Fast Break

There are lots of ways to measure progress.  Making the playoffs is the obvious one and hitting .500 would be nice, but they aren’t the only signs of success.  Friday night I sat in the upper deck of Arco Arena and listened to nearly non-stop “Let’s Go Warriors” chants throughout the fourth quarter.  They started softly during time-outs.  The Kings turned up music to try to down them out.  They came back during free-throw breaks and dead balls.  They grew louder as Ws fans scavenged thunder sticks.  They culminated in a final overwhelming push with a few minutes to go, drowning out even the boos of Sacto fans and marking another point along the Warriors’ ascent.  The Kings are no longer Northern California’s top team and with a little luck the Warriors just might be the best team in the state after Wednesday.  I recount the glory, with what little is left of my voice, after the jump.

Before getting to the action on the court, I have to give credit to the Warriors fans.  We showed up by the hundreds, if not thousands, Friday night.  We were decked out head to toe.  We were loud from start to finish.  And most importantly we demanded Sacramento’s respect.  From where I was sitting, I didn’t see anything nasty or ugly.  We just cheered for our team and celebrated as they brought home the W.  The inland tide of basketball power has crested.  As of April 13, 2007, its rolling back to the Bay.

The Warriors went eight deep.  I’ll do the same:

Baron Davis – I’ve never seen the intensity that I saw tonight from Baron.  He was coaching during every time-out.  He was barking orders on the court.  He hounded Sacramento’s ball handlers mercilessly for the final two quarters, creating enough havoc to get the Warriors through some offensive dry spells.  He still over-dribbled on a few possessions, but was smart enough to back his man down more often than he pulled up for a jumper.  In a game where the Warriors could have easily underestimated their opponents and lost focus, Baron made sure they stayed on course.  His knee still doesn’t look great and Nelson refused to take him off the court until late in the fourth, but I have no doubt he’ll bring everything he has for the final three games.

Stephen Jackson – Almost every game before the trade, I’d slap myself on the head when the Warriors would pull up for jumpers rather than go to the hole when they cooled off offensively.  The team still has a tendency to settle for outside jumpers, but it’s changing, primarily thanks to Jackson.  He attacked the hoop constantly in the first quarter and went back down the lane when they needed big baskets in the late third and early fourth.  Watching Jackson work in the lane is so much fun – he doesn’t overpower guys or out-quick them, he’s just crafty.  He finds seams, twists defenders around in awkward ways, and draws contact.  He actually reminds me a lot of Mullin in that way.  He doesn’t get points based on raw physical ability, but on body control and intelligence.  He was everywhere and did everything for this team tonight.  I’ve held off on writing my Jackson pro / con posting because I’m having a hard time coming up with a con these days.  He may blow up and cost the team a game this week, but right now he’s the rock that this team falls back upon for support when it goes cold.

Jason Richardson – Although we’ll never know for sure, Jason’s knee injury may have made him a better all-around player.  There were numerous points tonight when Jason had a sliver of sunlight through the lane.  In his early years, he would have exploded through defenders and gone for the rim.  Sometimes it would have been a spectacular dunk, other times a foul or turnover.  Post-surgery, he just can’t get off the floor like he used to.  Those lanes come and go, with Jason forced to let them pass.  Instead of exploding recklessly towards the rim, Jason has started to work his teammates into the offense.  Tonight, when he was forced to pass up dramatic slashes, he found others for backdoor plays or open threes.  Bad news for SportsCenter, good news for the Warriors.  He’s also just showing more intelligence as a player.  His defensive rotations are better, he gets deeper position on rebounds, and probes defenses rather than pulling up for the quick three.  For every rebound he got credit for in the box score, he poked loose or tipped back another two balls.  I don’t think anyone, not even Nelson and Mullin, believed his game would mesh so well with Monta’s and Jackson’s.

Monta Ellis – With Baron and Jackson off to early hot starts, the Warriors didn’t need Ellis to be spectacular tonight.  And he wasn’t.  What he did do, however, was hit open jump shots when given the opportunity.  Most of his damage came in the fourth quarter when the game was teetering on the edge of being close.  The points were quiet but deadly to the Kings’ slim come-back chances.  With Baron looking increasingly beaten up, Monta must be ready to step it up in the final games.  It’s unclear when or if the call will come for him to take the lead offensively, but he must be ready.  Although the box score tagged him with 4 turnovers, they weren’t noticeable or particularly costly.  Nelson, however, has made him the fourth option for handling the ball after Davis, Jackson and, tonight, even Barnes.

Al Harrington – I didn’t catch what exactly Al did tonight, but Nelson pulled him at one point and lit into him.  Al had been having a rough time closing the baseline on defense and putting the ball in under the rim on offense.  Sometimes it feels like the NBA is forcing Al to play on a hoop a few inches higher than he’s used to.  The offensive moves to get to the hoop are fantastic, but he’s lost once he gets there.  Anyway, I can’t knock his performance too much tonight.  The Warriors didn’t need much from him other than hustle, rebounding, and average defense.  He provided all three.

Matt Barnes – The Chronicle ran a great article Thursday about how much Barnes loves Nelson and Golden State.  If he keeps playing like he did tonight, the feeling will be mutual for years to come.  Barnes is a classic glue guy for a good team.  As long as the Warriors pay him within the limits of his skills, it would be great to have him back.  What he brings was evident tonight: he was efficient on offense and tenacious on defense.  His rebounding was gutsy, particularly at key moments in the game.  There were some tips on the offensive glass that broke the Kings back when they were trying to climb back into the game.  In terms of his shooting, Barnes has recovered from the delusion that he needs 15-20 shots a night.  With so many healthy bodies, he’s adjusted well to his role on the bench and does what needs to be done.  He got open tonight, got the ball, and drained most of his shots.  You can’t ask for much more than that from your seventh guy on the depth chart.

Andris Biedrins – If I was to single out one aspect of the Warriors’ current run that gives me pause, it’s their failure to utilize Andris to his full potential.  He’s still moving under the basket, setting picks and rolling for open looks, but guys are rarely calling his number.  He’s better late in the game when he gets some early touches, so it wouldn’t hurt to establish him when he comes off the bench in the late-first or early-second quarter.  Still, my complaint is minor.  Andris continues to bring fantastic defense and rebounding to the team.  He largely owned the paint in the second half, often forcing the Kings to probe continuously for any sort of lane while the shot clock ticked down.  The 5 fouls are representative of how active he was tonight.  Abdur-Rahim got around him on a few occasions, but it seemed to be a product of a miscalculation as to the old Cal Bear’s ability to put it on the floor.  Once Andris got burned, he tightened up and Shareef stopped scoring.

Mickael Pietrus – MP’s game tonight was marked more by what he didn’t do than what he did.  He didn’t turn the ball over, he didn’t force stupid shots, and he didn’t play out of control.  He picked up quite a few fouls, but half of them were jokes and the rest were simply side effects of playing tough defense.  The Warriors are developing a spine – they’re not letting players get easy lay-ups or waltz freely to the basket.  Pietrus, when focused, has been key to the toughening up of this team.

There were so many things that seemed to go right tonight it’s hard to just single out a few.  The team took the ball at Artest, punishing him with early fouls.  They crashed the boards and used their speed to their advantage – often tipping the ball out for long rebounds rather than trying to secure it on their own.  They converted on nearly every fast break opportunity due to excellent spacing and smart passing.  They swarmed on defense when they sensed the Kings were coming off the rails, finally pushing them off with a series of great tips and traps.  Most of all, they played like a team that was not going to be denied a win.

Warriors fans came out of the woodwork to see their team win back some of the respect lost in the past decade.  We left with our heads held high in an opponent’s building.  No matter what happens over the next six days, it’s just another sign of how much has changed.