Golden State Warriors

Golden State Warriors season preview

Projected starting line-up

G Baron Davis
G Stephen Jackson
F Matt Barnes
F Al Harrington
C Andris Biedrins

Reserves
Monta Ellis
Mickael Pietrus
Kelenna Azubuike


Last year
Let's just jump to January 17, 2007. That was the date where Golden State traded Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Ike Diogu and Keith McLeod to the Pacers for Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Josh Powell. Before that, the Warriors were just not a threat, Nellie ball requires all 5 players on the court, not just 3, so Dunleavy and Murphy had to go. Harrington and Jackson both were taller guys who could run and shoot. And people forget because of his attitude, that Jackson was a star player for Indiana. People also forgot, because he was always hurt, just how good Baron Davis was. Davis was a machine, especially down the stretch and in the playoffs. Avg 20 points and 7 assists for the season, Davis was the leader of the craziest style of street basketball anyone has seen. And this style brought forward little known players that must have felt like being back on the blacktop courts. Monta Ellis had a stand out season, as did Andris Biedrins as the only legit big on the team. Throw in Matt Barnes, and 20 ppg Jason Richardson and this is a team that had all the right pieces to make this style of basketball work. Now, we already know what they did to Dallas. And I will say, that series was one of the more entertaining playoff series I have seen. From that rabid, playoff starved Golden State crowd, to Nelson letting Dirk know that he is owned by the Nellster. It was history and great basketball at that. Sure, I knew that Golden State had no chance against Utah, the lack of rebounding killed them, but it sure was fun to watch. The dunk that Davis had over AK-47 was one of the biggest dunks I have seen in quite a while. Now the best part of this whole season, because it came out of nowhere, is ffinding out what will they do for an encore?


Off-season
Drafted Marco Belinelli
Traded Jason Richardson and Jermareo Davidson to Charlotte for Brandan Wright
Signed Austin Croshere
Signed Kosta Perovic
Waived Sarunas Jasikevicius
singed Troy Hudson
Resigned Mickael Pietrus
Signed Pat Burke
Waived Carlos Powell

So trading a 20 points per game player like Richardson for a draft pick might seem questionable, but let's be honest, this team is stacked of player capable of shooting and scoring. Jason Richardson is expensive and a health risk, so I can't say I blame the team for moving him. They won't feel the lose. Especially drafted a sharpshooter in Marco Belinelli. The biggest drama for the team in the off-season was Don Nelson requesting a new contract. With out Nellie, this team is screwed as it was put together with him in mind. Well, thankfully, the drama is over, as Nelson returned (to less money then he wanted)


2007-2008
We know that the crazy basketball style they used last year can work for a short time, but we also know that this team is not going to get anywhere deep in the playoffs until it can fix the major whole which is rebounding and defense inside. It is early to tell if they fixed that, but let's not forget that the team that made it to round 2 last year only started playing together in January. And with even more new faces, this training camp and off-season is crucial to deal with issues, like rebounding, if they want to be a legit contender. As long as the players stay on the court (health with Davis, legal trouble with Jackson) this team will have more ups then downs this year, although it will see it's share of downs as well. When the jump shot is not falling, which will happen more then once over the course of 82 games, this team will not get a victory, even with it's slashers. On the flip side, when the ball is falling, this team is hard to beat as it plays a style that is hard to duplicate and hard to stop. San Antonio has won it's rings by being able to adapt to the different styles of basketball teams play as well has being able to control the tempo to their liking for the most part. But Golden State takes it to such an extreme, that it's hard for any team, even the Spurs, to stop the train once it's going. But only if that jump shot is falling.


What to watch for
1) Dallas - Can this team continue to own Dallas?
2) Injuries and other - Can this team stay health and out of trouble?
3) Warriors - Just watching this team in general was a great part of the playoffs last year and should be once again this year

Predictions
They are in the nasty West. And it's all going to come down to rebounds. Can they improve in that area. They beat Dallas last year because Nelson knows the Mavericks like the back of his hand, but it was also obvious that the team had no chance against the Jazz because Utah ate them up inside the key. If they can rebound, they can jump up 2 or 3 spots. I am though going under the assumption that we are going to see something similar to last year.

Between 41 and 44 wins this season with a 8th place finish in the West.