By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

With tipoff hours away, I’m not going to do game-by-game predictions for how the 2009-10 Warriors will fare. Engaging in that kind of activity is almost as useless as waiting for the Bay Bridge to open.

Besides, I already went on the record last week on Comcast Bay Area’s “Chronicle Live” with my prediction for the Warriors: 34-48, picked not coincidentally because it matches Mike Montgomery’s record in both his seasons with Golden State.

(Isn’t it funny that Monty was brought in to teach the young kids, then Baron Davis was added to the mix, costing Monty his authority, and now that BD is gone, the Warriors, once again, are in need of someone to nurture youthful players? It’s the circle of GSW Life!)

I could see the Warriors pushing that to 36 or 37 wins, but I think the best they can do is to hold off the Clippers and Oklahoma City (sorry, Chuckles!) for the No. 9 spot in the Western Conference.

On the plus side: We’ll all get to celebrate Don Nelson amassing more coaching victories than Lenny Wilkens. Yay!

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Straight off the pregame show on TNT:

Charles Barkley: I’m telling you, the Clippers are going to be a surprise team in the West. And C-Webb just bet me, we’re going to bet a nice dinner, that the Clippers are going to have a better record than the Warriors, which is a no-brainer. The Clippers and Oklahoma City are BOTH gonna have a better record than Golden State.

Chris Webber: Oh, wow. The Clippers are real good at being terrible. They’re very consistent, every year. I’ve got Golden State having the better record.

CB: Every now and then, an ugly girl wakes up pretty.

Now, I know Charles is a veteran Warriors-hater — who can forget his promise that Dallas would beat Golden State in the We Believe playoff series? — but this just borders on the ludicrous. The Clippers, with Blake Griffin missing six weeks? The Thunder, who are still even younger than the Warriors?

Hey, Chuck, let me know where I sign up, buddy.

– Geoff