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Sports Grumblings -
http://www.sportsgrumblings.com/basketball/articles
NBA Basketball Grumblings -- 2008 Team Previews -- Golden State Warriors
http://www.sportsgrumblings.com/basketball/articles/articles/498/1/NBA-Basketball-Grumblings----2008-Team-Previews----Golden-State-Warriors/Page1.html
Mike Zink
 Mike Zink has been a part time sports reporter for nearly 15 years, covering all of the major circuits plus most college and high school sports. Fantasy Sports is relatively new to him but plans to treat it like everything else he has covered. Being the new kid on the block, with just a little under five years as a Fantasy Sports contributor Mike plans to go all out as basketball is his number one passion and his goal is to keep you up to speed in your respective leagues. In his spare time Mike works for several local papers, and has interviewed many of the top players in the game, so he feels qualified in bringing the very best that he can give. By Mike Zink
Published on 11/26/2008 |
 The Warriors will be without the services of Monta Ellis thanks to an offseason moped accident. |
You play hard for 82 games, nearly seven months, just to get a chance to play for a few more weeks to win the championship. You get 48 wins, which is enough to make it into the postseason in the other conference, so you figure that it should be enough for your conference. Wrong. That is how it was for the Golden State Warriors in 2007-08. They played with heart, passion, and energy and missed the playoffs. It was the most wins ever in a season for a non-playoff team. The offseason just got worse.
Golden State lost their star player, Baron Davis, to a division rival, and lost their two best bench players in Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus, and had the new face of the franchise Monta Ellis, injured on a moped and now forced to sit out for possibly a third of the season. It was an ugly offseason indeed, for the coaches, players, and fans.
GM Chris Mullin is not thrilled that ownership is doing something that might upset their best player. How this plays out depends, of course, on Ellis. If he takes the 30-game suspension, rehabs and returns, and is as good as he was before, then ownership likely will be satisfied to move forward. But rest assured the fate of the Warriors' next 5-10 years is riding on the outcome.
In 2008-09, most have predicted that the Warriors will miss the playoffs, considering all the things that went on during the offseason. Despite all those losses, the Warriors did pick up some new players.
Corey Maggette will wear a Golden State jersey this year and will look to play well in the Don Nelson offense. Look for him to perhaps have the best scoring year of his career. High-energy role player Ronny Turiaf has come over from the other side of California to help the team in rebounding and will look to be the back-up center behind Andris Biedrins, who signed a six-year deal to stay with the Warriors.
Bottom of FormGolden State drafted lanky forward Anthony Randolph with the 14th pick. He will most likely battle with Brandan Wright for playing time. The Warriors also drafted Richard Hendrix in the second round. He seems like a Turiaf or maybe even Paul Milsap-type player with his physical style.
Maggette, however, is an athletic player who should thrive in Nelson's up-and-down style. He gets to the free-throw line, he can finish and can fill the lane. Turiaf could make an even greater impact. While Maggette is similar in style to Jackson, Turiaf will bring an inside intensity that the Warriors did not have.
Marcus Williams was traded from New Jersey to the Bay Area and might start at point guard with Ellis out. Also competing for the starting point guard spot is Duke star DeMarcus Nelson, who has played phenomenal in the preseason. A forgotten and unknown player is Anthony Morrow. Don Nelson called him the best shooter on the team, so it must mean something when you also have sharpshooting Marco Belinelli on the squad.
With Davis and Barnes gone, the Warriors needed another captain to help Stephen Jackson. Nelson selected Andris Biedrins as the co-captain, and it looks like it will be a good choice. The young center and Jackson have worked hard this offseason with pick-n-rolls and have built some chemistry with each other. They will be great leaders for this team.
Whether he comes off the bench or starts, Al Harrington could surprise you with his scoring. He has worked hard this offseason to improve his low-post scoring and become a banger down low for Golden State.
This season might resemble a train wreck at first, but when Ellis comes back, it could be enough for the team to go on a run to higher the hopes of the fans, but still manage to dodge the playoffs. It was a horrendous offseason, but the play of the Golden State Warriors this year might give you some hope to believe in the future.
Predicted finish for 2008-09: Third in Pacific.
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