I’m a firm believer that until your team hits the 38 mark in the loss column you aren’t out of the playoff picture during the NBA season. The Warriors have 29 losses, so there isn’t a lot of room for error after the All-Star break, but I’m not giving up on them especially with the West is as open as it’s been for years. It’s up for debate on whether Portland, New Orleans, Denver, or Utah can hold on to the 5-8 spots in the West especially with injuries, coaching changes, and trades lingering for all these teams. By my count on my playoff loss barometer of 38 losses only Sacramento and Minnesota are truly out of the playoff picture with the LA Clippers having 35 losses, they should be the next team out of the picture, which leaves 8 teams including the Warriors for those last four spots. The Warriors are 4 games out of the eighth spot, but only 5 ½ away from the 5th spot. The Warriors have been playing some great basketball over the last couple of weeks aside from the two games they played against the Suns where they could’ve sent a D-league team on the court in their place and done just as good. During their recent solid streak of play they beat Chicago, New Orleans, OKC, Utah (twice), and Denver over a ten game stretch, which were all quality wins in my book. So, I figured now would be the best time to handicap the rest of the year going through each game deciding if they’d win or lose. I gave them a few big wins along the way, and a couple of losses to bad teams and teams who I know they have trouble against.
Vs. Boston Loss 30
Vs. Atlanta Win 27
@ Minnesota Win 28
MARCH
@ Indiana Win 29
@ Washington Win 30
@ Boston Loss 31
@ Philadelphia Loss 32
@ Cleveland Win 32
@ New Jersey Win 33
Vs. Orlando Loss 33
Vs. Minnesota Win 34
@ Sacramento Win 35
Vs. Dallas Win 36
@ Phoenix Loss 34
@ Dallas Win 37
@ San Antonio Loss 35
@ Houston Loss 36
Vs. Toronto Loss 37
Maybe not this year, but soon they will have a good chance at making some memorable playoff moments.
Vs. Washington Win 38
@ Oklahoma City Win 39
@ Memphis Loss 37
APRIL
Vs. Dallas Loss 38
@ Portland Loss 39
Vs. LA Lakers Win 40
Vs. Sacramento Win 41
@ Denver Win 42
Vs. Portland Loss 40
Prognosis: Probably not making the playoffs with 42 wins, but they’ll be keeping it interesting the rest of the way. I could see them contending to the end, and leapfrogging a few teams that are hurt Memphis/Portland/Houston or have other problems like coaches and trades Utah/Denver. I hope they prove me wrong and somehow pull off some kind of trade for a big man like Nene in a Denver firesale or Kaman from LA before the trade deadline in three days. That might swing my picks a little. As the team is currently constructed, I’m just looking to be over .500 on the season, which is about what I was hoping when the season started, which would show improvement in a year that was all I was hoping for. This year is already shaping up a lot like the A’s season last year not dominant by any means, but exciting enough to keep me interested past their respective All-Star breaks. If I had a little more confidence in Biens I’d say we make the playoffs, but I can’t lie with the facts/how he’s played this year. He isn’t the player we thought we were getting at $9M a season. I’ve also wondered for awhile if Smart plays Ellis a little too much. He currently leads the league in MPG (41.1) and minutes played (2,262). On the other hand our bench is atrocious that I can see why Smart lets Ellis log the minutes he does. Big shout out to Steph for winning the skills competition over All-Star Weekend. Hopefully next year we can break our 14 year drought of having an All-Star.
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 
February 21st, 2011 at 5:15 pm
I remember when 42 wins would guarantee you a six seed in the Eastern Conference…LOL
Meehan
February 21st, 2011 at 5:37 pm
The saddest part is the Warriors won 48 in 2008 and hold the record for most wins by a team to not make the playoffs. Figures we’d have that record…
February 21st, 2011 at 6:59 pm
That’s a great stat. What was the eight seed’s record in the West that year?
Meehan
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:31 am
I know it was Denver, but not positive how many wins they had. It was right around 50 though.
February 22nd, 2011 at 6:51 am
chappy
Does that mean you’re about to throw a Mae West (lifejacket) to all of the California teams not named Lakers ?
So “maggot” his wish and he’ll be traded to the Knicks ? I just hope for DAntoni’s sake he knows what he’s doing ? Because the Knicks are about to resemble the Suns “redux part-deux” ! They can score the hell out of the basketball but if their lives depended upon it they can’t defend for sh_t !
Who’s the best boxer to come out of the Philippines in the last five years not named Pacquiao ? Watch out for Nonito Donaire ………….. the guy is a brawler and a great tactical boxer as well . Already a double world champion and looking to move up the ranks as one lb for lb fighters on the planet .
tophatal ……………….
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:35 am
I guess I don’t understand the Mae West reference, but if your saying that the Warriors have no shot at making the playoffs I didn’t say they’d make it…
Melo got what he wanted. I feel like it’s fine the way everything played out. Players deserve to play where they want. Coaches get to choose, so why not the players. It’s 100 times better than the Lebron and Bosh situation, because at least Denver gets something out of it….
I have heard of Donaire. Not a lot, but he’s been popping up on the radar screen lately. I haven’t really seen him fight, so maybe I’ll have to go to youtube and check him out.
February 22nd, 2011 at 2:20 pm
chappy
The Warriors will only go as far as that front court is willin’ to take them . I still believe that they’re one or two pieces away from being a legitimate contender within the West !
Donaire is a “cold hearted friggin assassin” and he’s just as deadly as the Pac-Man with his boxing and punching power . I’d personally like to see him fight my fellow countryman Amir Khan as that’d be one helluva fight !
Dropped you an e-mail with my latest pieces so I look forward to reading your comments as usual ! I trust you stayed sober while visiting the Cresent City ? Plus hopefully you didn’t try to pull an LT with an undesirable female ?
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Amir Khan v Malignaggi
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Donaire literally effed up Montiel and Sidorenko. He’s as brash as Floyd but he respects his opponents unlike Floyd ! …..
tophatal ………..
February 22nd, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Give me a heads up the next time he has a fight, so I can watch it! Kid looks legit!
February 22nd, 2011 at 2:36 pm
chappy
‘melo may well have got what he wanted but how much has Dolan and Walsh got out of this as owner and GM respectively ? They’ve weakened this team immeasurably from a defensive standpoint not that the Knicks were that good in that specific category to begin with ! They’ve sold their souls to the Devil to make this deal and it could come back to bite ’em in the a_s !
tophatal ………….
February 22nd, 2011 at 12:12 pm
So what’s their biggest off-season need to ensure they make the playoffs next year? Size?
February 22nd, 2011 at 12:43 pm
They really need a guy down low that can actually score. Biens can’t do that and couldn’t scare Kwame or Darko on the blocks. If they get themselves a solid low post option that you had to double team from time to time, they’d be a dangerous team. I’m not really sure how likely it is that they can grab someone like that though… They also need to improve the bench. I have zero confidence in the bench right now, so those are the two glaring holes in the roster at the moment…
February 23rd, 2011 at 11:53 am
chappy
There’s no scheduled bout as of yet for Donaire’s but there’s speculation that a catchweight bout ‘tween he and the winner of the Pacquiao Mosley fight . Big money would be on the line as well were it an all Filipino matchup ! Candidly, Manny could expect upwards of between $10_$15 million before all receipts were tallied up with Donaire probably earning upwards of $8-$10 million ?
tophatal ……….