Warriors, 0-3, aren't panicking

It had been 13 years between postseason appearances for the Golden State Warriors when they finally qualified for the playoffs last spring.

Then the Warriors upset the No. 1-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round, making them the talk of the Bay Area — and the entire NBA, for that matter.

And with most of the team back, there was considerable optimism entering this season for the Warriors.

But the season has started with a thud.

Two blowout losses to the Jazz — one at home to open the year and one Saturday night, 133-110, at EnergySolutions Arena — to go along with a loss to the Clippers on Friday, leaves the Warriors 0-3 and reeling.

Of course, it's way too early for the Warriors to panic.

"I'm patient," said Warriors coach Don Nelson. "We'll get better."

"The good thing about it is that there are 79 games left (in the regular season)," said Warriors forward Al Harrington. "So, we've got time."

Harrington almost single-handedly kept the Warriors in the game on Saturday night. Harrington, making his first start of the season, scored 38 points on 15-of-20 shooting from the field. He made six 3-pointers in eight attempts and came just two points shy of his career best.

"It wasn't good enough," Harrington said of his play. "All I'm worried about is wins and losses. I had a good game personally, but it's a team game."

Perhaps the biggest problem for Golden State early this season has been the absence of co-captain Stephen Jackson. The 6-foot-8 swingman is serving an NBA-imposed seven-game suspension for his guilty plea to a felony charge of criminal recklessness for firing a gun into the air outside an Indianapolis club.

"It will be great when we get (Jackson) back," said Golden State star point guard Baron Davis. "Up until then, guys are getting better and the coaches will get to know who they can and can't rely on."

While the Warriors ended up losing by 23, they actually rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit in the third quarter and early part of the fourth quarter to cut the gap to six. The hot-shooting Jazz, however, poured it on in the final minutes.

"I thought we had a shot to win it," said Nelson. "We got within eight points with five to go or so and the next time I looked up it was 18. ... We fought back and hung in there."

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan certainly liked the effort he saw from Golden State.

"They played a tough game (Friday) night and we were sitting here waiting for them," said Sloan. "We had them down and they fought back. Before it's all over they will be a really good basketball team... That's the sign of a team that wants to win instead of just wanting to pack it in. A lot of teams would pack it in, take a 30-point loss and go home in that situation, but they didn't."

Davis scored just 11 points with eight assists, losing his personal duel with Utah's Deron Williams, who had 30 points and 11 assists. Still, Davis saw some improvement from the team.

"We'll be all right," said Davis. "We're coming. We're coming, we just have to continue to get better."

---

E-mail: lojo@desnews.com