Friday, January 9, 2015

Warriors borrow Giants slogan: All Together

The wins just keep adding up at Oracle Arena. Make it 14 in a row at home as the Warriors take care of a feisty Cleveland team 112-94 without LeBron James. The recipe for success for first year coach Steve Kerr continues to be defense and ball movement. Just like the Giants won 3 World Series in 5 years by playing, "All Together", Golden State is making sure they share the ball to retain the best record in the NBA at 29-5.
 The splash brothers, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry lead the scoring attack with 47 points. But they weren't alone. 6 players finished in double figures and even more impressive, the offense recorded its sixth game with more than 30 assists.
"We're at our best when we really push and move the ball," said Kerr. "It went exactly as I'd hoped. This is the best venue to play in the NBA. It's a tough place to win and we want to keep it that way."
Just ask Curry who agrees, that home cooking tastes really good. "There's nothing like it," said Curry."We have a lot of great athletes and players who can push the ball and knock down shots."
It's that depth that has teams around the league fearing not the beard but the Dubs. Aside from Curry's 23 points and Thompson's 24, Marreese Speights added 12, Harrison Barnes had 11, Draymond Green 10 and Justin Holiday came off the bench for 14 points in 18 minutes. Thompson scored 22 points in 24 minutes before he took an elbow to the forehead that required seven stitches.
 My sister in law Carol once told me, her secret to success coaching was building her reserves. "You are as good as your weakest player," she said. The Warriors have no weaknesses. Even when they don't score, or have suffered an injury, someone else steps up and every player contributes with defense and passing.  It's a testament to coach Kerr, but he isn't even taking all the credit. Tonight an old friend returned to Oakland. Former coach Mark Jackson was at Oracle as part of the national broadcast team. The crowd and his former players gave him a standing ovation. "He did a lot of great things here," said Kerr who called Jackson his friend. "He deserves it. He set the table for what's happening here."
It's that feeling of respect and admiration, much like we saw with the Giants that makes us all root for the Warriors.

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