Warriors winning fans, but not enough games

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Denver Nuggets just about flat-lined the Golden State Warriors' playoff hopes while breathing new life into their own Thursday evening, and that should worry David Stern.

Giving J.R. Smith a stage, whether it's in a dance club or on national TV, always is a risky proposition.

Stern also has another reason to be frustrated about Thursday's outcome. Whether they're drilling one-legged three-pointers or zipping passes into the laps of their courtside fans, these Warriors are fun to watch.

And that, of course, is about the best thing you can say about these Warriors.

They're fun to watch.

Don Nelson's Warriors always have been hard to take seriously, and their 114-105 loss to the Nuggets again showed why. Stephen Jackson tossed his headband aside then tossed up a 24-footer without a single teammate inside the three-point line. Monta Ellis spit up a lazy pass into the hands of Allen Iverson. Baron Davis front-rimmed one jump shot after another, aiming, it seemed, for his own Tin Cup moment on Masters weekend.

The Warriors raced out to a 15-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Less than 4½ minutes later they were trailing. This is how it goes for the Warriors: They play fast and reckless, and they don't make any apologies for it.

"There's no need for us to try to put a finger on what we didn't do well," Jackson said. "We shoot threes every game. We live with them if they fall. We live with them if they don't fall."

That's what makes these Warriors so lovable, and it also is why they ultimately will win more fans than games. At some point, whether it's in the second round of last season's playoffs or this week, they're exposed as eye candy. On Thursday, Nuggets coach George Karl threw a zone over the Warriors and they crumbled, preferring to shoot over the defense instead of making the extra pass to find a crease to drive or getting the ball to center Andris Biedrins.

Asked how often the Nuggets have employed their formidable zone this season, Carmelo Anthony had this to say: "We don't even work on zone defense."

The Warriors, it appears, rarely work on defense of any variety. After Tuesday's victory over the Sacramento Kings, coach Don Nelson lamented the 132 points Golden State yielded. Seventy-eight games into the season, he finally was urging his team to defend.

If winning a championship ultimately is the goal of Nelson and Warriors VP Chris Mullin, they need to make defense some sort of priority or at least find somebody who can play a little of it. Ellis is a gifted scorer and one of the league's most exciting young players, but on the other end of the floor he is proficient only at arm waving. Biedrins blocks the occasional shot but also isn't a strong position defender. Jackson can guard multiple positions, but his focus usually slips as soon as his shot does.

"We try to kind of junk the game up," Jackson said.

Golden State knocked off the Mavericks in one of the great upsets in NBA history last postseason playing that way, but that's what it was. An upset. The Warriors now need to pull their greatest comeback yet to make the playoffs. Because they've lost the head-to-head tiebreaker, they likely have to win out against the Clippers, Phoenix and Seattle while hoping the Nuggets lose two of their final three games against Utah, Houston and Memphis.

"They're in the catbird's seat right now," Nelson said of the Nuggets. "We have a big problem as far as making the playoffs at this particular time."

That isn’t fair, of course. Golden State might go on to win 50 games and still miss the playoffs. In the East, only Boston, Detroit and Orlando will likely be able to say they’ve won that many.

Before Thursday’s tipoff Nelson again suggested what’s become a popular proposition among West coaches: The NBA should change its playoff format to take the 16 best teams, regardless of conference.

Stern has downplayed the likelihood of any significant change, but he would be wise to consider the idea. Do more people want to watch the Atlanta Hawks or the Warriors?

The Warriors became the darlings of the NBA during their magical ride last year and Oracle Arena, with its frenzied yellow-clad fans, quickly turned into the league’s most thrilling place to play. That hasn’t changed. Thursday’s crowd was late-arriving due to the early start, but eventually swelled to a franchise-record 20,737.

“There’s no building as crazy as this in the NBA right now,” Karl said. “Last year, the excitement in this building you could feel through the TV set.”

That’s saying something because Karl’s Nuggets usually make for thrilling television themselves. Iverson gave 33 more reasons Thursday why he’s a must-watch and the Nuggets offense is just about as free-wheeling and prolific as Golden State’s.

Denver also is maddeningly prone to lose focus, and that’s why the Warriors still have a slim chance of making the playoffs. The Nuggets have defended fairly well for stretches this season, and they did so again for Thursday’s final three quarters. But there’s no guarantee that will last through the next three games. Not when they just lost in Sacramento and Seattle.

As for the game-changing 24 points Smith scored, he also produced this fourth-quarter moment: After Anthony was whistled for a foul on Al Harrington, Smith complained long enough to draw a technical. Golden State made all four free throws, reducing a 10-point deficit to six.

Anthony later said the Nuggets celebrated in the locker room "like we just won the championship or something." That should make Utah's Jerry Sloan smile. When the Nuggets are given a night to party, good things usually follow for their opponents.

Still, that’s what the Warriors should find so frustrating. They had every opportunity to take control of the West’s last playoff berth – a 16-point lead, two gimme losses by the Nuggets – and threw up an air ball.

Jackson made only 5 of 17 shots, dropping him to 22 for 76 in the past six games. Davis posted a triple-double with 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, but wasn’t any surer with his shot, going 9 for 25. Ellis played all 48 minutes and committed six turnovers.

Davis thinks fatigue “caught up to us,” and he should know. The Warriors still haven’t found a legitimate backup point guard to spell him. Nelson also waited too deep into the season to develop rookie forward Brandan Wright. When he looked to his bench for help on Thursday?

“It was frustrating,” Nelson said, “not to have somebody step up who can give me a break.”

Unable or unwilling to establish any sort of inside presence to settle their gimmick offense, the Warriors continued to fire away. Jackson nobly faulted himself for the loss then shrugged his shoulders.

“It is what it is with us,” he said. “We’re going to play the way we play.”

Give the Warriors credit for that much. They’ve got three games left. Win or lose, playoffs or no playoffs, they'll put on a good show.