The Warriors: Golden State Rising
A good NBA season is like a good acid trip: it's all about peaking at the right time. Just ask last year's champions, the Miami Heat, about that one (the NBA season, not the acid trip). Well lo and behold, the Warriors are playing the last month of this season like a seasoned DeadHead instead of a burned-out meth-breath. After stomping the playoff-bound Utah Jazz Monday night in the O-rena, 126-102, the Warriors' playoff chances are skyrocketing like so many fantastic colors, and their days as league doormat may truly be numbered.
Like Monta Ellis on his way to the tin, the Warriors are soaring right now. Just in time for a critical playoff push. Photo from espn.com.
And speaking of numbers, here's a few figures to trip on:
2,094: The number of minutes that Baron Davis has played this year, compared to 1,971 minutes all of last year. Think those extra minutes made a difference in the Warriors record this season? Ya think.
105.9: Number of points the team is averaging per game this year, good for second in the Association and up from 98.5 last year. Of course, they're also giving up 107.3 points a game this year, up from 99.8 last year, but we'll let that slide for right now.
42: The number of wins SFist projected for the team at the start of the season. If the Warriors run the table, they can make this number and our day.
38: The team's current victory total. This is the team's highest win total since 2002-2003 and a total they have not surpassed since 1993-1994 during the First Golden Era of Nellie.
34: Number of wins the team posted the last two consecutive years. Hey, they're moving in the right direction -- they've gotten back to where they were four years ago. That's progress that even The Chimp can appreciate (apologies to higher primates everywhere).
24: Number of points by which the hometown hoopsters whipped up on the fourth-seeded Utah Jazz Monday night in the O-rena. Damn it feels good to be a gangster.
16: Number of games that 2006 first-round draft pick Patrick O'Bryant has played this year for the parent club. Compare that to the 25 games he played for the vaunted Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League.
15: Number of times Tim Kawakami has flip-flopped on whether the team will make the playoffs this season.
14: The GSDubs projected draft position as of today (and assuming the ping-pong balls go according to mathematical probability). Two words: Trade up and/or Greg Oden.
12: Every true Warriors fan knows what this number represents. If you don't know, well, welcome to the bandwagon.
10: Number of road wins for the team this season. That's good for second worst in the Western Conference and third worst in the entire Association.
8: The Warriors' holy grail, playoff-wise. Seven is out of the question and nine is out of the money.
4: Number of games left in the season. The way the Warriors are playing right now, there's no reason they shouldn't win them all. It's also the number of times we'd like to see the Warriors pass the ball before shooting in the fourth quarter of a tight game.
2: Number of times the Warriors have played and beaten the Dallas Mavericks this season. Dallas, by the way, will be the Warriors first-round playoff opponent should they, er, when they make the playoffs.
.006: The Warriors lead, in percentage points, over the Clippers for the last playoff spot. All we need is .001 Rodney! But don't look now, Nawklahoma is only one game back and charging hard.
0: Number of times the Dubs have beaten the Lakers this year -- actually, in the last two years.
-5.5: The Warriors rebounds per game differential -- good for dead last in the league. Dead-freakin'-last. In fact, nobody else is even close. Ain't going nowhere of consequence with this number dragging them down.
Much like the Warriors season, the numbers are a mixed bag. But we've been crunching the numbers all year, and for us, they continue to add up to a successful season for the Dubs -- and that means playoffs.