Golden State Warriors: 5 Reasons the Mark Jackson Honeymoon Is over

Mark Jackson has certainly talked the talked so far. 

He managed to get an NBA coaching job with no previous coaching experience, had some believing that he could win with this Warrior team, that they would be a strong defensive team and even that Andris Biedrins could be back this year.

So far we haven’t really seen any of these things come to fruition.

We have seen a stronger effort defensively, but with the way this roster is constructed, paired with the strength of the Western Conference and having the Golden State Warriors do what they normally do—lose—a turnaround might not be possible with Jackson at the helm.

What Jackson needs to learn is that they way he wants to play basketball just might not be possible with the roster he was given. Or he needs a new roster.

In no way am I campaigning for Jackson to be fired, as it's way too early to determine if he is going to become a good coach in this league—he may in fact end up up being a great one—but here are five indications as to why it just might not happen with the Warriors.

1. They Look Like the Same Old Warriors

It never matters if the Warriors are up by 20 points or down by 20 points, you know it’s going to be a close game in the end.

It’s been happening for a few years now and this season is no different; they’re ending up on the wrong side at the end of the games.

Jackson was supposed to come in and change that losing mentality. He was going to come in and teach these Warriors how to play with a lead and keep it, or to turn all these close losses into wins. Most of these Warriors aren't used to winning, but so far, he hasn’t changed anything and the wins aren't there.

Just like in the past. Nothing's changed.

Besides gutting out that win against the Miami Heat (it helped that Miami shot 65 percent from the foul line and Dorell Wright had the best game of the season by far), we haven’t seen any reason to believe that Jackson is the man to help this team win in crunch time.

Or in any other time really. 

2. Their Defense Isn't Really Any Better

This season, Golden State Warrior opponents are scoring about six points per game less than what they did last season.

Sounds good, but in a shortened season mired in back-to-back games, next to zero practice time and tired legs, the NBA scoring is down by… about six points per game.

So, not that much better, especially since last season the Warriors ended the season ranked tied for third to last in opponents points scored per game. If the season ended today, the Warriors would rank third to last in opponents points scored per game.

So can we really say they have improved at all defensively?

You can see that the effort is there, but the results are not, as the Warriors are 6-12, good for 13th in the Western Conference. Plus, for all the defense that they are supposed to be playing, it seems like the forgot how to score the basketball.

While they are allowing six fewer points a game, they are scoring 7.1 points per game less than last year.

I wouldn't call that a positive movement. 

3. They Are 6-12

The proof is in the pudding.

Yes, they have lost a lot of close games, but fact is the Warriors are near the bottom of the NBA standings.

Right now they are on the same path that they were on last season with fired head coach Keith Smart. He was out after one only year and if this season continues as it is, why should things be any different for Jackson?

Especially after what Bay Area fans saw with this next guy.

4. Jim Harbaugh

Mark Jackson and Jim Harbaugh were in the exact same situation this past year.

They were both taking over losing teams, both had shorten practice time due to a lockout, both wanted to bring in a defensive mentality and both gave a vote of confidence to a player that most fans had given up on in Andris Biedrins and Alex Smith.

Harbaugh made good on all of his promises and a turned a dog into a thoroughbred almost immediately. He molded the 49ers into the top defensive unit in the NFL and turned Alex Smith into legitimate NFL starter (who on earth though that was possible?) as he led the San Francisco 49ers to within one game of the Super Bowl.

It was one of the greatest coaching performances of all time.

Here we have Jackson leading the Warriors defense that allows the third-most points in the NBA, Andris Biedrins looking even worse than ever and he has the Warriors near the bottom in the NBA standings.

It’s not reasonable to expect the same results as Harbaugh. However, some success would be nice.

With what Bay Area fans saw in Harbaugh this last year, fair or not, why shouldn’t they expect similar results from their NBA counterpart? Right now, Jackson is looking a lot more like Mike Singletary (all bark, little to no bite) rather than Jim Harbaugh.

If Golden State continues to falter, Warrior fans might be clamoring to get their own Jim Harbaugh sooner than later.

5. Jackson Said That the Warriors Are Close to Being the Team He Envisioned

That can't be a good thing. 

In an interview with CSN’s Matt Steinmetz, Jackson stated that the Warriors “Will make the playoffs” and that "There is evidence that we are very, very close to being that team I envisioned.”

What exactly is he envisioning then?

He’s got a good attitude, I’ll give him that, but what exactly does he see that makes him think that this is a playoff team? Comments like the ones he made makes me wonder about everything else he has said.

The blown leads, the close loses, the bad defense and Andris Biedrins being terrible are all bad Warrior habits that were going to take time to fix. Everyone knew that, and from what the Warriors have done on the court so far this season no one could expect anything drastic to change the rest of this season.

So why not instead say: “We are not a good team right now (which they’re not) and it’s going to take time, but we will continue to try to get better.” That’s all he needed to say. That would have put a lot more faith into the Warrior fanbase rather than to say that this team is going to make the playoffs.

I don’t think any coach could get this roster to the playoffs right now, but to say that this team is going to make it makes me wonder how empty his other "promises" are and really how long he is going to last as the coach of the Golden State Warriors.