The Warriors Come Out To Play. No, Really
SFist has done their fair share of snarking on the Warriors in the past and feels kind of bad about it. It was just too darn easy, kicking that dog when they were down. But things have changed since then. The Warriors are h-o-t hot right now, hotter than a leather chaps-wearing, pole dancing Jessica Alba. Well, not that hot, but you get our drift. Last night, the Warriors beat the Seattle SuperSonics 101-92 to win their fifth in a row, their longest winning streak of the year. And that's Seattle, as in Division Winning, possible title contending Seattle. Of course, as Ray Ratto pointed out, we've been here before and we're still talking about a team that's once more going to go to David Stern's little game show he likes to call the NBA Lottery Draft, but something feels different this time around. We are, after all, talking about a team that was well out of it months ago but is suddenly playing with a fire, passion, and energy usually not seen in these here parts.
How hot have the Warriors been? Since Baron Davis was acquired, they have:
- Beaten Minnesota, Sacramento, Phoenix, the Knicks, and 76ers
- Have the best record of any California basketball team since the All-Star break (and yep, that includes the LA Kobe's)
- Won at Sacramento for the first time since 1994, and have won five straight on the road for the first time since 1978.
- Snapped four major losing streak on the road, having ended streaks to Dallas (12 games), Sacramento (11) and Orlando (also 11).
- Had a winning record in March (10-6) for the first time in a decade.
- Became the fifth team with a sub-.500 record to win at least four of eight games on a road trip since 1976-77.
Over the next couple of weeks, the Warriors will host Houston, Phoenix and San Antonio, all NBA powerhouses and all teams expected to go far in the playoffs. Tickets, of course, are available, but this time tickets mean something more than getting a good chance to see an actual good team play. It means seeing two good teams play. Imagine that.
Now, if they can only do something about those hideous orange jerseys.