Clearing Out the Cobwebs (Me and the Teams)

OK, back at it after 5 days off for the holidays...and the words are not exactly flowing out of me as they sometimes are wont to do. Of course, I'm not the only one shaking off the rust...there are millions of others out there in the same boat.

Apparently a handful of them play for the Warriors and Sharks. Yes, they both won last night - and for the Sharks that is reason in itself to be excited. And yes, a win is a win. But take a closer look at how they won and you'll see these are not teams playing at full capacity right now.

The Warriors took on the worst team in the league last night, at home, and built up a 22 point lead. But, they surrendered most of it, eventually hanging on for a 4 point victory, 105-101. Hey, it's a win - their 4th in 5 games - and we'll take it. But good teams don't often let bad teams back in games they control at home. Great teams never do. We'll give them a pass because it's the holiday season and I'm feeling magnanimous, but this is not a comforting win.

That said, watching the development of Monta Ellis in to a top player in the league is a true pleasure. I like this team a lot, and they're fun and exciting to watch. I just wish they'd learn to put a bad team away. They've got some time to figure it out.

One team that is running out of time to figure it out is the Sharks. They've plummeted from the 2 seed to the 5 seed in little more than a week with yet another perplexing run of uninspired play at home against Pacific Division rivals. They currently sit only 3 points away from being on the outside looking in on the playoffs. This even after a win last night.

Again, though, take a closer look at that win. It was over a team, the LA Kings, who had, coming in, lost 8 straight games. Much like the Warriors the Sharks pounced quickly, gaining an early 2-0 lead. But, like the Warriors, they twice let the Kings back in to the game, allowing them to close within 2-1 and, later, 3-2.

Hey, after the Sharks terrible play of late a win seems great, no question. But, once again, the good teams don't let the bad teams back in games, they step on their throats and don't let up.

This is more worrisome in the Sharks' case than the Warriors' - there are higher expectations for the Sharks. Unlike the Warriors, who are a good team who hope someday to be great, the Sharks are supposedly a great team, one of the top 4-5 in the league. They haven't looked like it in defeat the last week, and unfortunately they didn't look like it in victory last night either.

So our teams went 2-0 yesterday but, like the rest of us, slowly easing back in to the grind of everyday life after the holidays, there is a lot of work still to be done.