Despite the fact that I just went through the worst fantasy football draft software (with Fox, no less) I've ever seen today, and I'm mad about it, I'm still going ahead with the My List special with team #11 in the countdown, the Warriors. Here's the lineup.

Starters:

PG: Tim Hardaway: Yes, Baron Davis is still fresh in everyone's minds, and people tend to remember Hardaway for his hateful remarks not too long ago. But in Hardaway's prime, he was the spark plug for Don Nelson's famed "Run TMC" offense of the early 1990s. Drafted #14 overall in 1989 (behind such stars as Randy White, Tom Hammonds, Stacey King and Danny Ferry), Hardaway was a starter immediately, and had a solid rookie year with 14.7 PPG and 8.7 APG. Over the next four full seasons he played in GS (he missed the entire 1993-94 season with injuries), he averaged over 20 PPG and had two seasons of a double-double (points & assists) average. He also made the All-Star team three times (1991-93) while in the Bay Area.

SG: Paul Arizin: "Pitching Paul" may not be on the lips of everybody, but he was an early scoring sensation for the Warriors in the 1950s. Chosen as the first pick by the club in 1950 (after being named college POY at Villanova), Arizin led the NBA in scoring in his second season (25.4 PPG), as well as FG%, and also pulled down 11.3 RPG to go with All-Star game MVP honors. After serving in the military for two seasons, Arizin returned and led Philly to the title in his fourth NBA season in 1955-56. He would eventually win another scoring title in 1957 (25.6 PPG), had his best PPG season in 1958-59 (26.4), and would make nine All-Star games before retiring in 1962.

C: Wilt Chamberlain: It goes without saying that most of Chamberlain's greatest individual accomplishments came in a Warrior uniform. The club used a loophole to acquire Chamberlain as a territorial pick in 1959 (while Wilt was with the Harlem Globetrotters); even though Chamberlain went to college at Kansas (and territorial picks came from college location), the Warriors chose him because he went to high school in Philly. However they got him, it was worth it; Chamberlain became the first player to win ROY and league MVP his first year with averages of 37.6 PPG and 27 RPG; only Wes Unseld has won both awards in the same year since. Chamberlain won the scoring title each season with the Warriors (as well as four rebounding titles, and he pulled down an NBA record 55 boards against Boston in 1960), and had the greatest scoring season for an NBA player in 1961-62, as Wilt averaged a staggering 50.4 PPG (a record that will never be broken) and scored 100 points in a game against New York that same year; no one has come closer than 19 points to tying that mark. Chamberlain would lead the Warriors to one NBA Final (losing in 1964 to Boston) before being traded the following year.

SF: Rick Barry: Barry may have rubbed many people the wrong way (Robert Parish called him the most arrogant player I've ever seen), but there was little doubt Barry could play the game well. Chosen 2nd overall in 1965, Barry had the only double-double average of his entire career as a rookie (25.7 PPG, 10.6 RPG) and won the ROY award. The following year, he won the scoring title (35.6 per) and led the Warriors to the Finals (they lost to the 76ers). Barry then had a dispute after bolting to the ABA, and sat out the 1967-68 season, before joining the Oakland Oaks and winning the ABA title in his first season, with Barry winning the ABA scoring title (34 PPG); he's the only player to ever win the NBA, ABA, and NCAA scoring titles. Barry was named an NBA All-Star seven times (he returned to the league in 1972), was All-NBA 1st team five times, and led the Warriors to one of the biggest upsets in NBA history as they swept Washington to win the 1975 NBA title (Barry was Finals MVP).

PF: Jamaal Wilkes: Yes, he isn't a PF. Yes, he was much better known as a Laker. But Wilkes started his career in Golden State, and his body of work gets him the nod here. Drafted #11 overall in 1974, the then-Keith Wilkes won ROY as a Warrior, averaging 14.2 PPG and 8.2 RPG as he helped the team win the 1975 NBA title. Over his three years with the team, Wilkes averaged about 17 PPG and 8 RPG before leaving for L.A. in 1977.

Reserves:

PG: Baron Davis: Though Baron probably won't sing Christmas caroles with Don Nelson, he did help revive Warriors basketball after such a bad stretch earlier this decade. Acquired in a trade with New Orleans in 2005, Davis enjoyed three solid seasons in the Bay, averaging at least 18 PPG all three years, and better than 20 per the last two, and led the Warriors to winning records the last two years before departing for the Clippers. In 2007, he was the major factor in the Warriors springing a major upset with relative ease as they dispatched Dallas to become the first #8 seed to beat a #1 in a best-of-seven series.

SG: Mitch Richmond: To those who may say Richmond (or Latrell Sprewell) should be ahead of Arizin, I say he only played there three years, and is better known as a King. That said, Richmond bursted out of the gate as a rookie, winning ROY in 1989 with averages of 22 PPG and 5.9 RPG. Over his three years in GS, his averages stayed steady in the 22 PPG, 6 RPG range, as the Warriors made the playoffs twice in those three years. Then, they traded him to the Kings for Billy Owens. Oh well, it did let them draft Sprewell lol!

C: Nate Thurmond: Thurmond was a great C of his day, but his teams never could get over the hump. Drafted #3 overall in 1963, Thurmond was actually miscast at PF due to the presence of Wilt Chamberlain, but Thurmond was a good soldier as the Warriors made the Finals in his rookie year (he averaged 7 PPG and 10.4 RPG). When Chamberlain was traded in 1965, Thurmond blossomed after moving back to center, and had the first of 10 straight years of averaging a double-double with the Warriors (he had an 11th with Chicago after being traded there for Clifford Ray in 1974). His best stats year was 1967-68, with averages of 20.5 PPG and 22 RPG.  For his career, Thurmond made five All-Star teams, averaged 15 PPG and 15 RPG exactly, and led the Warriors to the 1967 Finals.

SF: Chris Mullin: Mullin was sort of a poor man's version of Larry Bird; he was an exceptional scorer, and had limited athletic skills, but had a great basketball IQ. Drafted #7 overall in 1985, Mullin shook off an injury-shortened rookie season, and began the first of six straight years of scoring 20+ PPG (a high of 26.5 in 1988-89), and made four All-Star teams and was a member of the Dream Team in 1992. Mullin was named All-NBA first team in 1991-92, and after retiring as a Warrior in 2001, he now serves as team president.

PF: Antawn Jamison: Again, I know he isn't a true PF, but he played there frequently as a Warrior, so he makes it. Jamison, acquired in a draft-pick swap with the Raptors for Vince Carter in 1998, became a full-time starter in his second year (which was shortened by injury). He had two seasons of over 20 PPG (a career high 24.9 per in 2000-01), and also had close to 9 RPG twice as a Warrior. Of course, he made both his All-Star teams after joining the Wizards, but that's another story.

Coaches:

Head Coach: Al Attles: No offense to Nellie, but Attles did help the team win the NBA title in 1975, while Nellie hasn't sniffed the Finals, so Attles gets the nod. In Attles' tenure (1970-83, which doesn't include the time he missed in 1979-80 with an injury), Attles led the Warriors to the playoffs six times, and made three conference finals and the aforementioned 1975 titlists. He won 550 games as Warriors coach.

Assistants: Don Nelson, Eddie Gottlieb: Nelson has revived Warriors basketball twice in his career. The first time, he took a team that had missed the playoffs in ten of eleven years and took them to the postseason four times in six full seasons. The second time has seen the Warriors have winning records twice and return to the postseason for the first time in 12 years. But no titles really hurts. Gottlieb won the first ever NBA title (then know as the BAA title) in 1947, and he made the playoffs in six of his nine years as coach (and won 263 games) before becoming team owner in 1955.

Honorable Mentions:

SG: Latrell Sprewell: Probably better all-around than Arizin or Richmond. Now about that choking incident and the "I can't feed my family on $8 million" comment?

PG: Sleepy Floyd: Had a nice run in GS, but who do you take out at PG?

SG: Phil Smith: Made two All-Star teams, but didn't maintain his level of play for very long.

PG: Gus Williams: Better known as a Sonic.

PF: Chris Webber: Better known for his stormy exit that brought on the 12-year playoff drought.

SG: Joe Fulks: First league scoring champ (23.2 per in 1946-47), but did very little else.

C: Neil Johnston: Two time scoring champ, but did it before the shot clock and bigger centers like Russell.

C: Clifford Ray: Solid C, but solid doesn't beat Chamberlain and Thurmond.

That's the Warriors. Tomorrow, team #12 will be the Suns. Until then, may your fantasy drafts not fail you!

Last night saw the Warriors' playoff chances go up in smoke after losing to Phoenix, clinching the final spot out West to the Nuggets. While blame can be heaped on many things, one thing stood out. Coach Don Nelson benched star PG Baron Davis for the enitre second half, saying afterward he did it because Baron needed rest (or was it for shooting 1-15 or some ridiculous figure?). Why, when you have to win out to get in the playoffs, do you do such a crazy move?

The benching could create a rift between Davis and Nellie. If it does occur, it would be the second time Nellie' stubborness brought the Warriors apart. Who can forget 1994, when Nelson and Chris Webber feuded? The dispute got so nasty that Webber was traded to Washington for Tom Gugliotta, and Nellie eventually resigned. It took Golden State 13 years to recover from that fiasco. The question now becomes "Who gets fired?".

It all depends on who Chris Mullin feels he should build around. If he feels Nelson should stay, he'll trade Davis and any players who support him and reconstruct the roster to Nellie's liking. If he thinks Davis should stay, he'll dump Nellie and find a coach who can employ a similar roster, but tailor it to Davis' liking. Now I ask "Who should stay?".

If I had to choose, Davis would win. Don Nelson, for all his regular season success (second to Pat Riley in wins) isn't equipped to be the coach of a championship caliber team. Look at how the Mavericks made the Finals the year after he left. Nelson is the type of coach who needs to be the main figure (much as he was in Milwaukee and his first Warriors tenure), and that wouldn't be the case if Davis got the credit for the team's reemergence as a good team.

And why was Davis so tired? Because Nelson ran him ragged! Tell me how fresh you'd be if you had to go the distance every game down the stretch. Davis did the best he could, and after he has a bad game, Nelson makes an example out of him by benching him. Would Gregg Popovich bench Duncan or Ginobili after a bad stretch? Would Phil Jackson bench Kobe (or Michael Jordan)? Hell no! That's why they've won a combined 13 championships, and Nellie hasn't even made the Finals!

Bottom line: it's hard to have an elite (and Davis is elite when healthy) PG in this league. Don Nelson may have made the Warriors relevent again, but it's time now to cut ties and get a legit coach who can take Davis and his team to the next level. Maybe sometime later, Nellie can join another team and remake them. But Baron Davis shouldn't become the next Webber.

Last night was an eventful one in the NBA. We saw players get suspended, teams slack away another game, and a team move on to round three. Let's get topic #1 out of the way first: the suspensions of Spurs F Robert Horry (2 games for his hockeyesque hip check of Steve Nash) and Suns Fs Boris Diaw and, more importantly, Amare Stoudemire for leaving the bench. The Horry suspension was justified simply because of who was involved. If he had hit Diaw instead, it would have been one game at most or even just a fine. As for Amare and Diaw, I guess David Stern and Stu Jackson really want to decide the best series in round two, because they really didn't need to suspend them. They barely went past the coaches line and didn't up the ante of the fight! Stern and Jackson let their pride get in the way here: they thought "We've been consistent so far; let's suspend the stars anyway!". They don't realize they just swung the balance of the series to the Spurs, not just tonight, but for six and (maybe) seven, because the Suns will wear themselves out tonight and be drained for later. Congrats to them! As for slackers, the Pistons sleepwalked through another blowout loss to the Bulls, this time at home, where they hadn't lost a closeout game in over a decade, and now face a 2006 moment again: another seven game series in round two. What makes this quagmire even more depressing is that Cleveland could finish off the Nets tonight (a likely possibility) and rest and wait for Detroit in round three. Last year, Miami had loits of rest and blew away the Pistons. The sad thing is that the Pistons have let the Bulls get huge leads early in each of the last three games, and had they not made that comeback in game three, they'd be down 3-2! Why are they so complacent? No one knows. They just are. Lastly, Utah became the first conference finalists after knocking off the Warriors, allowing the 'national nightmare', as Charles Barkley has called them, to end. Personally, the Warriors were a great story, and their elimination was not a good thing. However, Utah was simply too big, and Carlos Boozer, as I stated on a previous blog entry, was the key, dominating the paint and the smaller defenders all series. Kudos also for the embattled Andrei Kirilenko, who was huge throughout, as well. That said, the Spurs-Suns winner should win the West. But the Jazz are back as a top tier team again. And Jerry Sloan proved he can win without Stockton and Malone. Well, now I must get ready for tonight's slate. Hopefully Phoenix can survive. Maybe Stern and Jackson can play.

Tonight, the Golden State Warriors will attempt to complete what would be called the greatest upset (or, in Dallas' case, the greatest choke) when the two teams square off in Dallas tonight. Say what you will about how this series has gone thus far, with Nellie outcoaching Avery, Dirk not playing like a potential MVP should, to Baron Davis returning to the limelight, the sad thing is, Dallas had a chance to prevent this from happening. Yes, they could have played the Clippers instead had they not decided to tank a game to the Warriors late in the season, which proved to be the difference in Golden State edging the Clips for the #8 seed. Granted, when your team has nothing to really play for, you don't want to risk injuries on such a game. But when the stats tell you that you have lost 9 of your last 11 (or something of that nature), you should do all you can do to avoid that team in the postseason. Dirk, as well as several other players, sat out the entire game, which looked smart at the time. Now it's come back to bite them! This will inevitably force teams to look at the wisdom of clinching everything you want early. We saw last year with the Pistons how the best record means very little when your passion and energy are low. What's the reward for being the 'best' when you lose the energy to be the 'best'? It seems like coach Avery has more passion than his team! I think that this series could end tonight (although Dallas should have enough pride to avoid that) and that if it happens, this team needs a complete evalution of what they need to be a more effective team in 2008. Because their window of oppotunity is closing fast, and the West isn't getting any easier. One thing is readily apparent; Dirk needs to starting getting physical! Manute Bol thinks he plays too perimeter-oriented. Until that happens, good luck Dallas! You'll need it.