| What’s Wrong With The Warriors? Authored by Payam Jahromi - January 17, 2006 - 10:50 am
The Warriors have lost five of six and 10 of their last 13 games. They haven’t had any significant injuries besides Mickael Pietrus’ knee. They’ve had plenty of home games. Yet they keep dropping games. So what’s the problem?
Simply put, the Warriors have lost their confidence.
Part of this drought was to be expected given their schedule. After a cake November, the schedule has been difficult. But the Warriors have lost some bad games at home, most notably Jan. 5 to an Indiana team without Jermaine O’Neal.
Anybody who closely follows the team knows that the problem goes much deeper than the schedule. This is not the same team that ended last year on fire. This isn’t the same team that came into training camp brimming with confidence, evident of their first-quarter dominance against the Lakers during the first preseason game. This isn’t same team that played defense and expected to win games in November.
This isn’t the same team that had the “buzz” before the season. The Warriors lately have been the old Warriors – the team with the losing mentality and culture – which have culminated into bad habits.
You can see it in the players’ body language. That confidence and swagger is gone. That “winning” mentality is slowly going away.
Early in the year, it seemed as if the team had bought into Mike Montgomery’s defense-first philosophy. Everybody was playing defense, even Troy Murphy.
Players didn’t care about stats, or “getting theirs.” They were winning ugly. They were rotating and selling out on defense. They were playing smart. In November, the opposing team scored at least 100 points only five times out of 17 games.
In the last ten contests, they’ve allowed 100 or more seven times.
Now, the only way they can win is when they play and shoot exceptionally well. No more ugly wins. The backcourt has to score 50 to have a chance. Against the Lakers on Jan. 7, Baron Davis had a triple-double and Jason Richardson went for 37 – and they lost.
Don’t get me wrong. No realistic Warriors’ fan expected the team to contend for a title, or even win 50 games. The frontcourt was a weakness coming into the year – that was no mystery. This team had its share of flaws.
But 18-19 is not what the fans and the team had in mind. I thought 45-37 was a realistic expectation. The 3,000 or so new season-ticket holders were expecting a better product. After November, everything was fine and dandy when the Warriors were 11-6. Twenty games later, the season is turning into a big disappointment. So now what?
Should Chris Mullin make a trade to shake things up? Should they go after Ron Artest? Should they fire Montgomery? Or should they stand pat and hope they turn it around?
I think they should get Artest – at a reasonable price. If that’s possible, it’s the best of both worlds. That’s easier said than done, but the Pacers will not get equal value for Artest.
If the Warriors can trade a player – such as Pietrus or Murphy – and a draft pick for Artest, I say go for it. After all, what do they have to lose?
If they don’t get Artest, or any other player in a trade, they are stuck with what they have. And unless they get an attitude adjustment and find a way to get that swagger and confidence back, the non-playoff streak will reach 12 years.
If you have any questions or comments, you can email me at pjahromi@sbcglobal.net |
