Warriors Show Their Holes, But Find A Way To Win Ugly Against the Nets

Source: ESPN

The Golden State Warriors were able to snap their three-game losing streak Wednesday night against the New Jersey Nets at home. Stephen Jackson scored 29 points. The return of Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins to the starting lineup added an obvious boost. Ellis added 19 points and Biedrins contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds. At times beautiful slash-and-dish plays and other quick passing combination seemed to hint at the potential good times to come. It is just a matter of when.

Ironically, the Warriors would not have been able to hold onto this game if it weren't for the stellar plays made by Jamal Crawford, who scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, including six free throws in the final 24 seconds. He finished with team high 29 points in 46 minutes, the most of any Warrior. Coach Don Nelson had recently voiced his displeasure for keeping the former New York Knicks point guard in terms of how he fits in the Warriors long-term plans and insisted that Crawford should opt out of his contract or the team will be forced to trade him.

Ronny Turiaf also had a nice game, with a number of key blocks and hustle plays (as usual) throughout the game. His role on this team looks so much better when he doesn't have to star and be a significant scoring option. His 15 points on Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks is something that Turiaf has the ability to do on any given night, I would just prefer that the majority of point scored by the Warriors come from somebody else on the team. But then again a team can always use that extra, unexpected scoring from a role player like Turiaf, Azubuike, Bellineli(in street clothes tonight), Morrow, or Watson.

With 5 players in double figures (four of them starters), this balanced scoring attack that is still lacking some pieces (Brandon Wright, Marco Bellineli, or a true Point Guard)

Maybe it's Don Nelson's Ellis-Jackson-Azubuike-Randolph-Biedrins idea that was unveiled Wednesday against New Jersey that should be credited with the win tonight. There hasn't been a single game this year that this combination has been used for the starting five, and so far so good.

Even though it still has all the typical Nelsonian advantages of minimal defense and rebounding, the scoring potential combined with balance and depth seem to give the Warriors enough firepower to compete with any team on any given night. As long as one of their bread and butter aspects of the game (three-point shooting, net points off turnovers, fast break points, scoring 140-or-so points) show up in the stat sheet, the Warriors will continue to be a fun team to watch.

Source: ESPN

Note: Corey Maggette has been flourishing lately off the bench, and he continued that tonight in his usual fashion, but with an unusual twist: essentially nonexistent shooting from the field (1 for 4), but he got to the foul line TWENTY TIMES and cashed in on SIXTEEN of them from the charity stripe. Although at times the pace of the game was slowed by constant whistles (which obviously doesn't favor the Nelsonian Style), the Warriors were able to heat up at just the right time in the fourth quarter, and then hold on late for the win.

As for the Nets, Devin Harris torched the Dubs with 31 points and 12 assists for the New Jersey, who have lost five of six on the road and missed a chance to move into eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

NEXT GAME

Opponent - Dallas Mavericks
When - Friday March 13, 2009 @ 7:30 p.m.
Where - Oracle Arena