Golden State of Mind linkage of last night's fourth quarter meltdown allows those masochistic fans to relive some painful basketball. The Warriors weren't that terrible. Rather, the Jazz were just that good. What is the main problem fans are seeing with this team? All electronic fingers (or cursors) point to coach Keith Smart and his problematic rotations:
Theres really no excuse for not Playing Udoh
When Utah has a scrub like Evans scoring on 4 alley oop dunks, Udoh is the only guy on our squad with the skill set that can stop that crap. Are you telling me that Udoh is not a better option than Gadz? Come on Keith, let the kid play and maybe just maybe he will add some fire to this squad. Next time some guard blows by a player on his way to the rack maybe, just maybewe will have someone there to stop him. UDOH!!!!!! -Omnipotentone
Just because Smart is almost comically terrible...
... doesn't mean Nellie would be good. Maybe we have a few more wins at this point with Nellie, but he was going to be in his last year anyway. Better to get a fresh start and build chemistry with a new coach and roster. Unfortunately, that plan seems to be backfiring as Smart is ridiculous. I think a new coach in the off-season is a done deal unless we go on a crazy tear and get it together the second half of the season. - warriorsablaze
But probably stranger is the way that opposing teams have been disrespecting the Warriors as of late. First Richard Jefferson rode David Lee after an alley-oop dunk, which sparked a minor scuffle. Last night the Jazz, leading by 15 with 3 minutes left, were hitting the Warriors on layups as if it was a tight playoff game. Deron Williams gave Monta Ellis a hard foul, which Ellis didn't appreciate and responded with some jabbering. They were seen STILL talking to each other after a TV timeout. A few trips down later, Ellis passed to a trailing David Lee who was hacked hard across the head by CJ Miles.
For the video, watch the 1.00 minute mark and on:
On the one hand, I think the Jazz intensity is unnecessary when the game was all but over at that point. Why bully a team that is clearly sucking? On the other hand, the Warriors are letting the Jazz (and the Spurs just weeks earlier) humiliate them. At some point, the Warriors are going to have to score and get defensive stops to make players like Deron Williams NOT hurt you in a blow out. Jabbering back at him isn't going to make him respect you or the rest of the team.
This just goes to show that this might be a developing (lopsided) rivalry that has its roots to the WE BELIEVE Warriors when Baron Davis posterized Andrei Kirilenko. Jeremy Evans returned the favor last night with enough highlights that he started to look like Blake Griffin out there. How will the Warriors respond next time?