Golden State Warriors: 10 Bold Predictions for the Post All-Star Break
The Warriors just won in Utah!
I'll type it again—the Warriors just won in Utah!
Yeah, I still don't believe it, but it happened. I've been skeptical all season about the Warriors because they gave me a good reason—the road losses.
However, with the way they have been playing, it's hard not to get excited about the second half of the season. Heck, my friends and I are even getting together to watch Warriors games, which actually never really happened before.
Their play has even gotten me to dust off my "We Believe" shirt and got me to believe in these 10 predictions for the Warriors post-All-Star break.
10. David Lee Proves Why They Signed Him
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Lee started the year playing well, then a freak elbow injury led to an infection, causing him to miss games. He and the Warriors really struggled.
He came back and nothing changed—well, he was actually playing worse—but the team was still losing.
Time has healed both wounds. Lee is healthy and performing better. He looks like he is really attacking the glass and getting his confidence back on his 12-foot jumper.
But more than that, the team is learning how to play together. If they figure that out, then it is simple—let Lee get the rebound, outlet it to Monta Ellis or Stephen Curry and let 'em go.
I think Lee is going to make people forget how much money he really makes.
9. The Warriors Make No Moves at the Trade Deadline
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With $17 million in expiring contracts and their name coming up in various trade rumors, a deal would certainly make sense.
But with an uncertain NBA future and the trade market dwindling, no deal really makes sense for them. Even though they have the assets, I don't think they make any moves.
Let me also put the Monta Ellis trade rumors to rest. He has as much chance of getting traded by the deadline as Nicolas Cage does of winning an Oscar for "Drive Angry 3D."
And that's none.
8. Ekpe Udoh Breaks Out
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An unfortunate wrist injury in the summer really hurt Udoh's chances of having a great rookie season, but now he looks like he is going to be able to contribute down the stretch.
A big reason is that it looks like he will finally get the minutes he needs to produce.
He might already be the team’s best defender, which isn’t saying much, but he is only a rookie. His effort is second to none on the team and if they keep him on the floor, hopefully it will lead to…
7. The Warriors Playing Better Defense
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Not exactly bold, only because they can’t get much worse, but I think they start winning games based on their defensive effort.
They actually have been playing better defense lately, but I think they take it to another level because of Udoh.
The rest of the team is going to look at the defensive effort this kid brings every night and realize they don’t want to be shown up by a rookie.
They'll start putting in the effort needed to play great defense.
I’m starting to see it already. Plus, if they can get more rest, they would be able to put more effort in on both ends, which will happen because…
6. The Bench Will Come Alive in the Second Half
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Why? Because they are finally getting the minutes to prove themselves and they are not disappointing.
Well that, and most of them are in contract years.
Reggie Williams—how do they keep him on the bench? Play him his 20 minutes, but no more and no less. He is crazy efficient in that 20 minutes, but it scares me that if he gets more minutes, his efficiency will drop.
The rest of the bench, given the minutes, should be productive, including Udoh, who I've mentioned, and Louis Amundson, who can bring 10 minutes of energy each night like he did last year for the Phoenix Suns.
Brandan Wright hopefully will be able to contribute, too. Charlie Bell even looked good the last few games, and Vladimir Radmanovic should be productive as well.
I think we can get excited of what the bench can bring for pretty much everyone, except Dan Gadzuric.
Speaking of Vladimir...
5. Vladimir Radmanovic Will Lead the Warriors in Scoring in Five Games
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This isn't his first rodeo; he is in a contract year so he knows what he needs to do.
You can even tell by his recent play that that he has started to put in more time in the gym, has started shooting better and maybe even gone down to only one or two packs of cigarettes a day.
He is in the final year of a $30 million dollar deal that the Los Angeles Lakers gave him five years ago, but why did the Lakers give him all that money?
In the final year of his last deal, he drained eight three-pointers in...Staples Center. He played well enough against a team that needed shooting to get a $30 million deal out of the Lakers.
Tell me he won't do the exact same thing against some team and that some G.M. will see that and pay him an absurd amount of money again.
4. Andris Biedrins Gets His Old Hair and His Old Game Back
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Hard to believe this guy was putting up some 20-20 games a few years back, but it happened.
Maybe it was the hair.
There is really no reason he can't produce similar numbers again—even produce half those numbers and everyone would be happy.
He had the rough, intimidating, spiky look before, but now he looks like he is going in for his ninth grade yearbook photo with his current hairdo.
Bring back the old hair and maybe it'll bring his old game back.
3. The Warriors Will Go 16-11 After the Break
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They have it in them, even though they have 16 road games, including a seven-game road trip mixed in.
I believe they can achieve this record because—in case you didn't hear—they just won in Utah!
You can reel off the teams they beat recently—Oklahoma City, Chicago, Denver—but those were all at home. They always play well at home, even when they're bad, because of their home crowd.
I think the step they took Wednesday night will give them the confidence they need to win anywhere.
However, even if they go 16-11...
2. A Loss to the Nuggets on April 11 Will Eliminate Them from the Playoffs
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This is still the Warriors, remember. The fans are accustomed to losing, so this isn't exactly a punch in the face. This would still mean they play a meaningful game in April, which is something.
As well as I think they are going to play, I say they still miss out on the playoffs. Whether it is because another team plays better or they just don't play as well as I think they will play, I don't think it will happen.
I hope it comes down to the final day. If they play a meaningful final game at home against Portland, there is no way they lose that game based solely on the home crowd, which happens to be one of the best fan bases in the NBA.
The Warriors, sadly, just won't get that chance. There will be a silver lining, though...
1. The Warriors Will Win the Lottery
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Well, at least a top three pick.
Think about it—the Warriors have been in the top three picks just twice in the last 17 years, despite being in the lottery for 16 of those years.
The year they won the lottery, Joe Smith was the consensus top pick. The other time they got the third pick in a draft in which Yao Ming, Jay Williams and Mike Dunlevely Jr. were the top three picks.
Not exactly the right years to be winning it.
So it only makes sense that they would get a top pick this year when the top three picks include a point guard that will end up playing eight college games, a dynamic wing-man who is the same version of the player they drafted—only with more potential and from the same school, no less—and Jared Sullinger, who I think will be a good pro, but who just happens to play the same position as their new $80 million man.
These are good players, but there is no John Wall, Blake Griffin or Derrick Rose here, so of course they're going to win it this year.
But here's to hoping I'm wrong about the last two!
