Bulls 115 Warriors 110

It would've been nice to get to .500 right before the addition of our new starting PG, but on a night when a former Warrior guard was on fire, and a number 1 overall draft pick was unstoppable, the Warriors just could not get it done... ultimately losing 115-110. So far this year, the Warriors losses have come from a large part as a result of miscues and bad play on our part. Although this game had its fair share of sloppiness (see Jackson-8 turnovers), the biggest reason we lost this game, in my opinion, is the play of those two athletes from the Bulls. In particular, Derrick Rose was simply amazing down the stretch. He has a perfect combination of speed and athleticism, which makes him ridiculously difficult to guard. But enough about the Bulls, this is a Warriors blog, so here's some of my thoughts on the game:

Let's Get The Negatives Out First
Although Jackson had a very efficient night shooting the ball, he was just trying way too hard to get his teammates involved. As much as i love the mentality, we can't lose the ball that many times and have so many wasted possessions. Hopefully, the arrival of Jamal Crawford will allow Jackson to take look for his teammates less, and focus on consistently hitting those jumpshots, while of course Crawford looks to set him and others up.

Defense- Derrick Rose may have been unstoppable tonight, but there's no way Larry Hughes should be given that many open shots. Regardless of how weak he is as a three-point shooter, this is the NBA, and most NBA players can make wide open jumpshots. Our rotation on the zone tonight was pretty ugly, which is surprising since I've felt it's been very effective thus far through the season. Hopefully Nelson fixes this before the Philadelphia game on Sunday.

Bright Spots
-Corey Maggette had a solid game, one which I'd love to see happen alot more often. He didn't force it as much as he does some nights, but when he did he made it count. I think whenever he has the same amount of free throws as he does field goals (and they're a high number) he will be very productive.
-Anthony Randolph was great tonight. This kid looks like he will be a stud down the line. Yes, he missed a potentially game changing layup/dunk at the end of the game, but he's not going to miss those often, particularly later in his career. What I like most was Nellie's confidence to leave him in in those late game situations.
-I loved Nellie's rotation tonight. We went 10 deep, gave everyone a shot, and we got a few good performances from the bench. Obviously, Randolph's was good, but I also enjoyed Marco Belinelli's play tonight. He actually finished with one of the few +/- too (+8).
-Lastly, although Morrow wasn't as effective tonight, I liked that he didn't stop pulling the trigger. Some young kids who didn't get drafted might stop shooting after they miss one or two. Morrow wasn't scared to hoist up some shots, which demonstrates a lot of confidence. Hopefully he shoots a better percentage next game.

Top Performances
1. Corey Maggette- I thought he was solid tonight, unlike most other nights, so he deserves some spotlight. He finished with 24 points and 7 rebounds
2. Andris Biedrins- Another solid night for our rising star. He finished with a quiet 23 points and 10 boards.
3. Anthony Randolph- Have I said enough about him? He finished with 10 points and 9 boards in ONLY 13 minutes!!!