[center]Golden State Warriors Season Review[/center]
The 2007-2008 season was more than an ordinary season for the NBA’s favorite underdogs. The Golden State Warriors just came off the greatest upset in NBA playoffs history after their drought of missing the postseason for over a decade. They wanted to play in late April once again, but there were many obstacles in their path.
The thug image of Stephen Jackson continued when he began the season on the sidelines, suspended for seven games because of legal problems. In the mean time, coach Don Nelson didn't hesitate when he named Jackson one of the team captains, leaving doubters in shock.
"We have great confidence in him as a player and a leader, and I think you'd hear that from most people who have spent time to really get to know Jack," Nelson said to Jackson's critics.
After the horrendous 0-6 start for Golden State, Captain Jack came back and led Golden State to an above .500 record. They had momentum heading into the All-Star break, with everyone clicking together.
Baron Davis was healthy and had yet to miss a game. Monta Ellis was playing the best basketball of his career. Stephen Jackson has kept his mouth shut and wasn’t in the top of the league in technicals and proved to be a very good team captain.
Don Nelson kept claming that he would use to bench, but he showed that he is all talk when he played his starters 40+ minutes every night, which left the bench undeveloped. Players like Brandan Wright, Marco Belinelli, and Patrick O’Bryant were extremely disappointed. Even Kelenna Azubuike, who scored 33 points in the season debut, barely got onto the court during some games.
Nelson insisted on playing players like Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus instead. Barnes mother passed away and was playing horrid basketball and Pietrus was getting distracted by trade rumors and was playing just as bad. The team had suffered without a bench.
Andris Beidrins went out with an appendectomy, Brandan Wright was then the starter and took advantage of his playing time. When Beidrins returned, Wright saw his minutes rise, a sign that the 68-year-old coach had faith in the rookie.
Going into the final month of the season, Golden State was three games ahead of the Denver Nuggets for the final playoff seed in the tough Western Conference. The Warriors faced some tough teams like the Spurs, Hornets, and the Mavericks who wanted revenge. The results didn't go in the Warriors favor, dropping all of them, knocking them out of the playoffs.
They had one last shot to get in, and that was to beat the Nuggets in Oakland.
The Warriors started off the game on fire with a double-digit lead in the first quarter, but ended up losing the game and sitting at home while they watched Denver get swept by the Western Conference champions, the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Warriors ended the season with a 48-34 record. They had six less wins the previous season, yet they made it to the playoffs. This was one of the hardest playoffs races of all time, and unfortunately, the Warriors will have to wait until next season.
There will be some drama in the Bay Are this offseason, not only are the Warriors in the lottery for the 13th time in 14 years, but they have to possibly re-sign their superstar Baron Davis, who can opt-out of his current contract, and their future, Monta Ellis and Andris Beidrins. Chris Mullin said he will do whatever it takes to keep all of them, so this story will become more heated this summer.
The Warriors are looking for a big man in the draft with the possibilities of DeAndre Jordan, Darrell Arthur, Donte Greene, and Kosta Koufos. The draft is less than ten days away, and Golden State will look for the best possible choice for the team.
The season was as not as horrible as some people make it seem. The Warriors still won more games than they did last season without Jason Richardson, but they were not able to qualify for the playoffs.
This upcoming season should be better for Golden State. If a key player doesn’t get suspended or injured, the Warriors could be a real threat for the playoffs and maybe even better.
If Baron, Monta, and Andris re-sign, you could be looking at a dangerous team. With Monta and Andris getting better every year, Baron and Jackson leading the team, another lottery pick on the way, and Nellie have more confidence in his bench, the Golden State Warriors will be something special next season.