Golden State Warriors: Win over Knicks a Much Bigger Step Than Win over Bulls

I entered this lockout-shortened NBA season with lower expectations than usual for my team, the Golden State Warriors.

This is not because I didn't believe that Kwame Brown and Brandon Rush were nice acquisitions, that Stephen Curry and Ekpe Udoh wouldn't continue to develop or even that Mark Jackson and Mike Malone weren't an improvement at the helm.

The sole reason I was down on the Warriors prior to this season was simple: I am no fool, or at least, I try to avoid being fooled repetitively.

Four offseasons ago, I convinced myself that Corey Maggette and Ronny Turiaf would make the loss of Baron Davis forgettable. The Warriors ended the season with 29 wins, and with C.J. Watson as their starting PG.

I convinced myself the next year that a young nucleus of Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, Stephen Curry, Anthony Randolph, Brandon Wright, Anthony Morrow, C.J. Watson, Ronny Turiaf and Kelenna Azubuike was going to shock the league. A combined 341 games lost to injury between those nine guys had the team go 26-56.

Last season, I convinced myself that Kieth Smart would motivate the team, that David Lee would provide a post presence that had been missing for ages and that better luck health wise would make Golden State a force. More injuries, more subpar coaching and less defense ensued, and the Warriors finished 36-46, the boost in wins likely coming due to David Lee.

Another new coach, maturing youngsters, a couple nice additions; I wasn't falling for it this year.

I predicted the Warriors to finish 10th in the West. I still attended opening night excited as always, ready to watch my favorite team play the beautiful, exciting game that is live NBA basketball in front of the best crowd in the NBA.

The game was one I had seen before. The Warriors hung in there with the Clippers through three quarters, but cold shooting and careless turnovers led to a short-circuiting offense late, while Chris Paul came down the court on three straight possessions to push the Clippers lead from seven to 13. The Warriors went on to lose 105-86.

Pretty much what I expected. After all, I predicted L.A. to finish second out West this year and eventually represent the conference in the NBA Finals.

With the team I picked to win it all this year (Chicago) coming to town the next night, and the team I picked to meet Chicago in the East Finals (New York) coming two nights after that, I said "if we win one of these first three games, it'll be pretty amazing."

The next night, the Warriors came out of the gate much hotter. They shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half while forcing Chicago into double-digit turnovers. Curry and Ellis combined for 32 points at halftime, and the Warriors were up by 16. 

Ellis and Curry inevitably cooled off shooting-wise in the second half, but David Lee and Dorell Wright picked up the scoring slack. The Bulls slowed the pace of the game to their preferred half-court tempo, limited their turnovers, turned up the defensive intensity and scored 50 points (30 in the fourth quarter), but the Warriors picked up enough buckets and got enough stops to stave off a Chicago comeback.

The Warriors had won one of their daunting three-game opening slate, and I was satisfied. The Bulls were a team Golden State dismantled at Oracle last year as well, and the Dubs were due a good shooting game after opening night. Even though Stephen Curry landed badly on his already-injured right ankle midway through the fourth quarter, the Warriors had picked up a nice win.

In my opinion, Carmelo Anthony is the NBA's baddest man offensively, and Amar'e Stoudemire isn't far behind. With Tyson Chandler in the middle, the 2011-12 New York Knicks front line should give every team a hard time, but the Warriors, who thrive (when they do thrive that is) in spite of their undersized frontcourt and lack of inside scoring ability, looked doomed. With Steph Curry ruled out, this game looked like a throwaway.

At least they beat Chicago, the one win that I had dreamed of three days earlier. I headed to my second Warriors game of the season, expecting nothing more than to watch some great players play great. Which wouldn't be too bad.

To say that the Warriors offense suffered in the first half of this game would be an understatement.

With backup PG Ish Smith running the offense half the time, the Warriors had trouble creating open looks for shooters. When Monta Ellis ran the offense, the Knicks took away the paint, and forced him to either shoot or find another perimeter shooter.

Monta went 4-of-15, and wings Dorell Wright and Klay Thompson allowed early misses and the lack of an ability to drive to stop them from shooting altogether. New York went into the half up 43-37.

Wait, no Steph Curry, six field goals from Monta and David Lee combined, no threes from any perimeter shooters, and the Warriors were only down by six?

Credit a smart, gritty defensive effort. The Warriors would swarm Stoudemire and Anthony when they got the ball, but rotate perfectly to prevent them from finding open shooters. This led to both of them forcing bad shots, and going 4-of-14 combined.

In the past, a cold Warriors offense and a high-powered forward duo like Carmelo and Amar'e would equal disaster. But the Warriors' defensive intensity kept them within striking distance, and continued defensive pressure in the third quarter combined with 12 points from Brandon Rush had the Warriors and Knicks tied at 64 all. 

The fourth quarter may have been the best quarter of basketball the Warriors have played since their 48-win season in 2007-08. Not because they outscored a great team by 14 points when it mattered most, but because of how they did it.

With Tyson Chandler sitting due to foul trouble, Mark Jackson made a simple enough adjustment: let Monta Ellis attack the lane. Ellis would continuously drive around helpless perimeter defenders.

In the first three quarters, Chandler would appear in his way, and force a missed shot or a bad pass. Without Chandler on the floor, Ellis could either finish at the rim, or if Amar'e rotated, flip the ball across the lane to David Lee for the easy finish.

Defensively, the Warriors only cranked up the intensity. Double teams continued to frustrate Amar'e, while Dominic McGuire did a fabulous job keeping Carmelo Anthony out of the lane. With the Warrior bigs occupied with stopping those two, Dorell Wright and Brandon Rush became the go-to rebounders, and completely dominated the glass.

The Knicks were held to four points through the first 5:35 of the fourth, and Golden State was up 10. However, when Amar'e Stoudemire hit a turnaround jumper to cut the lead to eight and then made a brilliant defensive play, overplaying for a steal and throwing the ball off David Lee's leg, it looked as though New York was ready to come back.

But another outside miss from Carmelo came on the ensuing possession, and Dorell Wright promptly hit his first three-pointer of the night. Melo missed a three the next time down, and Monta Ellis hit one of his own on the other end.

Just like that, the Warriors were up 14 points, and they coasted to a 92-78 victory. I left this game feeling a little differently about this team than last time.

Threes on back-to-back possessions are not a rarity in Golden State. Steven Jackson, Al Harrington, Jason Richardson, Baron Davis, Mikael Pietrus, Anthony Morrow, Stephen Curry, etc. have spoiled us fans in that regard.

But in years past, back-to-back fourth quarter threes would come in response to back-to-back threes on the other end. Maybe they would come with a three-point play on the other end in between, followed by a couple easy layups and put-backs. Either way, they would be one small chapter of a 122-118 loss. Or maybe win, that isn't the point.

The point is that when the Warriors hold a team to 70 points through 42 minutes, even if they themselves have been held to 78, two threes are daggers. Not only does an eight point lead nearly double, but a 14-point deficit is much more daunting to an opponent that has not gotten any easy buckets all night.

The Warriors shooters will inevitably be cold sometimes. In the past, the team would have been out of the game by the time Dorell and Monta finally got those threes to go. But defense allowed the team to remain in the game through their rough shooting, and nine out of 10 nights, Dorell and Monta are going to hit one sooner or later. 

The Chicago game showed us how this team can win when things are going their way. The New York game showed us how they can win when things are not.

If this effort on the boards, matchup exploitation on offense, and most of all, commitment to team defense is something to get used to under Mark Jackson and Mike Malone, then winning may follow suit.