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Golden State Warriors

Welcome Back Old Friend

By Trevor Freeman

In the words and voice of Eric Cartman, I have but one thing to say……”How would you like to suck my balls….Mr. Barkley?” Hahahaha. Great call “Sir Charles”. Oh and by the way, having somebody from Alabama tell you that Sausalito/Marin County sucks is the exact equivalent of Cash Warren hearing that Jessica Alba is an ugly tramp from one of the Greek guys dating Paris Hilton. Not since the “Run TMC” era has there been a better time to be a Golden State Warriors fan. I just spent $40 on eBay for a “We Believe” T-Shirt that may or may not have beer stains on it. To be quite honest, I’m hoping for beer stains. I want to be a part of what went down in Games 3 and 4 in the Oracle..cough..Oakland Arena.
Before I get started on what might be the greatest upset in NBA playoff history, I have to announce something. I was wrong and Chris Mullin was right. That trade with Indiana has turned out to be tremendous. If Stephen Jackson goes out and commits a triple homicide at The Hustler Club later this summer, the trade was still worth it. For the first time in a long time, Golden State Warrior basketball is a must-see event. A team and a fanbase that has been dormant since 1994 finally has a reason to stand up and be heard……..and it feels great. A full mea culpa on my part is warranted. Looking through my archives and seeing that I did indeed post a journal entry criticizing the trade with the Pacers is like reliving a sloppy college night. You just want to put it behind you and wish that it had never happened.

While watching the Golden State Warriors win Games 3 and 4, I had the same goosebumps that “Double Down” Trent must have had when he saw Mikey dance with Heather Graham in “Swingers”. Our little baby is all grown up. Not only are the Warriors winning, but they are doing it with swagger. Baron Davis is playing so well, I half expected Jessica Alba to look over at Cash Warren and say “sorry Cash…….I’m moving on up” and then make out with Baron at halfcourt during the Game 4 postgame interview. The aforementioned Stephen Jackson has been electric on both ends of the court. To top it off, Jackson is showing that he has a little “Big Shot Bob” in him. Due to Mikael Pietrus’ play I have established a one-month moratorium on making fun of the French. Matt Barnes is playing like a tattooed Shane Battier. Jason Richardson and Monta Ellis have both had their moments. Outside of Al Harrington’s shooting slump, every single player on the Warriors is playing at a higher level than they were during the regular season. That speaks to the character of this team and Don Nelson.

This team beating Dallas may well be Don Nelson’s crowning achievement. Ever since the 80s, Don Nelson has always been enamored with a smallball lineup. Give Nelson a conventional lineup and he underwhelms. Toss him five athletic guys and a center that is 6’9″ and he takes you places. Maybe the Golden State Warriors are too small to win the NBA Championship, but this team is just offbeat enough to knock out a heavyweight. I love them. I don’t even want to think about our matchup problems with a Houston or Utah. I just want to live in this moment.

On the other side of the coaching equation, all Warriors fans should tip their hat as well to Avery Johnson. He is coaching this series with the flare of a young Marty Schottenheimer. If Dallas slowed the game down and started playing the two-man game with Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, the Warriors would be screwed. Unfortunately, Avery is the last person on the planet to realize this. He’s the guy with a thousand dollars in his pocket that can’t close the deal at the Bunny Ranch.

For years, the NBA has been nothing but a rumor in the Bay Area. The past two nights it finally came back. An area with a long love for the roundball finally got excited again. Our crowd was like a college crowd in Games 3 and 4. Boisterous. Loud. Real Drunk. We were virgins on prom night. I half expected a court storming after Game 4. Having a contending Warriors team is a feeling not felt in thirteen years. Welcome back old friend. Welcome back.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].

14 replies on “Welcome Back Old Friend”

Good Stuff Just an excellent article. One thing I’ve learned: Joy always reads much better than misery.  BTW, Nelson is COMPLETELY schooling Avery Johnson, a fact that the mainstream media refuses to honestly analyze for whatever reason. [Any ideas on that one?]

Warrior fans=Awesome.

It’s like a college atmosphere, enough to make me wish, once more, that the Dolan’s would sell the damn team, and Isiah would go back to destroying promising developmental leagues.

Ah, well.

I don’t know how you’re getting any sleep Those west coast games are killing me.  The west has by the more exciting games this year and we’re basically screwed in the east watching prime time blowouts like Nets-Raptors and Pistons-Magic.  It’s freakin sad.  Meanwhile, I actually want to stay up and watch Denver-San Antonio and Warriors-Mavericks but I can’t.  At most I’m seeing 3 quarters and going to bed hoping to see good news in the morning.

I’m not gonna jinx the warriors but this has been fun.

Any room? I usually say nicer things about cancer, terrorism and gas prices than I do about the NBA, but I’ve been listening to the last two Warrior games (sirius is my new god) at work and I’m hooked on this team. I was cheering out loud with my headphones on at the excitement of the last few mins of game 4. I wish the NBA did 2-3-2 so the next game would be in Oakland.

And this coming from a guy who lives in a city where the NBA couldn’t be more unpopular if it was run by al-Qaeda.

Thank you. The energy our fans have shown has been so tremendous.  All clad in yellow.  I told one of my friends last night that it felt like a Cameron Indoor sans people jumpig up and down in Game 3.  

Staying up Late Following the A’s on the Extra Innings package has got me used to staying up late.  Last night was extraordinary though.  I was so pumped up, I couldn’t get to bed until 4 in the morning.  It’s safe to say that a ton of Mountain Dew got me through the day.

Honestly….. …and I’m not just saying that as a shameless homer, but the NBA needed an upset like the Warriors beating Dallas.  It has become too predictable to pick who has been coming out of each conference.  A Warriors win makes the West wide open.  It means either Golden State, Utah or most probably Houston is getting to the Western Conference Finals.  That’s team other than the Phoenix-San Antonio-Dallas troika.

Warriors rule… Great article…and I really can’t express how amazing the Warriors are. I never even cared for the NBA before that trade.

Thank you Total mea culpa on my part for initially criticizing that trade.  I thought giving up Diogu made it too much.  However Golden State doesn’t make the playoffs without that trade.  It has turned out to be an incredible move.  Unlike most sportswriters I have no problem admitting that I’m an idiot 48.7% of the time with that being one of my bigger blunders.

All I have to say is… Good reference to the Bunny Ranch. I can always trust Trevor to know his late night tv. I just wish they wouldn’t space out the episodes so much. Oh yea and good article :).

Thank you…… …….and I totally agree.  They should really keep a schedule.  Maybe hop into the 10:30 slot after Entourage on Sundays?

AWESOME “I had the same goosebumps that “Double Down” Trent must have had when he saw Mikey dance with Heather Graham in ‘Swingers’.”

Wow. Spot on. I lol-ed.

I could in general not care less about basketball, which lets me reserve the right to jump on bandwagons.

Great stuff, as always!

Thank you The Warriors bandwagon has been empty for so many years, we are opening it up like Ellis Island right now.  Everybody can feel free come onboard.  

All day long, I’ve been telling my fellow Warrior fans, “I know we have Game 6 in Oakland still…..but let’s not be scared to close this out in 5.”

It might be a late night for me although i havent watched a full game so maybe i shouldn’t jinx it?

Last night’s game I have the same sick feeling this morning as I did when Keith Foulke blew game 4 in Fenway for the A’s when they had the Red Sox about to go out.  The Warriors had a 9 point lead with three minutes left and blew it.  The crowd is going to have to carry them in Game 6.

Had Dirk not come through I was about two steps away from joining the crowd that wonders aloud if Josh Howard is the more important player on the Mavericks.  When Dirk isn’t scoring…what is his purpose being out there.  On the flip side, Josh Howard does a little bit of everything for the Mavericks.  He could zero points and impact a game with his defense and playmaking abilities.

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