The Warriors never really had a chance in this game as the Suns shot 53.6% from the floor and 54.5% from three point range. The Suns also outrebounded the Warriors 47-38 so that explains the scoreboard. Monta Ellis led the way for the Warriors in this game with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Kelenna Azubuike was very solid off the bench for the Warriors in this game as he had 17 points and 3 rebounds in only 23 minutes on the court. Stephen Jackson pitched in with 13 points and 2 assists. The Warriors are now 0-2 on the season.

The Warriors actually made the Rockets look like a good offensive team tonight and that is nearly impossible. The Rockets outscored the Warriors 35-19 in the third quarter and that really hurt the Warriors in the end. Monta Ellis led the way for the Warriors with 26 points and 5 rebounds in this game. Stephen Jackson pitched in with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Rookie Stephen Curry made his NBA debut and it was a solid one with 14 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals. The Warriors are now 0-1 on the season.

The Warriors will likely have a hard time winning 36 or more games this season. With Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis causing problems already the Warriors will likely consider trading both of them during this season. With that in mind I would have to take the under with the Warriors this season despite a pretty talented roster from top to bottom. It seemed like the team was tuning out head coach Don Nelson last year and that’s never a good sign.

The Warriors had a lot of injuries last season which helped them fall to 29-53 (35.4%) on the year. Don Nelson loves the run and gun style which makes the Warriors one of the funnest teams to watch in the NBA. Now he needs to get them back to winning basketball games which will be easier said than done with players like Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson running their mouths. Nelson has been with the Warriors for three years now and he has a regular season record of 119-127 (48.4%) and he has a 5-6 (45.5%) record in the post season. Despite his record at Golden State, Nelson is still one of the best coaches in the NBA. He has compiled a career record of 1,309-1,007 (56.5%) during the regular season and a 75-91 (45.2%) record in the post season. This year won’t be a success for the Warriors unless Nelson adds to his post season numbers in the 2009-2010 NBA season.

The job of the centers for the Warriors is to rule the paint at both ends of the court and they do that well. The Warriors don’t run many plays for the centers on offense so they need to hustle and hit the boards for putbacks and dunks. 23-year old Andris Biedrins is a player on the rise. He played in 62 games for the Warriors last season and he averaged 30.0 minutes, 11.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.6 blocked shots per game. He will be backed up by 26-year old Ronny Turiaf who is a solid bench player. Turiaf played in 79 games last season for the Warriors and he averaged 21.5 minutes, 5.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game. These guys make a pretty good combo at center for the Warriors.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009-2010 SEASON FOR THE CENTERS: B