Mark Jackson has truly changed the culture of the Golden State Warriors since arriving in the Bay Area as the head coach. Jackson has played with, as well as against, some of the greats of the game. He is no stranger to regular season success as well as big time postseason games in his career as a player. He is trying to instill that kind of drive and determination in his young Warriors team and it shows through the growth of his squad. To achieve 50 wins as a ball club says a lot about this Warriors team, especially in a very competitive Western Conference.
The way the Warriors grabbed their 50th win in a 130-120 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves is proof of the resiliency that has been built into this team. The Warriors have built a belief that no matter what the circumstances, this collection of players and the system that has been put in place is their pathway to sucess. The Warriors were down 19 points early in the first half only to rally back to within two points by halftime. The Warriors never panicked, they simply stuck to the system, which is a sign of maturity and growth. The discipline and timely shooting resulted in "The Dubs" grabbing 50 wins for the first time since the 1993-94 season, and also locked up the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
This was a team win for the Warriors with their "Big Three" of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and David Lee coming up big when it mattered. Stephen Curry, who should be "First Team All-NBA" this year, displayed another example of why those accolades should be coming his way by finishing with 32 points and 15 assists. Curry hit 7 of 13 from beyond the arc and was 10 of 21 overall in the game. Klay Thompson did not score any points in the first half, only to finish with 20 points on the night, and David Lee played big adding 25 points and nine rebounds to the Warriors ledger. Even Draymond Green had a huge impact off the bench for "The Dubs" finishing with 20 points, by going 7 of 9 from the floor and hitting a career best four three-pointers.
The Warriors fell behind early because Stephen Curry was not the only superstar in the building. If you did not know, Minnesota has this player named Kevin Love that is just straight up sick. Love started off the game hitting three straight treys, en route to a monster game of 40 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists. Corey Brewer was solid in this game as well for the T-Wolves adding 22 points, and rookie Gorgui Dieng, dropped a double-double on the stat sheet with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Now that the Warriors have locked up their playoff position, the only thing they should be thinking about is resting starters and getting healthy. Andrew Bogut is going to be out indefinitely with a rib injury, and the Warriors really can't afford any other injuries as they go into a meaningless game against the Denver Nuggets Wednesday. Mark Jackson needs to play it safe and let his bench do the work Wednesday night on the road. In the meantime, the Warriors are a 50 win team for the first time in 20 years. There should really be no question now that Mark Jackson is the right coach for the Warriors and that those youngsters believe in what he is trying to teach them.