What a letdown! After a promising homestand at the Oracle Arena against 2 top-teams like Miami and Orlando (Golden State defeated Miami after being trailed by 17 in the 3rd quarter and hold their own against the Magic, losing only down to the wire), the Warriors tackled last night the 1st game of their road trip in Charlotte. So needless to say, considering the weakness of the Bobcats, that the expectations were high for Warriors’ fans! Actually, those hopes came to an abrupt end: the game turned out to be a real disaster for the team who, to put it mildly, got trashed. Down by 13 after the 1st quarter and down by 20 at halftime… and a final loss 112 – 100.
First and foremost, how can you expect to win a B-ball game when you let your opponent score 38 pts (yeah, 38 pts!) in the 1st quarter? When you don’t defend like that, you walk into a buzz saw and you just screw everything up. 112 pts for the Bobcats at the end of the game, not bad for a team who didn’t score in triple figure since 6 games, but luckily for them, the GSW came into town last night.
Second issue for the Warriors: Monta Ellis had an awful night, converting only 6 shoots outta 26 attempts. Maybe Monta’s worst game ever in his life? It sure looks like it! Bad shooting nights can happen to any player, but when his shot is off, Ellis doesn’t seem to be able to adapt his game and concentrate on other things that could help his team on the court: assists, rebounds, steals, positive attitude, strong defense, draw some fouls by driving to the basket instead of always trying to hit the mid-jumper or a 3 pt shot with 2 defenders stuck in his sneakers… I don’t know but there’s got to be a way not to be harmful for your own team when you are gifted with huge athletic skills like Ellis. No, he just kept shooting the ball and never tried to involve his teammates. When you hit your shots, it’s okay to play individually, but if you struggle on the offensive end, you got to figure out another way to help your team. For instance, you can defend like a leech, which he obviously forgot to do because his direct opponent, Kemba Walker, tallied 23 pts, his career record! Definitely a demoralizing night.
To wrap this article up, I’d like to point something out. Not that it really matters, but since the season kicked off, I’ve noticed coach Jackson always has his hands in his pockets… not a very inspiring attitude for his players in my opinion. I don’t know what message it can send to his players, but not a tough one, that’s for sure! When you’re a coach, you got to show some toughness and body language is truly fundamental.
Today, the team heads to Detroit to take on the Pistons who have also been struggling so far, so let’s hope GS can wipe the slate clean and come up with something good defensively-wise. As a general rule, wins can only stem from a strong defense, so that’d be a good start.
And please make sure the game isn’t already over at half-time… that’d be greatly appreciated!
NBA KINGDOM 