| Fisher’s Buzzer Beater Rocks Arena Authored by Payam Jahromi - March 26, 2005 - 1:41 pm
The most dramatic finish of the season – thanks to Derek Fisher’s buzzer-beater against the Bucks – is the latest installment of excitement and hopefulness for Warriors fans.
Forget about losing games to gain better draft position. What’s important is that the Warriors learn to win, play together, gain respect around the league and head into next season on a positive and optimistic note.
That’s exactly what they’re doing, with an 8-7 record since the Baron Davis trade, including four wins in the last five games.
The more they win, the higher expectations will be for next year. That could be good or bad, but it doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is for the Warriors to once again become a respectable NBA franchise.
They bounced back after having their three-game win streak snapped against Dallas. Earlier in the season, their four-game winning streak was snapped with nine straight losses.
Perhaps the hottest Warrior is Mickael Pietrus. Remember him? Pietrus has been the most inconsistent Warrior this year, but lately he’s been consistently good. In the past, Pietrus was only effective on offense when his 3-point shot was going in. When he missed his 3’s, he disappeared.
Not the last two games. Against the Bucks, Pietrus was 1-4 from downtown, yet he managed to score 18 points and played spectacular defense on Michael Redd and Desmond Mason. On Wednesday, he was 0-3 from long range but scored 22 points on 8-13 shooting. Also, he was a combined 11-13 from the line in the two games.
Before we get too excited about Pietrus, he needs to be consistent. He played terrific early in the season before hitting a slump. He’s also had various injuries that have sidelined him for 15 games.
Will the real Mickael Pietrus please stand up? I have gone on record saying I have no idea how this story will turn out and I still feel that way. But as a Warriors fan, you can’t help but root for the kid.
I can’t continue this column without mentioning the Mike Dunleavy incident against Dallas. I think the reaction of Warriors fans at the Arena sums up the significance of Dunleavy’s actions.
Before I get to that, let me get one thing straight. You never want to show up a referee. You never want to lose you poise, get thrown out of a game and hurt your team’s chances of winning.
But none of those things mattered when Dunleavy lost his cool, got two technicals, and stormed out of the stadium throwing his jersey in the crowd and hands up in the air like he had just beaten the bad guy at Wrestlemania.
What a moment. The best part about it was the comic value. Do you think any of the players or fans were actually scared or threatened by Mike’s actions? Me neither. Dunleavy is not known for showing emotion and passion on the court. That’s been his biggest criticism from detractors.
I don’t know if there’s anything Dunleavy could have on the court to gain more respect from Warriors fans. He could have scored 40 and they wouldn’t have talked about him as much. Good going Mike. Now if you can only make that open 3-pointer on a consistent basis…
Thirteen games to go before the countdown begins for the most anticipated season in recent memory. Enjoy them because after April 20, you won’t see another regular season Warriors game for six months.
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