The Warriors (Part 3)

(21) 1957 Philadelphia Warriors (37-35) vs. (40) 1993 Golden State Warriors (34-48)

2 superstars that a recognizable to a pretty knowledgeable NBA fan….Paul Arizin had 26-8-2, and Neil Johnston had 23-12. They also had 14-9 from Joe Graboski.

Not too much going on here…Mullin played only 46 games, but was spectacular in them, averaging 26-5-4. Tim Hardaway had 22-4-11, and Sprewell had 15-4-4 to debut in the NBA.

(22) 1958 Philadelphia Warriors (37-35) vs. (39) 1999 Golden State Warriors (21-29)

This is definitely much improved for the year just above (1957 in case you don’t know…). Arizin had 21-7-2, Johnston had 20-11, and Graboski had 13-8. They also added Tom Gola (14-11) and Woody Sauldsberry (13-10).

I blame the lockout for creating this piece of crap. No body relevant. At all. No one scored more than 14. Awful…

(23) 1987 Golden State Warriors (42-40) vs. (38) 1966 San Francisco Warriors (35-45) 

Year two for Chris Mullin wasn’t very good, just like his first. He had only 15-2-3, while he was saddled behind 21-7-3 from Joe Barry Carroll and 19-3-10 from Sleepy Floyd. Purvis Short had 18-4-3, and Larry Smith had 9-12.

This is actually a pretty strong team….Rick Barry was spectacular in his NBA debut season, swishing 26-11. Nate Thurmond had 16-18, and Guy Rodgers had 19-5-11. That’s incredibly strong for a 35-45 team…considering they also had three other double digit scorers….

(24) 2007 Golden State Warriors (42-40) vs. (37) 2011 Golden State Warriors (36-46)

Remember this team? It’s the one that took down the powerful Mavs in round one (who happen to be ranked 1 in the Mavs tourney….). They had Baron Davis for 20-4-8 and young Monta Ellis for 17-3-4. Jason Richardson didn’t play too well, putting up only 16-5-3, but a mid-year traded netted them Stephen Jackson (17-3-5), and Al Harrington (17-6). Andris Biedrins (10-9) was their center, and Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus were the main bench players. Very deep team, and may be able to do some damage….

 

Here’s the most recent Warriors team. Monta had 24-4-6, and Stephen Curry was the young point guard responsible for 19-4-6. David Lee had 17-10, and 16-5 came from Dorell Wright. And then they had no one else. Pretty good starting 5 (or 4), but absolutely nothing after.

(25) 1952 Philadelphia Warriors (33-33) vs. (36) 1996 Golden State Warriors (36-46)

This team has a lot of big names, most of which at, or near, their peak. Paul Arizin was mighty, close to leading the league in scoring with his 25-11 averages. Joe Fulks was still a good player, showing his skills with 15-6-2. Andy Phillip was at his peak (haven’t you heard of him? He’s the best point guard before Cousy!), dishing out 12-7-8 (you have to understand that this is an incredible figure! This is the best passing season pre-shot clock! Cooz is second by half an assist. This is one out of 35 pre shot clock passing season of above 4. By the way, he holds six of them. And 4 of the top 10, shared with 3 from Cousy, 2 from Dick McGuire, and one from Bob Davies....). Finishing off the big names, Neil Johnston debuted as a rookie, averaging only 6-5 though. Next year, Arizin would be stolen by the US Military…

Bad team here. Spree had 19-5-4, Joe Smith had 15-9, and in around 50 games each, Mullin (13-3-4), and Hardaway (14-3-7) limped to the finish line.

(26) 1969 San Francisco Warriors (41-41) vs. (35) 1959 Philadelphia Warriors (32-40)

If you just look at the names, it doesn’t seem like this team is any good. But it had three 20 point scorers, Rudy LaRusso (21-8), Jeff Mullins (23-6-4), and Nate Thurmond (22-20). Clyde Lee gave 11-14.

Pretty decent team here….Paul Arizin had 26-9, Woody Sauldsberry had 15-12, Graboski had 15-10, and they also got 14-11 from Tom Gola. Neil Johnston, age 29 (?!?!?!?) finished off his career the same way it began, with 6-5 averages…

(27) 1971 San Francisco Warriors (41-41) vs. (34) 2004 Golden State Warriors (37-45)

This team featured the scoring of Jeff Mullins (21-5-4), and the rebounding duo of Jerry Lucas (19-16) and Nate Thurmond (20-14). Not really anything afterwards though….

Ugly. Jason Richardson had 19-7, and the team had no other options but to play Erick Dampier, who had 12-12 this season. He sucks! How did he do that!!!!!!!! The world may never now. It's still no excuse to Dallas to sign him for tens of millions of dollars after the year....

 

(28) 1981 Golden State Warriors (39-43) vs. (33) 1990 Golden State Warriors (37-45)

Oooh…I was trying not to jinx it, so they’d stay above .500….Sorry Warriors fans, but your team generally sucks. This team had an amazing scoring duet, with World B Free (24-2-6), and Bernard King (22-7-4). Joe Barry Carroll had 19-9, and Larry Smith had 10-12.

A decent statistical year. Mullin had 25-6-4, Mitch Richmond had 22-5-3, and they also got 14-4-9 from Tim Hardaway.

(29) 1979 Golden State Warriors (38-44) vs. (32) 1984 Golden State Warriors (37-45)

Boring year (this is really dragging in the end, isn’t it?). Phil Smith had 20 points in only 59 games, and they got 17-12 from Robert Parish, plus 16-3-9 from John Lucas.

Purvis Short had 23-6-3, Joe Barry Carroll had 21-8-3, and Sleepy Floyd had 17-4-4. That’s all you need to know.

(30) 2003 Golden State Warriors (38-44) vs. (31) 1955 Philadelphia Warriors (33-39)

Well, it’s our last Warriors matchup…That took a while…I guess this isn’t a bad team….Antawn Jamison had 22-7, and young Gilbert Arenas had 18-5-6. J-Rich had 16 points, and Troy Murphy had a pretty good 12-10. 

Arizin (21-9-3) is back! Neil Johnston was great too, with 23-15-3. But that is basically all there is…..

That’s the Warriors….Pretty awful after Run TMC, but we saw Arizin, Johnston, Fulks, Phillip, Chamberlain, Thurmond, Barry, Mullin, Mullins and on and on. A whole bunch of big names, but a lot of the time, they were bad when their most cherished players played.

Ladies and gentlemen, your Philadelphia/San Francisco/Golden State Warriors! Next up, Houston, and their imposing lineup of big men, Elvin Hayes, Moses, Ralph Sampson, Hakeem, and Yao. Not to mention 2 champs, and 4 finals appearances! Just up next!