04-08-2008, 12:28 PM
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#2 (permalink)
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Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Tampa, Florida
Age: 25
Posts: 14,594
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Re: GT #78: Sacramento Kings (36-41) @ Golden State Warriors (46-31) - 4/8
Kings-Warriors Preview
Quote:
The Warriors will enter the contest tied with Denver for the eighth and final spot in the West. After defeating Memphis on Friday night, the Warriors fell to the first place Hornets in New Orleans on Sunday. Coupled with Denver's loss to Seattle on Sunday night, Golden State's loss moved the Warriors into an eighth place tie. Dallas defeated Phoenix on Sunday, moving the Mavericks two games ahead of both the Warriors and Nuggets. With everything still up for grabs, the Warriors will come home knowing they need to take care of business. To listen to what Coach Nelson and center Andris Biedrins had to say about the Warriors current spot in the standings, click here.
One player the Warriors will lean on heavily on Tuesday is Monta Ellis. The third-year guard has averaged 27.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals over the Warriors' past three games and has provided the team with some much-needed energy and hustle. Ellis scored a game-high 35 points on Sunday and helped keep the Warriors competitive with New Orleans up until the game's final minutes.
Golden State will look for Ellis to continue this production as the team faces the rival Kings for the fourth and final time this season. The Warriors lead the season series 2-1 thus far, with Ellis averaging 22.3 points on 59.5% shooting in those contests. A victory on Tuesday would give the Warriors their third season series victory over Sacramento in the past four seasons.
A victory over Sacramento will not be easy, however. Prior to their loss versus the Lakers on Sunday, the Kings were winners of four-straight games, including Saturday's 118-115 victory over the Nuggets. As discussed in the most recent entry of the Kia Blog Squad, that victory proved the Kings can still play a very important role in determining the final outcome of the race even though the Kings are out of the playoff picture. The Warriors are well aware of this fact, and they know that taking the first game of this homestand will be crucial as they make their final push for the playoffs. With only five games remaining on the regular season, the importance of each game is magnified.
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