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You might be thinking ... the Warriors sure picked a great time to go on a seven-game winning streak. Why now, you probably ask, with them all but out of the Western Conference playoff race?
Well, because it makes perfect sense, that's why.
Victory No. 7 in a row came on Sunday night at the Arena against the Los Angeles Clippers, a 105-77 handling in front of 15,410. Fact is, when you've got a slew of inferior teams coming into your arena over a short period of time, it's a golden opportunity to string together wins.
And that's what the Warriors (32-40) have done. They've beaten the Clippers
twice, the San Antonio Spurs without Tim Duncan, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets,
Milwaukee Bucks and Washington Wizards. Of that group, only Houston sticks out
as a quality opponent. Six of those wins have come at home.
"The wins might have come against a caliber of team you'd say we should
have beaten," forward Clifford Robinson said. "But we hadn't won these
games before. So it's the sign of some kind of turnaround."
Whether the Warriors can build on the streak depends on whether they can reverse
their fortunes on the road, where they are 8-27 this season. The Warriors leave
on a four-game road trip today that will take them to Philadelphia, Toronto,
Boston and Cleveland.
"We got that win on the road against the Clippers (on March 21), but they
were missing guys," forward Troy Murphy said of the team's lone road win
during the streak. "It will be more accurate to judge the streak when we
play against teams fighting for playoff spots in the East on the road."
The Warriors led by 12 at halftime and were never challenged in the final 24
minutes by the Clippers, who have lost eight in a row. Center Erick Dampier
had 16 points and a career-high 25 rebounds, Mike Dunleavy had 16 points and
seven assists, and Mickael Pietrus had 17 points.
Dampier had amassed 10 points and 16 rebounds by halftime, but as has been the
case with some of his high-number rebound games at the Arena, some were of the
sketchy variety. A few Warrior misses that wound up finding a Dampier fingertip
ended up in the rebound column for him.
The Warriors' seven-game winning streak is their longest since an eight-game
streak in April 1994. During the streak, the Warriors have yet to give up more
than 89 points in a game.
"Things are coming together now," Dampier said. "We're playing
hard, we're defending. I don't know if we'll make the playoffs or not, but we're
playing with pride."
The playoffs are still not realistic for the Warriors, who have 10 games remaining
but are five games behind Portland and Utah, which are in a virtual tie for
the final playoff spot in the West. Denver and Seattle are also ahead of the
Warriors in the standings.
"I think we are sharing the ball a lot better right now," said Jason
Richardson, who finished with 20 points but failed to make half his shots for
the 10th time in the past 12 games. "Our team defense is so high right
now it's crazy. We have not played like this all season."
But how much of that has to do with whom the Warriors are playing?
"If we would have lost to Milwaukee or one of those teams, then talk to
me about that," point guard Avery Johnson said. "We're playing against
some good basketball teams. When you're winning like we are, teams also take
you more seriously. You can't dilute these wins. No matter who we're playing,
these are teams we're supposed to beat. But we were supposed to beat some of
these teams earlier in the year and we didn't."
NOTES: The Clippers placed swingman Quentin Richardson on the injured list with
back spasms and signed Randy Livingston to a 10-day contract. ... Warriors point
guard Speedy Claxton, who has missed the past 16 games because of a fractured
finger in his shooting hand, said he hopes to play Friday at Boston.