Hornets-Warriors: Golden State Drops Season Opener

It's going to be a long season for Golden State Warriors' fans.

The Warriors have opened the 2008-2009 season with a tough loss to the new beasts of the Western Conference: the New Orleans Hornets. Although Warriors' fans had the slim belief that their team could potentially cause an upset, deep down they knew something had to go wrong.

Team leader and captain Stephen Jackson played all 48 minutes—mostly at the point guard position. Offseason acquisition Corey Maggette chipped in 27 points on his debut with the Bay Area team and Kelenna Azubuike, arguably the best player for the Warriors, had 17 points.

Andris Biedrins, on the other hand, demonstrated one of Don Nelson's unorthodox defensive schemes by defending point guard superstar Chris Paul in some stints of the game. Late in the third quarter and early fourth quarter, Biedrins successfully put a couple of stops to Paul's incredible offensive package.

With 2:43 to go, Biedrins yet again used his length to disrupt James Posey's three-point attempt, but the Dubs failed to capitalize.

For the Warriors, the first half seemed to be flawless due to the effective shooting of Jackson and Maggette. The three-point attempts fell down, which in turn gave immediate life to the Warriors fast-paced system.

In the second half, Jackson looked fatigued and worn-out playing a position he has not played since his entrance in the NBA. In addition, he guarded the underrated David West and superstar Paul.

On that note, Jackson should not play the point guard position again. At times, it was a "hold your breath" moment for the fans when he "attempted" to cross over Paul or David West, drive to the lane, or make critical plays in crunch time.

That being said, he was the ultimate presence for the Warriors, but could not strongly do what he does best: shoot and defend. He was too busy pondering the aspects of skills he doesn't possess.

Maggette clearly looked to be the Warriors' best player at times, but seemed to be the forgotten man when Jackson was controlling the court.

On the last play for the Dubs, coming out of a time out, the Warriors had to tie the game with a three-point attempt. Who had the ball in their hands for the final Warriors' shot of the game? Much-mentioned player over the past couple of days: Al Harrington.

It appeared as though Nellie was issuing a message that Harrington will be part of those dying minute shots for the Oakland-based team—an out-of-sync mentality at the expense of a team winning the game.

Harrington? Why? My claim about Harrington's play is summed up in one question: How much has the news about Harrington demanding a trade out of Oakland affected Harrington's confidence, or even in this case, Nellie's approach towards Harrington?

Sure, he has named him captain. Nellie said, "I will give Al freedom this year to do whatever he wants." However, was he the right person to take that shot? What does this suggest about a team that has some internal office conflicts with executive VP of basketball operations Chris Mullin and team president Robert Rowell?

Maybe I am taking it too far, but the undercurrents of disunity between Harrington and Nelson, and VP Chris Mullin with Robert Rowell simply do not portend well for a club that had high hopes for this season.