hmm, the white-guys-can't-defend team against the white-guys-who-can-defend team

wonder who won?

that game has got to be a dagger for bay area fans...

on top of mickel and foyle being out(there goes most of the warriors' D), troy gets injured, and right at the end of the game, when the warriors had a chance to win it down by 2, stephen jackson makes the improbable 3 pt play and suddenly the pacers won by 10

but to dagger it in, there's a possiblity that davis is injured... if he is, i have a gut feeling the warriors will miss the playoffs again.

that said, here are some things i've noticed...

diagu really is becoming a quality inside player on both ends of the court; i enjoyed watching him keep the warriors in the game with his inside post play(unlike all the other warriors who were trying to jack up 3s) and good help d. also had sound rebounding. if he's given a few more years, he could really become something. i'm sold.

that play where baron split the d and dunked it was sick.

as you know, part of why i admire indiana is because of jermaine o neal. another is *partally joking*, they are the only team which seems to have white guys who can defend and rebound(but it's really something i am impressed by). but another thing you have to be impressed by...

rick charlisle has to be one of the most underrated coaches in the league.

remember last year when they seemed to have one of the best chances to win it all, and then that ugly brawl happened? they still made the playoffs, even with their best players out for most of the season. they beat the celtics, which no one thought would happen, to bring it all the way back to detroit.

today's game, i thought was going all indiana because of jermaine o neal... until i realized he was out with pneumonia. and this was when i saw the scoreboard and saw that indiana was up by 20. so you've got artest causing havoc again, their best post player is out, fred jones fouled out which should have sealed the win for the warriors, and they still won the game by 10.

i really don't think enough is said about rick charlisle; yes, i think detroit became better when they got larry brown instead of rick, but he's still one of the best coaches in the league; he just does not seem to accept losing as an option; one way or another, you are going to play defense and rebound if you're on his team, and you are going to win.

i would put rick charlisle up there in today's nba of top coaches with (no order) greg poppavich, larry brown, phil jackson, pat riley, *and possibly now* flip saunders. *don't ask me to rank them, they're all great coaches; i think in order to really rank them correctly, you'd all have to have them coach the same team, exact lineup, for the same time period; they're all brilliant in their own light(i personally think that phil jackson is NOT number one though)*

the only problem is that rick charlisle doesn't ever REALLY seem to take off offensively for his team. but i love the effort he makes everybody on his team play. it is really something.