The Warriors: The Dream Goes Limp
Uh-oh.
The Warriors are now dropping faster than Dumbya's approval ratings in the type of extended freefall we were hoping to avoid this year. To their credit, the slightly hard luck, slightly underachieving, slightly undercoached hometown hoopsters have tried to maintain their focus and determination, and have kept grinding along.
Baron's ankle injury has been a staggering blow. The team fought bravely without him though, going 3-5, and scoring strong wins against the Steamers and the Strippers, playoff locks both.
But things haven't improved since Baron rejoined the lineup last Friday against the Lakers. The team looks emotionally spent, and Baron's aura seems slightly, less. JRich is putting up huge numbers, but that's not a good thing. He's the canary in the Warriors' coal mine--when JRich goes big, it's because nobody else is doing anything. His increased stats belie serious team deficiencies.
"I'm with flaccid" shirt from the Space Moose spring line.
The Warriors have now lost 4 in a row and 11 of their last 14, including Monday's loss to the Squawks, who do have some quality wins this year, and Wednesday's heartbreaker in Charlotte.
The local press is restless.
Carl Steward writes for the Oakland Tribune that the team is ready for its annual postseason autopsy now: "This season has been a maddening disappointment, because of not only how limp the Warriors have been in delivering on their early promise but also how little they suddenly seem to offer for the long term. As currently structured, it's painfully apparent this team is never going to win anything. Why? Time to dissect the frog and expose the myriad ills ..."
Janny Hu wonders in the Chronicle how low things can go: "So much for the playoffs. On this so-called 'make or break' road trip, the Warriors are breaking new ground on how low they can go."
"They lost to Minnesota, a team with a similar record. They lost to Atlanta, a team that started 0-9. Now they've lost to Charlotte, a team one year removed from expansion."
"Wednesday's 104-101 loss to the Bobcats was surely the low point of Golden State's five-game trip so far, but it won't stand for the season if the Warriors continue to drop games at their alarming pace."
Over at Golden State of Mind, YaoButtaMing is reaching his limit: "There is NOT one single positive thing I want to discuss tonight. I do not care about anyone's 42 point performance when we as a team stink so badly! Every single game is now a do or die situation and we lose to the freaking Hawks! Need I really say more? I don't know whats worse, being stuck in traffic unable to watch the game, or having to sit in traffic listening to the end of the game unfold. There were times I wanted to drive my car onto incoming traffic!" His top-10 list of positive things the Warriors did against the Squawks would make Scott McClellan proud.
Begin the draft daydreaming now laments Marcus Thompson II in the Mercury News: "Gonzaga star Adam Morrison would look good in blue and orange. Maybe Texas power forward LaMarcus Aldridge will come out for this year's NBA draft. Perhaps the Warriors could trade up to take Connecticut's Rudy Gay."
"After their 104-101 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats at Bobcats Arena on Wednesday, the Warriors can pretty much forget about the playoffs and start focusing on their 12th consecutive consolation prize."
Despite their struggles, and rumblings of a palace coup among the press corps, the Warriors have a fan base that remains surprisingly strong. Last Friday's franchise-record attendance of 20,375 at the Big O against the Fakers shows that the thirst for success is still pow'rful strong in the Bay Area. Unfortunately, it's looking more and more like we'll have to wait until yet another next year for the slaking to begin.
But what remains different about this team from years past, and probably one of the reasons why the fan support remains strong, is that to a man, the team has hung together during its crisis of confidence. This is a good group of guys with nary a bad attitude in the bunch, and there is a tangible sense of genuine determination that affirms this team as one worthy of rooting for, despite the disappointing record.
That's something, right?