thanks tony.psd for the sweet poster!
It has been a rough off season for Golden State Warriors fans. Baron Davis left the Bay for Los Angelas' lesser team, Monta Ellis and CJ Watson are out for next week's season opener, and we're all still reeling from having a 48-34 season and not making the playoffs. Narrowly, the Dubs missed a chance at history two years in a row by tanking at the end of the year and narrowly failing to win 50 games; thus becoming the first team to win 50 games and not make the playoffs.
It hasn't all been bad: GSW did well at the draft and picked up Anthony Randolph out of LSU, and signed Corey Maggette to a lucrative 5-year deal. Ronny Turiaf came over from the Lakers and Marcus Williams was traded from New Jersey for a future first round draft pick. Monta and Biedrins both got resigned for six more years for figures in the $60 millions, and we've still got Azubuike. Richard Hendrix, a second round draft pick, is also rounding out the '08-'09 squad.
Last year, fresh out of the first playoff experience in over a decade, the Warriors began the season with a six-game losing streak that is widely attributed to the seven-game suspension of Stephen Jackson over gun charges (you can take the gangsta out of Indianapolis...). Even after contending strongly for the rest of the year, the Warriors still missed out on the playoffs due to an unprecedentedly stacked Western Conference. October 29th, the Dubs play the New Orleans Hornets, which is quite a tough match-up considering the injury situation.
With Don Nelson's team running suicides on nearly every possession, and with the return of Monta Ellis to the team after his injury (thank God for And1 money, right?), the depth chart will undoubtedly even out a little bit, and I'd dare to say that Golden State is going to be another playoff contender this year.
Check back every Sunday and Wednesday for more updates by me! I'll be covering games of the week, checking in with injured players, and making whipsered trade rumors front page news. Golden State Warriors have got another exciting season coming up, and I for one couldn't be more excited.
Keywords: Golden State Warriors
