Golden State Warriors

Once again, the Enthusiast advised us that there is no income cap on pregame events. They saved no cost Xmas evening before their NBA period operator.

This group might not be able to indication any amazing golf ball no cost providers. But they've seemingly finalized up every light-show and pyrotechnic expert in South Florida.

Let's evaluation the play-by-play from Sunday's pre-tipoff for every.

There were firing fire behind each backboard!

There was a very trippy projector screen present of measures video and pc graphics! The video was beamed onto four large sail-like linens that were decreased from the scoreboard!

And when the trippy projector screen present was done, the sail-like linens dropped!

And there, females and males, was your Wonderful Condition Enthusiast beginning lineup!

Which, of course, continues to be the concern -- at least as we switch into the non-pyrotechnic and non-trippy-projection stage of the period.

The Enthusiast came out of the checkpoint Saturday with the efficiency you'd anticipate against the Los Angeles Trimmers, the NBA's new "it" group.

In the first one fourth, there was much Enthusiast energy and bustle. Middle Andris Biedrins created his first three photos (that is not a misprint). Protect Monta Ellis hustled his fast palms into the moving past roads. Stephen Curry gutted it out with a painful rearfoot and decreased a photo. This was enough to counteract the excellent abilities of Trimmers guard Bob John and Trimmers energy monster.

But there's a lot more basketball to play. And anyone with an ounce of basketball savvy can look at the Warriors' roster, see basically the same players that went 36-46 a year ago, ponder the bench experience in sincere-but-very-green new head coach Mark Jackson, and sense what the future holds.

Mostly, it should look a lot like the past. For the past four seasons -- and most of the past 15 -- the Golden Staters have been the 180-degree mirror of the call-and-response philosophy espoused by 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.

Who's got it better than Warriors fans?

Almost everybody!

At the beginning of every season, for every professional franchise in every professional sport, there is a basic and self-evident question: Why on earth should people pay money to watch this particular team?

Jackson, before Sunday night's game, was asked that question about his Warriors. And he offered his answer.

"This is going to be the hardest-working team in the business," Jackson said. "They will not disappoint."

Notice that the man didn't promise winning. So at least he's smart. Unlike team owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, who have talked big without producing anything remotely big, except a catchy team marketing slogan that says: "Big Things Are Here!"

If they say so. From here, the Warriors still look like a flawed team with a decent-but-not-amazing starting five -- Ellis, Biedrins, Curry, David Lee and Dorell Wright. But then you get to the bench. Sunday night, Jackson's first three substitutions were thin man Ekpe Udoh, just-acquired Brandon Rush and rookie Klay Thompson.

That rotation is simply not going to cut it as the months go by, especially not with the compressed schedule created after the NBA lockout. The Warriors will play four games in the season's first seven days. They will play 15 games in the 31 days of January. So it appears that when you deduct the days for travel between cities, there will be a chance to hold ... maybe two actual practices in the next six weeks. So even if Jackson turns out to be a good practice coach, we'll never know until 2012-13.

Jackson was intelligent enough to hire an experienced X-and-0 guy as an assistant coach in Michael Malone, a former Cavaliers and Hornets strategist. Presumably, that means Jackson's main mission will be as a motivator and locker room monitor in terms of team chemistry.

It's too early to get a read on that, too. Although the season's first major off-court crisis did not appear to be a factor Sunday night. Last week, Ellis' name surfaced in an accusation of sexual harassment by a former team employee who claimed that he had been "sexting" her with pictures of his private parts. Ellis didn't comment and the team issued an angry statement that claimed Ellis' relationship with the woman was "consensual" and said that her charges that the Warriors helped facilitate the harassment were groundless.

It was all very awkward and strange. But for the record, there was no obvious sign that it affected Ellis in Sunday's game. In fact, he made a brief speech to the crowd beforehand in which he didn't reference the accusations. He simply wished the crowd a Merry Christmas and said, "Let's get ready for a great season." Then, during player introductions, Ellis received the second loudest cheers of any Warriors player, behind only Curry.

That seemed awkward and strange, as well. But maybe the Warriors crowd was just desperate to cheer for ... something. That is, until the pregame flames behind the basket become the inevitable flameout by March.

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