And on the 7th Day

He said, "Let there be a win for the Warriors," and He saw it, and it was good.

It feels great getting the monkey off our backs. I loved the win, but I loved the way we got the win even better. The Warriors won the battle of the paint for once. The FSN crew kept showing the points in the paint graphic throughout the game, and at one point, the Warriors had 50 points in the paint compared to about 10 for the Clippers. Everyone was fighting for a rebound last night and everyone was trying for the extra pass, and it showed in the game and the boxscore.



The Assists Baron getting 8+ assists a night is a given, so I was impressed with Barnes and Monta. With a dislocated finger, Barnes found Andris and POB for a lot of easy dunks and lay-ins. His 8 assists complemented Baron's 12. Monta couldn't seem to finish at the rim early-midway through the game, but used his speed to pass the ball instead. I remember a play when Monta slashed to the rim, was crowded by two Clippers, and and threw a nifty outlet pass to Andris for a dunk. Monta could easily be one of the most creative passers on the team.

The Rebounds: The Warriors outrebounded the Clips 52-43. As I noted, it seemed as if every Warrior had a nose for a rebound. Al Harrington nabbed a particularly funky rebound: the ball caromed off the floor and into the air, and Al outjumped three Clippers for it.



The Big Guys Our big man trio was awesome last night. Andris Biedrins was a beast with 23 points on 9-12 FGs, a career-matching 18 rebounds, and 2 blocks, including a nasty rejection when Corey Maggette went in for a dunk. After being thoroughly outplayed by Chris Kaman in LA, he outmatched the Caveman in Oakland.

Patrick O'Bryant notched career highs all-around: 10 points on 5-6 FGs, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal and block apiece. I loved the way every Warrior high-fived him after every time he dunked or hit his hook shot. He came in for Andris when he got into foul trouble in the third quarter and played well above expectations. I don't think I've ever seen Patrick that happy up until last night. If he can produce like last night, the Warriors will have a very solid center rotation.

I can't wait until Nellie is confident enough to play Andris-Wright or POB-Wright at the same time. Their length bothered the hell out of the Clippers (remember the play where POB stole the ball just by sticking out his arm? Fantastic).