From Altamont , pretty much sums up how many of us who have suffered for a long time feel. Assuming we don't have to go through another 13 years of failure, this feeling probably won't be repeated, so we should savor it. -Del

I know I'm not saying anything original or particularly profound here, but that's okay. I'm saying it as much for myself as anyone else. I've just been through...something, and writing about it feels important.

First things first: it may sound strange to say about a 4-1 series, but a few bounces either way and this would have been a whole different encounter. Any number of us could write volumes about what they did wrong against Utah, etc etc etc. It's easy to be critical of a whole lot of things, because there's a part of all of us, I'm sure, that feels like they should have had this one.

And while it's tempting to let that bitterness take over, I want to flip it. So maybe they should have had it...just stop and think about that for a second. What that implies is that the Warriors -- the fucking Warriors, the 18-64 Warriors, the John Starks and Jim Jackson and Todd Fuller Warriors -- had a legitimate shot at the Western Conference Finals.

Did you see that coming? No -- my question is: did you feel entitled to that when this season began?

I didn't think so.

A close friend of mine, who roots hard for Minnesota but has adopted the W's as his step-club over the years, called me two weeks ago this Thursday to confess that he choked up as the clock was winding down in Game 6 against Dallas. I clowned him for a minute, saying I'd kept my composure perfectly. Which was true.

Then I admitted that I'd teared up too, only in my case it was after Game 3. As the clock wound down on that game, I put my head in my hands (I was in a public place) and just kept muttering to myself, "They won." Over and over, just like that. "They won. They fucking won." At one point a much older guy came over and put his arm around me. I opened my eyes, looked and then stood up, and we hugged.

I said it that night, on this board, and I'll say it again now: everything after that moment, everything after Game 3 of the Mavericks series, was pure gravy for me. I couldn't ask for any more than they gave me with that one win.

Something I've been thinking about these past couple of weeks is that sports have been with human beings just about from the beginning. People dismiss them as superficial or trivial, but we have carried sport with us since we first stood upright and decided to band together. A great deal has been written about that fact, I know. People have all sorts of theories.

I don't have a theory. I can't begin to explain why this stuff means as much to me as it does. But whatever it is that sport, at its best, is supposed to do for you...I'm pretty sure that being a fan of the Golden State Warriors has done it for me.

Oh what the hell, this is a first. The last time the Warriors were in the playoffs, writing about it was the last thing on my mind.

As much as the matchups worked in favor of the Warriors in their series against Dallas, they worked against them when it came time to face the Jazz. On top of that, they just did not get the same performances out of key players that they did in the first round. Some of that has to be attributed to fatigue, but a lot of it has to do with the different style of basketball the Jazz play combined with the inability of the Warriors to adapt.

If you have to single out one key that cost the Warriors this series, it was rebounding. Time and time again, the Warriors just could not secure rebounds. The ugly truth: Utah outrebounded Golden State 269-171 in the five games, including 83-55 on the offensive boards. That breaks down to 53.8-34.2 per game, 16.6-11.0 offensively. The closest margin the Warriors had was 12 in Game 3, their only win. The widest was 28, their Game 2 loss in overtime. The most rebounds the Warriors had were 36, twice. The least Utah had were 44, the most being 60. Utah just had too many big bodies for the Warriors to contend with.

Moving on from the rebounding problems, 3-point shooting comes next. All year long, Warriors fans came to understand this team would live by the 3, die by the 3. They lived by it a lot in the Dallas series but especially in the last two games against Utah, did they ever die by it: a combined 18-69 (26.1%). The three previous games, 42-103 (40.8%). It points to Golden State finally running out of energy, more than the law of averages simply balancing out.

This was also reflected in the play of people like Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson. Davis had three strong games but he didn't look like his usual self in Games 4 and 5. Some of it can be credited to the Jazz tightening up their defense against him, but things were different after the amazing dunk he made over Andrei Kirilenko in Game 3. There was the belief that it would be a turning point in the series for the Warriors, but the exact opposite turned out to be the case.

As for Jackson, he was almost as big a reason the Warriors dispatched the Mavericks as Davis was. That all changed against Utah. Compare: against Dallas, he shot 42-93 (45.2%) from the floor, 19-40 (47.5%) behind the arc, 34-43 (79.1%) at the line and he averaged 22.8 points per game, including two of 30 or more. Against Utah, it was completely different. He shot 19-68 (27.9%) from the floor, 7-32 (21.9%) behind the arc, 38-47 (80.1%) at the line and he averaged 16.4 points per game. Numerous times, he kept shooting in spite of nothing going in and it continually hurt the Warriors. Some of that was his fault. Some of it, truth be told, was also Don Nelson's fault for not doing anything about it. As good a job as Nelson has done with this team, the tendency to let Jackson chuck as if he'd shoot his way out of his slump was not the right move.

The Warriors played Utah tough all three games in Salt Lake City, but one more thing they couldn't do that they did for the most part against Dallas was close out quarters and close out games. Aside from Game 3's blowout win, their only victory in the series, every time the Warriors had a lead with the chance to extend it, they made mistakes, took poor shots, and failed to stop Utah from keeping it close. The closer the games got to the end, the more the Jazz simply wore Golden State down until they had nothing left in the tank. As close as those games were, the Warriors did not play particularly well for long stretches in any of their losses. The worst was Game 2's meltdown when, in spite of nearly being doubled up on the boards (60-32), all they had to do to win was make their free throws. They didn't, Utah took advantage of it, and they won in overtime. That really decided the series right there, but another painful loss was Game 4 when they suffered their only home loss in five games. That sent it back to Utah with the Jazz holding a 3-1 advantage, too much for the Warriors to overcome.

Golden State had no answer for Carlos Boozer, who killed them repeatedly on the boards and in the paint. Kirilenko rebounded from a stretch of very poor play, and a poor season overall, to return to the all-around force he can be on both sides of the ball. Deron Williams played through a couple games with foul trouble to lead the guard play. Mehmet Okur made some big shots. Paul Millsap was difficult to contend with inside. But, the man who really hit the daggers in this series was Derek Fisher. Whether it was clutch 3-pointers or late free throws, he made a big difference.

Ultimately, Warriors fans should look back on this season and find many positives. Among them:

* the January trade with Indiana that somehow managed to get rid of both Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy Jr, while bringing in Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington. No matter what else happened, many fans would've been content with just that.

* the 16-5 run over the last quarter of the season after the Warriors looked down and out with a 26-35 record. Everyone finally got healthy enough to play together as a full squad and Golden State went on a magical run that was capped off with a win in Portland on the last day of the regular season, finishing at 42-40 and securing the 8th spot in the Western Conference.

* the way they completely shut down MVP Dirk Nowitzki and took out the 67-15 Dallas Mavericks in the first round. Make no mistake, it was the perfect matchup for the Warriors and they capitalized on it.

Not only did the Warriors end their long playoff drought, they surprised the country, Davis took his game to a new level and they ended up being one of the last eight teams left playing, both rejuvenating and intensifying Bay Area interest in Warriors basketball. In the process, much deserved recognition came our way for the intensity in which we support our team. No more talk of how we keep wasting our money on a bad team and a bad franchise, excusing mistake after mistake. Now we have people writing about how we have some of the best fans in not just the NBA but all of pro sports.

For once, this season was no failure. Playing meaningful games at the end of April into May was something we had not been treated to in far too long. In fact, for some Warriors fans it was the first time they got to experience playoff basketball. It sure beats the usual trade talks, speculation over who the next coach would be, and debating over who to take in the draft as we hope for a high lottery pick.

Congratulations to the Warriors and the fans that have stuck with the team for so long. Now the key will be building on what they've done so we can start talking about multiple visits to the postseason. I can't wait for next year.

The Warriors great late season and playoff run finally came to an end tonight. The W's just flat out ran out of gas against the bigger Jazz team. Spending all of their energy to get to the postseason and take care of the Mavericks. As we collect our thoughts to reflect on what was accomplished, we will leave tonight with this final thought.

We have something the Jazz don't....

I just can't go to see a game come home and write about it. There needs to be some amount of time for reflection and in the case of last nights game, more reflection. Couple of notes from last nights game. Friday's game and last nights game were the two most difficult games I have been to in a long time as far as getting to the arena, and getting into the parking lot. Both nights there were plenty of empty seats from fans stuck in the parking lot, outside the arena, or getting in the door. All in all, the arena parking, traffic control, and ticket taking are pretty awful.

Sitting down, it just didn't feel like, felt more like a regular season game, casual atmosphere, no one was really into it. Maybe the fans were tired, I know I was. From JRich's first shot I knew it was going to be bad, he missed a three pointer and his legs were barely in the shot, no lift, hit it short off the rim. No energy, the rest of the team looked the same, or for the players that did have energy they looked like they were pressing. The game just felt weird, like a caricature of a playoff game instead of the real thing, maybe I am coming down with a head cold.

Playmaker in the mens' room talking on his cell phone while doing his business, between the 3rd and 4th quarters. Pretty sure he just flushed the game away right there.

Small ball and the tyranny of the little things, that is my feeling on the game, the series and the Warriors in general. The previous home games the Warriors came out hot, hit threes had energy and the crowd carried them. This night, no such luck, close game all the time, lots of hard fouls on both sides, plenty of BS calls, good defense by Utah.

Utah would swarm Barron he would kick it out or around for another shooter who would then miss. Once that happens the Jazz just keep coming after Barron until someone makes a shot. There was nothing available inside because the outside shots weren't falling. The few times BD or SJax did get to the hoop it was after many direction changes, shakes, bakes etc. Low percentage opportunities with high percentage chances for turnovers. Jackson had 6 turnovers many of them from ill advised moves to the hoop.

The Warriors style of play is all about the big things. Big threes, big dunks, big leads, big scoring quarters, steals, blocks. Scoreboard fillers that carry with them greater energy than your average pound it in 2 pointer. The problem is that the playoffs are frequently about the little things. Free throws, getting a basket when you really need it, slowing the pace down to preserve a lead, not getting stupid fouls, not getting technicals, getting an important offensive rebound. When the Warriors execute on the big items, they win big, but when they are in a close game, that's another story. Game 2 in Utah, should have been an easy win. Game 4 in Oakland could have been a win, but for the lack of success in handling the little things.

The Warriors live by the three and die by the three, in the open court run and gun style the 3 when working is deadly, carries momentum and can break the will of an opposing team. The other team spends 20 seconds getting a quality shot off only to have the Warriors run it back and toss in a 3 in under 6 seconds. If the Warriors can't run, or can't sink their shots, they have no fallback offense. This is the same issue that plagues them in the 4th quarter of close games.

Steals are another Warriors staple, but when the opposing team has reasonable ball handlers and are not moving at the Warriors pace, there are not as many opportunities to make the big steal. The Warriors only had 9 steals Sunday night, their second lowest total of the series, only having 8 in a game 1 loss in Utah. With the Utah guards out of foul trouble, and pushing the pace Utah likes to play, there just weren't as many opportunities for the Warriors to get steals and get out on the break.

Big leads, none, the Warriors couldn't get any separation at all from the Jazz. Warriors fans aren't dumb, we pretty much knew that if we couldn't get up by 10-15 in the 4th we didn't have much hope of winning. When the shots aren't falling, and the game is close, your odds aren't great.

Free throws, another small item, that we know haunts the Warriors. Game 2 in Utah, 1 made free throw away from a win. We missed 7 in the last 3 minutes, you aren't going to close out many games like that, especially in the playoffs. The Warriors shot 80% on Friday in their win, and shot 62% last night in the loss. 13 points not enough to get the win, but certainly a momentum changer. The Jazz shot 86% 37-43, the disparity in foul calls is another small item. Last nights game had the highest disparity of calls in the series +9 for the Jazz. The Warriors don't seem to get much respect at home.

I have some mixed feelings on what Tuesday night holds for the Warriors. I want to think they will come back strong, but they didn't show much last night, they didn't seem like they wanted to be playing, they looked tired. Maybe they will phone it in tomorrow and go on vacation early.

More likely, they will come out firing, and if the shots go down they will keep firing and potentially burry the Jazz to bring the series home. If they miss coming out, and keep it close they will lose down the stretch, or worst case scenario, they have nothing left in the tank and from the start will just get rolled.