip and beyond the three. But where the stats did count, they were terrible. They got out rebounded, turned the ball over more and gave up more fast break points. And really, when you shoot 15-17 from the charity strip compared to 36-43, you’re going to lose.