http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?pa...tatePreview0506 Pretty mixed reviews from the 12 "experts." Chad Ford does seem to be pretty enamored with the W's. I'd have to agree with the consensus that the W's, although improved, need to prove to the league that they can play consistent basketball. The biggest concerns seem to be low post scoring, rebounding, and defense. But of course, that's been the talk of concern on this board. There was a lack of Pietrus hype on the preview, so he is till an enigma to the league. Let's just hope his desire to play translates into smart moves on the court and spectacular play at the rim.
Weeee... Legler and his 14th prediction. So, other than Hornets, no NBA team in west will be worse then us? Gee, it has been few years since you left Warriors with bad term. Get over it. Well, we didn't prove anything yet, and our preseason results aren't exactly thrilling, so I guess their predictions are understandable. And, this preseason result eliminated a lot of optimism from myself as well. I am still predicting 48-34, but until we improve our front court or at least fix rebounding, inside scoring, and defense, we probably won't see much improvement from where we are. Diogu was brought to fix those problems, so let's see what he can do...
Totally agree with Kwan...shocking, I know... I'd say legler is a weenie who needs to get over the fact that he wasn't good enough for one of the worst teams in the league, but that'd be an insult to weenies everywhere. I do like that there either doesn't seem to be as much hype around the Warriors as I thought or that the experts are wary of the hype and want the Warriors to prove themselves before they jump on the bandwagon. My one disagreement with Kwan is their record. 48-34 seems a little high for me still, but I'll go with 44-38.
Yeah, it was rather refresing to see some usual 'Warriors can't make PO' prediction. After all, almost all predictions has been rosy and fluffy for Warriors. I guess it's because of preseason record. I really hope Warriors will make PO this season, because if they don't, it really will be a death blow for the team and fans...
Oh man good stuff guys. The 'weenie' and 'weenies' comment made me laugh. I think a little pessimism and a reality check is what the team needs to play with urgency to prove some of these guys wrong. These guys we have play like they've got a chip on their shoulder because of the number of consecutive losing seasons accrued under this franchise. I think all of our starters certainly know this, which is why they've been working as hard as they have been in the offseason. Like many believed we were only one good player away from making the playoffs and that could be or certainly is Baron Davis. If he goes down, we'll we're out of the playoff picture for sure... unless we pull a Memphis or a Seattle Supersonics with the Ray Allen/Rashard Lewis thing. As far as hype goes, it's like everyone says: "it's better to be underrated than overrated." Some fans were crying over the poor start of teams like the Nuggets and the Rockets and all they needed was either a new coach or just a little chemistry and the right trades.
I'm still rooting for a Paul Silas hiring at the all-star break. I really dont like Monty, he may be alright if he gets a team who can play a half-court style offense but his rotation and timing when calling timeouts and things of the like are horrible. Monty still doesnt have any trusty plays we can use during a slow-paced game and we havent improved defensively (thgouh our personel isnt exactly built for defense). Baron should get half of his paycheck if he gets extended.
Let's just stick with some continuity in our coaches. We can complain about his faults, but what matters is that he improves in year two. Year one was really about learning what the team does. We know what they do, but he may not. He needs to know firsthand and not from a fan's perspective, but from a coach's. But yeah, I consider this season up for grabs. I mean c'mon we're the Warriors. This absent-from-playoff streak has to end sometime, but maybe the basketball gods have already decided that's it's just too funny to let the Warriors see a post season. I mean, I'm sure the God of Dunking is chilling with the God of Shotblocking up in basketball mount olympus saying, "you know what would be funny?" "What?" "If the Warriors didn't make the playoffs" "Again? We've been doing this for 11 years now." "I know those Warrior fans must be some hardcore masochists" I guess the bottom line is we need some kind of system. We can't just run around the court and improvise because only Bdiddy is creative enough to run a team like that. We need off the ball movement because we don't have any Vince Carters or T-Mac's or Dirk Nowitzki's.
