Warriors 111 Celtics 119

A day after being destroyed by the worst team in the NBA (in terms of records), the Warriors played a spirited game against the NBA Champion Boston Celtics in their 3rd game of a 5-game roadtrip, but ended up falling short 111-119. Although they gave up a huge amount of points for the second night in a row, they didn't look nearly as lost as they did against the Wizards offensively, demonstrating the ability to move the ball around a bit more and get guys some open jump-shots. Ultimately, this team faltered in the third quarter, a quarter in which this team has had trouble staying composed all season, where they lost by a staggering 20 points (39-19). That kind of 3rd quarter will not win any NBA basketball games, particularly against the NBA Champions. Nonetheless, the team still put up a much better fight, surprisingly considering it was the back end of a back-to-back against an excellent team.

What Worked
Well, to win basketball games, you need to make shots. Against the Wizards, not only did we not make any shots, but we couldn't defend a layup to save our lives. Tonight, we certainly allowed the Celtics to get their fair share of fastbreak points (similar to the our good-ol days), but we made up the difference by making a ton of jumpshots. In particular, I felt Jackson and Maggette were very efficient tonight. I suppose isolation plays don't look as terrible when they actually result in made baskets. If Maggette could find a way to contribute you like this on every night, he'd be much more efficient. Clearly, he's demonstrating that if nothing else, he's much more effective from the SF position than he is from the PF position, so the starting lineup we saw tonight likely will remain the same for the time being (with Wright in the lineup at PF).

Also, Jackson and Crawford were trying desperately to get guys involved and it got a few open shots (they would've had more assists if their teammates didn't drop the pass 2 or 3 times). This combination of plain old making jump-shots and moving the ball around made us value our possessions a lot more than last night, particularly in the first half.

What Didn't
The Defense...Again
The Celtics are certainly a good team, but they aren't deep at all. They had a whopping 21 points off the bench tonight. The rest came from their starters, in particular their big 3 and Rondo all had over 20 points apiece. From the start, I knew Wright wouldn't be able to guard Garnett but I was hoping that if everyone else locked up, he'd be the only one hurting us. Unfortunately, the Celtics got on the break so often that they got a ton of easy buckets, which of course gets good players flowing easier in a game. Our transition defense needs to hustle and get back. What's going to happen when we play some of the really fast break teams? This was the slow, methodical Boston Celtics, and they did whatever they wanted tonight. I was hoping we would see some more zone, which had been rather effective for us in a couple of games lately, but I'd bet Nelson refused this idea because of the 3 point shot ability of Pierce and Allen. Still, unless we tighten up our rotations defensively, no matter how well we do on the offensive end, with the way we rebound we just won't have enough possessions to outscore our opponents.

Taking A Step Back
I look at this team and I see a lot of talent, but the leadership is just missing completely from this team. Sure, Captain Jack has leadership skills in his blood, but he hasn't seemed like the type who can really motivate and inspire his guys to do anything defensively. When we had Baron, if he felt like guarding someone and getting a few stops in a row, he would lock his man up at halfcourt, and the other would follow suit witnessing what he was doing. Crawford meanwhile looks like he lacks any defensive passion, so I'm having trouble seeing where we can go to to grab a few stops.

In terms of this game alone, I'd like to throw out this as well: Where was Morrow tonight? Has Nelson already completely given up on him? He scores 37, then 25, then 2 games pass by where his teammates don't really look to give him the ball, and now he doesn't even get a chance? C'mon Nelson, this kid can play, just run a few plays for him and see if he can get jump started... This team needs a boost... BADLY

Top Performances
1. Corey Maggette- 32 points and 4 boards
2. Stephen Jackson- 30 points 6 assists and 5 boards
3. Ronnie Turiaf- 2 points 2 boards and 5 blocks (Is it possible this guy can lead the league in blocks this year without playing more than 25 mpg?!?!)