Sun, Tennis and the Warriors' Winning Streak

The sun returned to the Bay Area this morning and my tennis gang hit the courts with a vengeance. The much needed rain is not a tennis player's best friend.  Just ask Lilian who posted on Facebook what we've all been experiencing: " Feeling sad." I teamed up with Bobby and we took on two of the youngsters who pound the ball. But it's not how hard you strike, we surprised them with a straight set victory 6-1, 6-2!

 I rushed home for the early Warriors game in Dallas, hoping the winning streak could continue despite the news that center Andrew Bogut would miss yet another game with knee tendinitis.  No problem. Make it 15 in a row. 9 straight on the road. New coach Steve Kerr extends his best start record to 20-2. Merry Christmas Joe Lacob and Peter Guber you just beat the league's best scoring offense 105-98.
It wasn't even that close. Lead by the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry with 29 points and Klay Thompson adding 25 points and the player Coach Kerr calls the "heartbeat" of the team, Draymond Green with 20 points; Golden State is without a doubt the hottest team in the NBA. The most amazing fact continues to be that they are still without one of the their key players, David Lee, and today, even without Bogut, the entire team pulled together. Coach Kerr stressed after the game that the key continues to be defense and taking care of the ball.
"It's who we are," said Kerr. "We have a lot of length and activity. We did a good job challenging shooters. It was a great effort by everyone."
Curry also credits his new coach. "He says he inherited a great team,"explained Curry. "He is not
playing hero coach, trying to change things, he is taking what was in place and you couldn't ask for a better start."
Indeed, for the season or the game at American Airlines Center, where the visitors registered the year's best first quarter 39-18. At the half the Warriors lead was 66-44. Dallas tried to come back, but Golden State countered with Green and its defense. Our old friend, former Warriors star Monta Ellis lead the Mavericks with 24 points and sparked a 17-5 rally in the fourth but it was too little too late.  Asked if the streak is adding any anxiety to their play, Coach Kerr smiled and said: "We don't feel any pressure. We're having fun," a smiling Kerr continued. "Our guys enjoy playing together. If it ends tomorrow, who cares, we'll keep playing."
A feeling shared by weekend tennis players all around the Bay.