Congratulations to the Warriors

The Warriors are finally in the playoffs. 13 seasons of no NBA postseason in the bay area will be over this week. Tonite the W's open round one against the Dallas Mavericks. And while they are still undefeated in postseason, I am writing this blog.

I used to watch the NBA on NBC in the very early '60's. Since Wilt Chamberlain was being featured, the old Philadelphia Warriors were often on network tv. They soon moved to the bay area and became the San Francisco Warriors. I believe they even played the Boston Celtics in the 1963 NBA finals and lost in, I think, 5 games. They really caught on in the bay area after Wilt Chamberlain was traded and had a very exciting young team built around Rick Barry and Nate Thurmond in 1967 or so. And they rewarded us with an unlikely and totally unexpected championship in 1975. As you can see, I've followed this team for awhile. It has been frustrating the past decade or so, seeing little bits of excitement turn into prolonged disappointment. But there is a new energy about the franchise. There has been a talent overhall and the team, under the direction of Chris Mullin and Don Nelson, seems headed in a direction that will be good for both the fans and the team.


I think the real story of this season has been the return of coach Don Nelson. In a league and, indeed, a world that targets youth, it has been fantastic to see age and wisdom honored. Nelson has brought an intelligence, credibility, direction, and his usual quirky creativity to this team. Basically he was run out of here in 1995 by then new ownership. He was perceived as unable to reach the Superstar player in a league that was then being more and more player run. If a coach didn't get along with the players, it is easier to fire the coach. Now to see how he has melded his own talents along with players like Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson is indeed a joy to behold. At the start of this season, Andrea Mallis predicted a rocky season for Nelson because of a lot of activity in his astrological chart from the planet Saturn. Saturn is bad luck and misfortune, and the injuries to key players this season has borne this out. The Warriors had more players miss games this year than any other team to make the playoffs. Yet they succeeded where other versions of this team have failed. Saturn, while crippling and disappointing, can bring wisdom. And the point I made to Andrea is that maybe the coach defeated Saturn(more impressive than being 3 and 0 against the Dallas Mavericks)by passing onto the players his hard won wisdom. Wisdom is so precious. Things like love and power without it often go to ruin. So, as I write this, the W's are undefeated in the 2007 playoffs. All I can say about their first round match-up against Dallas is:"Go get 'em coach!"