<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">NEW YORK - The most expensive item on sale at the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue is a framed photo collage of the 50 men judged to be the league's all-time greatest players in a 1996 vote, with signatures of all but one of the superstars. It can be yours for a mere $75,000. What you won't find among the racks of jerseys, T-shirts, shorts, basketballs and other trinkets at the NBA's flagship retail outlet is that which the Warriors covet the most: a playoff berth. If they ever are going to lay their hands on one of those, it'll have to be through their own sweat and tears. So even though coach Don Nelson admitted Wednesday night that the playoffs are most likely not in the cards after a humiliating 113-83 meltdown against the Chicago Bulls, Warriors veterans Mickael Pietrus and Jason Richardson refused to admit that it's over. "As players, we believe that we're going to make the playoffs. That's what we're thinking," Pietrus insisted after an autograph-signing session at the NBA Store on Thursday afternoon. "Maybe we're gonna win eight straight. I think that the eighth spot is still wide open to everybody, and we still can take a shot at it." And Richardson, who in past seasons has been the first to state the obvious and talk about taking on a "spoiler" role, wasn't going that route this time. "We've got every guy we possibly need. There's no excuse," Richardson said. "You look at our roster, hands down, we're a tough team -- on paper. We've just got to show it. We've just got to bring that out of us. The team we have, I think we're capable of winning games. We've got to will ourselves to win games." The tough talk was especially fascinating with the backdrop of tonight's game. The New York Knicks, left for dead after becoming the laughingstock of professional basketball last season, come into this contest with the exact same 26-33 record as the Warriors. "They're just like us -- on paper, they've got a nice roster. You say, 'They're a dangerous team,'" Richardson said. "I think they're finally starting to find ways to win games." As indicated by their four-game losing streak, the Warriors still have not. And as of Thursday morning, they were as close to the Seattle SuperSonics, the 14th-place team in the 15-team Western Conference, as the Los Angeles Clippers, who held the eighth and final playoff berth. "We're definitely closer to a playoff spot. We know we're talented enough. We know we're capable and ready enough. It's been long enough, way too long, since this team has been in the playoffs," Richardson said. "I think guys are tired of losing. We're tired of losing games that we know we're capable of winning. We're tired of just not being respected around the league. ... We just need to strap it on and start winning games."</div> Source
Wow, that's great, that winning streak is right around the corner. Has JRich been sharing his script with George Bush? All this team needs now is some talent, motivation, and execution, it's really that simple. And there is so much time left in the season to turn it around, there is really no rush. Take some time to work it out. I wouldn't worry about defense either, let's work on that next year. We'll start with those exercises that teach you to move your hands and feet at appropriate times, and to look at what the players you're defending are doing every once in a while. I thought I was bitter, but it turns out I'm not. Hope abounds.
Well, hopefully Pietrus can get himself motivated again and in proper form. That will do loads of good things for this team. Before Pietrus was the team's best and probably most reliable outside shooter and perimeter defender. Now he is airballing and throwing up bricks, and opponents are going bonkers from the outside even with Pietrus on the court.
We'll start a winning streak again, when we're out of the playoffs, that is. Sorry, that's as positive as I get about this team situation. We need an inside scoring big man that can rebound and that's one step in the right direction. Free throws and defense is coming up next. I believe that our guards must shoot free throws like all the other championship teams. Big men can suck at free throws, that's fine. But a small player not hitting free throws is embarassing.
