The Utah Jazz were not going to be denied on the night that their beloved "Bear" mascot was inducted into the mascot hall of fame.  Emotions were running high with Senator Oren Hatch and members of the Osmond family on hand to mark the ocasion.  The Jazz are off to their best start in years by starting the season 3-0 and the Warriors are stumbling out of the gate and were badly outclassed by a Jerry Sloan squad highlited by an enormous front line and some exciting young backcourt players.

I really don't know where to start in describing the problems that the Warriors have as a team.  It starts with the energy level that the players bring to the floor.  I know the excuses about playing the night before, traveling into a high altitude city and all that garbage, but the bottom line is that the Warriors were a full step slower than the Jazz all night long and appeared to be literally running in mud for the majority of the game. 

The mad professor who spends his days and nights tirelessly devising new experiments to maximize the potential of former third overall pick Mike Dunleavy not only should lose his funding for research, but they should strip him of his tenure and he should be locked away in a mental institution for ever devising that Mike had the ability to run an NBA offense.  I will say it one final time...Mike Dunleavy is not an NBA quality basketball player.  If his father was not there to pave the way for him to do so, not only would he have never been drafted in the first round, but he would be lucky to make a NBDL roster as a reserve.  With that being said, Dunleavy isn't the problem.

To find the reason for the Warriors lack of success you need look no further than the backcourt, and no I don't consider Dunleavy to be a legitmate member of the backcourt.  Quite Frankly, if Baron Davis Monta Ellis and Jason Richardson don't combine for 60 pts a night, this team has absolutely no chance to win.  Davis and Ellis have been healthy but are both struggling for consistancy.  Richardson coming off Knee-Surgery is understandably rusty and all three have had little success in shooting the basketball.  Davis was simply awfull against the Jazz and has already relapsed into dominating the ball and settling for fade away jumpers.  The entire team has struggled from the free-throw line, but there is simply no excuse for guards to be missing so many free throws.

My quick fix for the problems the team is now facing would be to rely more heavily on the young players on the roster and make the veterans earn their way back into the starting lineup.  Ellis, Pietrus, Diogu, Biedrins and O'bryant have been consistantly better than their veteran counterparts.  The best and most consistant lineup consists of Davis, Ellis, Pietrus, Diogu and Biedrins.  J-Rich, O'bryant, Dunleavy and Murphy would be reliable bench players and either Roberson or Wagner could be the scoring spark off the bench.  I trust that Nelly knows what he is doing, but I am starting to question his passion.  He was pretty subdued on the bench and in the lockerroom after the game where in the past he would have been screaming and cursing at people after a display of this nature.  He also seems to be sticking with innefective players much longer than he would have in the past.  I am befuddled that we have yet to see DaJuan Wagner and I am really starting to wonder if there is not some illness or injury involved with him that we are unaware of because we desperately need his offense and J-Rich is clearly not ready to carry the load he is being given.

The season is only two games old and many fans were ready to write the team off after one game.  Even after two games and a win it's difficult to see this team competing for a playoff spot in the talented western confrence.  I fought really hard to not jump all over the first game because I really believed deep down that they weren't that bad.  I think there is something to be said for opening night nerves, however the bigger factor in my mind was the starters really hadn't played together for most of the pre-season and then were thrown out there together on opening night against a Laker team that is really clicking right now because Kobe isn't in there to dominate the ball. 

Nelly is still tinkering with his lineups and trying to figure out where to hide Mike Dunleavy is getting more and more like trying to convince other GM's that Adonal's locker room pressence is worth five or six wins a year.  Dunleavy as expected (at least by the majority of people that ever have watched him play) isn't very good.  He was probably an excellent point guard in high school but I can't even really say he is a good ball handler for a guy his size, because quite simply put...He sucks at that too.  He is good at one thing...He is one of the best players in the league at passing to a better player who in turn can make a basketball play.  His assisting the assister ratio is topps in NBA history.  Nobody passes to a passer like Dunleavy and he continues to improve this aspect of his game no matter what position you put him in on the floor. 

On the bright side, the bench is fantastic and luckily it's not too late for these young players to bennefit from a real coaching staff.  Mickael Pietrus, Andris Biedrins, Ike Diogu and Monta Ellis are all fantastic young talents that will continue to get better and better as they learn the game correctly from the new coaching staff.  All these players have talents that if utilized correctly can make a difference in the game.  The hardest thing for Nelly and his staff to accomplish is getting the starters to compete at a level anywhere near that of the young bench guys, otherwise you might see the majority of these young kids inserted into the starting lineup this year.  Ellis has to improve his ball handling in order to become the teams backup point guard, but he is a very talented basketball player that will be a star in the league.  Diogu seems to worked his way out of coach Nelson's doghouse and into heavy rotation at the Power Forward spot.  In starting the second half against Portland, one might actually consider him the new starter at that position at least until they figure out what to do with Dunleavy.  Biedrins has been marvelous in the first two games and he is quickly emerging as the best finishing big man on the roster.  Pietrus is definately better suited coming off the bench and his energy and hustle on the defensive end can change the tempo of the game.  He was brilliant against Portland hitting his corner threes and attacking the defensive glass.  Anthony Roberson has already proven to me that he isn't ready for NBA action, and I for one am ready to get a look at DaJuan Wagner.

Back to the starters for just a minute.  Jason Richardson has been awful, but you have to give him credit for fighting through an injury to be on the floor.  He will continue to get better obviously and if he can regain his health we all know what he is capable of doing.  Baron Davis looks healthy and ready to have a good season.  He does however appear to have lost his superstar status and I no longer believe he is capable of being a league MVP or All-Star calibur player.  He is a very good player and could make an All-Star team, but unless he suddenly finds a fountain of youth, his days of being an elite PG appear to be behind him.  The Troy Murphy at Center experiment although not off to a roaring start, I still believe is a success.  Even with his shooting woes the first couple of games, Murphy has made much more of a contribution than Foyle has ever made. and his shot will eventually start to fall.  His biggest obsticle is finishing shots close to the rim without either being blocked or simply just missing.  Some of the problem is getting used to playing with a plastic mask on his face, but there is no excuse for missing point blank layups in this league.  Murphy is going to have to step it up a couple notches tonight against Utah if the Warriors are going to have any chance against the formidable front line of the Jazz.

In the Pacific Division last season, four of the five teams made the playoffs with the lone exception...that's right, your Mike Montgomery lead Golden State Warriors.  The Suns, Clippers, Lakers and Kings are the teams this years Warriors lead by Don Nelson will compete with in the standings.  With the regular season rapidly approaching it’s time to take a closer look at the competition and figure out where the 2006-2007 Golden State Warriors fit into the mix.

Phoenix Suns: 54-28 1st Place in the Pacific Division, and the 3rd seed in the Western Conference playoffs.  The Suns are a definite title contender this season bringing back essentially the same team as a year ago and adding a healthy Amare Stoudemire.

Key Additions: Marcus Banks, Jumaine Jones, Eric Piatkowski

Key Subtractions: Eddie House, Tim Thomas, Brian Grant

Head Coach: Mike D’Antoni

Los Angeles Clippers: 47-35 2nd Place in the Pacific Division.  The Clippers got Sam Cassell back for another year and their young players will continue to improve.  Elton Brand and company will not be able to use the surprise attack as one of their weapons this season.  Let’s see if coach Dunleavy can manage a deep and talented young roster.

Key Additions: Tim Thomas, Aaron Williams

Key Subtractions: Vladimir Radmanovic

Head Coach: Mike Dunleavy Sr.

Los Angeles Lakers: 45-37 3rd Place in the Pacific Division.  The Lakers organization is in bad salary cap shape and has a limited roster, but when you factor in the best all around player in the game and one of the best coaches in the history of the league, you realize that Phil and Kobe have the ability to take a group of average players and mold them into a winning basketball team.  If Phil Jackson can figure out a way to unleash the talent that lies within Lamar Odom the Lakers could become tough to handle.

Key Additions:  Vladimir Radmanovic, Jordan Farmar

Key Subtractions: Devean George

Head Coach: Phil Jackson

Sacramento Kings: 44-38 4th Place in the Pacific Division.  The Warriors and Kings were even in terms of playoff chances at one point last season, but when they landed Ron Artest at the trade deadline, that swung things heavily in they're favor. Getting Eric Musselman as their new head coach will make them even tougher...Barring an Artest melt-down or significant injury the Kings are going to be in the mix again for a Western conference playoff spot.

Key Additions: John Salmons, Louis Amundson, Quincy Douby

Key Subtractions: Bonzi Wells, Jamal Sampson

Head Coach: Eric Musselman

Golden State Warriors: 34-48 5th Place in the Pacific Division.  The Warriors are bringing back the same roster with a new attitude and a new head coach.  Don Nelson will try to exploit match-ups and utilize his deep and versatile roster in a new way that will hopefully result in more than the 34 win total that they have achieved the previous two seasons.  If pre-season is any indication of things to come the small ball lineup could be fun to watch this year.

Key Additions: Dajuan Wagner, Patrick O’bryant, *Anthony Roberson

*Roberson is not officially on the roster but is potentially a key addition

Key Subtractions: Mike Montgomery, Derek Fisher

Head Coach: Don Nelson

Even if four teams from the Pacific Division make the post season again in 2006-2007, the Warriors chances of being one of them is slim. Most likely only three teams from the Pacific will make it anyway because the rest of the Western Conference has improved significantly as well. The playoff teams from a year ago that could possibly slip into the lottery are Memphis, Denver and Sacramento.  If that happens, there is no shortage of lottery teams that are going to battle Golden State for that eighth and final playoff spot. Teams like Houston, Utah and New Orleans/Oklahoma City for example. The only teams that the Warriors appear to be safely in front of in terms of playoff chances at this point are Minnesota, Seattle and Portland, but somebody has to win the Northwest Division and whoever does will more than likely be the final Western Conference playoff team.  The Warriors best chance to make the playoffs is to finish in the top three in the Pacific Division.

Everything Don Nelson does is for a reason.  He is a deep thinker and a strategist.  He is an excellent poker player and is always thinking two or three steps ahead of his opponent.  He likes to come off as an “aw-shucks” Midwest simpleton, but I for one am not buying it.  Nelson can look you right in the eye and lie to you without showing any emotion in his face, he can also tell you the truth with an expression on his face that tells you, “their is more to the story”.  When Coach Nelson wants to convey a message to one of his players, he uses the media as his messenger.  He has mastered the art of motivating players through the newspaper.  I witnessed this phenomenon first hand during training camp when Nelly decided to inform us (the beat writers and myself) that Mickael Pietrus would be the starting small forward and when Jason Richardson came back from his injury he would start exclusively at the shooting guard spot.   In one brilliant stroke he motivated four people.  Pietrus has a newly found outlook on life as a small forward and has received specific instructions on how to succeed.  Ellis has been relegated to an afterthought behind Richardson and Wagner, and has to prove himself every minute he is on the court.  Wagner has a chance to shine as a temporary starter and knows that if he plays well he can be a major contributor in this system.  And Richardson has the motivation to get himself healthy and improve his free throw shooting or he may find himself losing minutes by being relegated to playing most of his minutes at one position that has at least two other quality players vying for minutes.