Time to preview the 2010-11 Golden State Warriors
Music to listen to: Freaky Tales by Too Short
Last season/offseason changes: Outside of the Miami Heat, no team saw as many changes on the court and in the front office than Golden State.
First, the Warriors are under new ownership and Don Nelson isnโt an executive and head coach with the team anymore. This was a necessary step. Nelson has had an excellent coaching career but his time in Golden State was over. His lack of flexibility, especially with playing young players, stunted the growth of the team.
The Warriors said goodbye to Anthony Randolph, Corey Maggette, Anthony Morrow, Raja Bell, Ronny Turiaf and Kelenna Azubuike. The one they may regret in the future is Randolph who may flourish with the Knicks.
Golden State had to part with Randolph to get David Lee, who leads a new slew of Warriors including draft pick Ekpe Udoh, Dorell Wright, Louis Amundson and others.
Strength: The Warriors can score points with any other team in the league.
Monta Ellis is one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA, scoring over 25 points per game last season. Some want to give more credit to the offense for the point production more than Ellisโ skills but thatโs not fair.
His backcourt mate Stephen Curry had an excellent rookie campaign last year, himself averaging over 22 points after the All-star break.
I still think that the backcourt is still too small but for the Warriors, they make it work the best way possible.
The addition of Lee will give Golden State a frontcourt player who gives maximum effort and became one of the top 20-10 players in the league. His numbers may actually go up in Golden State in the more open Western Conference.
Weakness: Outside of staring center Andris Biedins, no one on the Warriors seems to care about playing defense.
To be fair, that philosophy started with Nelson and new head coach Keith Smart is saying that rebounding and defense will be the priority for the new regime but it may take nearly a whole season for the players to break bad habits.
Most important player: Iโll say its Lee because we already know that Golden State can score points but if they want to be a dark horse squad to make the playoffs, the frontcourt has to produce on the defensive end and that starts with Lee.
Celebrity crush from the city: Iโm taking Keyshia Cole
Coaching: I donโt know much about the coaching credentials of Keith Smart but as stated earlier, almost anything would have been better than Don Nelson.
First memory of team: I remember Run TMC. How did the Warriors trade Mitch Richmond for Billy Owens?
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Best case: 40 wins and continued growth for the future.
Worst case: 30 wins and the same old song and dance from the past few seasons.
Uniform grade: I LOVE the new uniforms and logo. Its an ode to the older unis and going back to the blue and gold was genius. Grade: A-
Overall outlook: The Warriors are in a transition phase and still have a long way to go. However, they are one of the most entertaining fans to watch in the league and if built properly, can be a playoff contender next season. For this year, expect a lot of points but just as many losses.
Those are my thoughts, what about yours?
2010 Backdoor Cut Previews:
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast Division
Northwest Division
Pacific Division
The Sports Inquirer 
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