Coming off of their forth loss in a row and the playoffs getting further out of reach, the Golden State Warriors are in desperate need for a win. And after the 109-100 loss to the Indiana Pacers head coach Keith Smart has to do something to get this team turned around and in a hurry. The W’s will go straight from Indianapolis to Washington, D.C., tonight to play a back-to-back against the Washington Wizards tomorrow; and according to Smart, he’s searching for something:
"I’ve got two teams right now, a great offensive team and a good defensive team. And I have two of them in the middle and I have to figure out how to splice that and turn them into one again."
Sounds like a daunting challenge. But what is it going to take? First off, you’re going to need a lot more out of Andre Biedrins. Zero points and five rebounds isn’t going to cut it for a center in Middle School, let alone against the Pacers. If Dre can put in some production (not a lot, just some) it would certainly help the W’s chances of winning a game, especially on the road. But with 14 more road games it’s definitely going to be an uphill battle from here on in for Biedrins.
How about Al Thornton, who the Warriors are apparently trying to sign off waivers? I doubt it. Very few players can be a team’s panacea, and Al Thornton just isn’t it.
Is it their motivation? Maybe. With every loss the playoff pinnacle seems that more out of reach, every game becomes just another day before the end of the season. This current losing streak would hopefully fire the W’s up to win instead of demoralize them. And I don’t really see a team full of quitters, so it can’t be that.
What the Warriors need is some mental strength and defensive stability to get them to grind out close games. To have the ability to chip away if they fall behind or close the door if they leap ahead. I think this is what Coach Smart is looking for. If you see any, I’m sure he’d like to know where.
The Warriors just aren’t a physical team, plain and simple. There has to be toughness from top to bottom and they just don’t have it. Their offense is good enough to buy them some wins and get them off the hook from time to time, but if you aren’t tough enough it’s going to show in the loss column, which it does.