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2008 Golden State Warriors Predictions

Written by Jack Jones

The Golden State Warriors thought they had their franchise turned around but it’s been a bad offseason that will most likely have them taking a few steps back. Their leader and point guard Baron Davis bolted to the Los Angeles Clippers, Gilbert Arenas decided to stick with the Washington Wizards instead of signing with the Warriors, and Monta Ellis will miss more than three months due to suspension. Golden State is 20-to-1 to win the Pacific Division.

The worst news had to be Ellis, who was supposed to emerge this year with Davis heading out of town. Then he went and crashed a moped this August that left him with a severely sprained ankle that required surgery. He tried to hide the news and claimed to hurt himself in a pickup game, but when the truth came out the team suspended him for 30 games. The Warriors are listed at 50-to-1 to win the Western Conference.

Still, Don Nelson has worked his magic before. He led the team to their first appearance in the playoffs in 13 seasons back in 2006-07, and then racked up 48 wins a year ago.

Golden State knows that they have a perfect fit for Nelson’s fast paced style of play with forward Andris Biedrins. He is constantly improving and should improve on the 9.8 rebounds and 10.5 points per game he put up last season even though you won’t see him on an all-defensive team. Al Harrington is another force down low. If he can do a better job of rebounding than his 5.4 per game average it would help, but he does throw in 13.6 points per game. The odds on Golden State to win the NBA Finals are at 100-to-1.

Stephen Jackson is the small forward and team leader who does a little bit of everything. He plays hard while on the floor, went for 39.1 minutes per game while scoring 20.1 points, dishing our 4.1 assists, and grabbing 4.4 rebounds per game. The over/under on wins for Golden State this year is 37.5.

The point guard spot should be held down by Marcus Williams, who comes over from the New Jersey Nets. He never really developed after an outstanding college career, but will get another chance here. He’ll have to step up or could lose his job to CJ Watson who is more of an offensive threat. Corey Maggette will be the off-guard. He’s athletic and scored 22.1 points per game last year, but isn’t going to completely replace Davis, but he should have a great year of scoring under Nelson.

Ronnie Turiaf was signed from the Los Angeles Lakers and will give Nelson a solid rebounder and defender coming off his bench. Brandan Wright has plenty of talent but hasn’t really put it on display in his short NBA career. Rookie Anthony Randolph should see some playing time and Kelenna Azubuike will also add some depth on the wing.

Final Analysis

It’s tough to see the Warriors doing much damage in the West in our NBA predictions for 2008. They just don’t play any defense and will be without Ellis for nearly half of the year. This won’t be the same team that was threatening to make the playoffs a year ago.

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