Upon further review, I have to say I’m revising my opinion; Monta Ellis CAN be an All-Star. But to get there, he can’t have Trady McGrady lose. He has to have McGrady win.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Some quick thoughts from watching the replay of the Warriors’ 132-127 win over Phoenix on Saturday:

** All hail the Warriors for breaking their seven-game losing streak, but let’s not lose sight of how bad the defense was: Golden State allowed a team on the second half of a back-to-back to put up a ridiculous eFG% of 61.4. On the season, the Warriors are back to being dead last in eFG% allowed at 53.0.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Your daily guided tour through the national and local media coverage of the always-entertaining Golden State Warriors.

PRINT MEDIA

San Francisco Chronicle (Bruce Jenkins): Bruce hits leadoff for the second straight day by coming with the splash of cold water for Warrior fans: Golden State has been passed up by not only Oklahoma City, but also Sacramento and Memphis.

I’m not sure I agree, over the long-term, with the last two picks — Sacramento “has moxie”? What is this, the Girl Scouts? And of course Mike Conley is ascending; he can’t possibly go any lower — but it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

I didn’t see the game live (hence, no live blogging last night) but quickly watched the tape this morning. As Rusty Simmons pointed out, it’s the Warriors’ third victory against an opponent with only one win of their own. So while the 121-107 outcome against the Knicks is nice enough, it shouldn’t be used to prove anything other than Golden State can properly beat one of the four teams that definitely rank below it in the NBA firmament.

** On the one hand, Don Nelson deserves credit because the supersmall lineup with a frontline of Corey Maggette, Stephen Jackson and Kelenna Azubuike paid handsome dividends. Now, the fact that it was against a frontline of Danilo Gallinari, Al Harrington and David Lee probably should be taken into account, but when you’re 3-5, you don’t argue with what works.

This was an instance where the absence of Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf actually helped the Warriors; those were the guys who simply couldn’t defend the high S/R in last season’s debacle of a loss to the Knicks, and without them as targets, the Knicks weren’t able to turn Chris Duhon into a Steve Nash clone. In a callback to the 2007 team, with the true centers off the floor, the Warriors were able to either switch or at least show hard on every S/R the Knicks did run, limiting the damage New York could do.

** One reason why the Knicks are so horrible right now: In one first-quarter sequence, Danilo Gallinari leapt over Kelnna Azubuike to secure an offensive rebound, then took two dribbles to the right wing, turned on the second one, went up at a 30-degree angle to the hoop, finished twisting in midair to square up to the basket and let fly from 18 feet.

The fact that Gallinari made the shot should in no way absolve him from the fact that it was a ridiculous decision, emblematic of the Knicks’ shot selection right now.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

For more than a half century, the Serenity Prayer has been a cornerstone of the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.

The Warriors accepted the things they cannot change about themselves Friday night, and in doing so become something greater than they previously had been.

By forcing Chris Paul to shoot, shoot and shoot some more, the Warriors were able to control the Hornets’ All-Star point guard in a 111-103 victory.

At first blush, the fact that Paul went off for 43 points and nine assists doesn’t look like a victory. But seven of Paul’s nine dimes went to David West, who finished with 31 points. That’s a nice number, but what the Hornets need from Paul is to get the rest of the roster involved with some spoon-fed buckets, especially since Peja Stojakovic is battling through a bad back and James Posey and Tyson Chandler are on the bench with injuries.

Instead, Hornets not named Paul or West shot 10-for-38 on Friday.

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