Preseason Game 1-- Warriors at Hornets

Preseason Game 1-- Warriors at Hornets

Finally, after months of thirst for Warriors basketball, the first preseason game is over with. The final score in New Orleans was Warriors 103 Hornets 106 in an entertaining opening to the season that ended with an Anthony Morrow missed 3pt shot that would've sent the game into Overtime. As entertaining as that sounds, let's try and keep our blood pressure low as it was only (and obviously... see: 19 turnovers) a preseason game, one which certainly looked (or sounded, since it wasn't broadcasted on television) like one through most of the game.

It's really hard to get a thorough analysis of a preseason game (particularly the first one), when it wasn't even broadcasted on television. So please, take the following analysis with a grain of salt.

The game started out great for the Warriors as they started off with a 6-0 lead for the first 2 and half minutes to start out the season in another ballclub's house. I'd rather focus on that first quarter, and some on the third as well, because those represent the closest to real-game situations.

A few notes on the first quarter:
1. As Nelson had previously stated, CJ Watson started the game at PG (although Williams did play about the same amount of time despite not starting and supposedly spraining an ankle in the last practice before the game.
2.Harrington seemed very active early on, which I found interesting considering the coaching staff for the second year in a row were claiming Harrington was having a very strong camp. Even though his numbers in the end certainly weren't impressive (4-11 fg, 1-4 3pfg, 11 points and 3 boards), I like the activity to start off the season.
3. It looks like even though we're without Baron Davis, the tempo didn't slow down at all with the starters, which is indicative by the 27 points we put on the board and the emphasis the commentators put on our break-neck fast break offense.
4. Overall, I was encouraged by the first quarter because our starters played a good portion of it, as did the Hornets, and we came out on top. This is a good sign seeing as how we play this team in a "real" game to open up the regular season.


Miscellanous notes:
- I was not encouraged by the play of either PG, but particularly CJ Watson who started the game, played 20 minutes, and failed to register an assist. Atleast Williams had 3 assists and no turnovers, but that still isn't saying much. This is something that needs to be kept an eye on all preseason.
-Speaking of assists, what a game it looks like Turiaf turned in. Although the announcers didn't even mention it, which might mean that the assists were relatively unspectacular, Turiaf finished the game with 6 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists in only 24 minutes. I don't care if it's a preseason game, or if he got lucky, or whatever other excuse anyone tries to use to justify Turiaf's 7 assists, when your big man gets that many assists in only 24 minutes of action you gotta give him his credit.
-I'm already picturing the future and I'm scared... With Monta Ellis out for what seems like the first half of the season, Jackson is going to try and take his shots and whatever other shots Maggette leaves him to try and carry the load. His 4-12 shooting is hopefully not a sign of things to come. If so, we're gonna be in trouble.
-The game was lost, as many were last year, in the third quarter where we came out sluggish to start the half, and we let the other team get some momentum and build a run. We ended up only losing the quarter by 12, but we allowed 36 points which is way too high for a team that was focusing on defense all of training camp.

And finally news on the youngsters:
1. I'll take what I can get: Marco Bellinelli lead all Warriors with 14 pts on 5-10 shooting. More important were his 2-2 from the land of beyond as that's what I'm hoping he provides during his 4-5 minute stretches during the regular season.
2. Anthony Randolph showed us exactly what he did in the Summer League. The kid can play, which was demonstrated by his 6 pts and 6 boards, but gosh he turns over the ball WAY TOO MUCH. In 17 minutes he registered 4 turnovers.
3. Brandan Wright played less than Demarcus Nelson. Hopefully the reason is he's a little banged up still. During a training camp scrimmage open to the media he was seen sitting out. If that's not the reason than I have no clue what else it could be, but i hope it's not because he's falling down the Warriors bench.

Like I said, take it all with a grain of salt. It's the first preseason game. There's more to come. We could've lost this one 100-2 and I'd still be excited because it's just that time of year again. Can't wait to let you all know how the next game goes. Until then, feel free to drop by and post some comments or analysis on some of the things I might've missed