In all seriousness, this has been a tremendous 3-game stretch. These aren’t meaningless end-of-season games for the opposition; the Mavericks, Blazers, and Lakers all had a lot to play for when they faced the Warriors this past week.

The last two games in particular have been a ton of fun to watch, as the Warriors — dare I say it — dominated for most of the second half in both contests. Things got a little hairy at the end of the game last night, but the Dubs hit enough big shots to keep a healthy cushion and even avoid a foul-plagued ending.

Perhaps most impressive, the Warriors out-rebounded the Lakers 50-47. Bynum pulled down 17 boards, but they were able to hold Gasol and (especially) Odom in check. David Lee matched Bynum with 17 boards of his own, making it his second straight impressive double-double. Thanks to the rebounding and turnover (+7) margins, the Warriors ended up with 93 shots to the Lakers 77 — a big part of why they won despite shooting just 39%.

Curry and Ellis put on a nice show, as despite Curry’s cold touch early he hit some big shots at the end to preserve the win. Wright had another cold shooting night, but hit two big 3′s late to keep up the lead and break the Warriors’ single-season record for made 3-pointers. Udoh went scoreless, but pulled down 8 rebounds in 19 minutes — impressive considering the front line he was up against.

Now the Warriors get a few nights off before facing the Kings on Sunday, when they can get to the 36-win mark that they decided to shoot for after the bottom fell out after the All Star break. I know the Warriors have developed a habit of getting hot late in the season when their playoff spot is already decided, but they appear locked into the 11th draft position at this point so might as well see what they can do!

Which is too bad, because the Warriors have played some of their best ball all season in the last two games. They face their steepest test tonight, as the Lakers will be mad after a close loss to Utah.

If the Warriors can win tonight, then there will definitely be some room for optimism for the first time since the All Star break. Given the minutes the starters played last night in Portland, I can’t say I’m expecting much. But I hope to be wrong!

Nice game for Monta with 38 on a fairly efficient 15-26, and Wright and Curry also played well with 27 points and 10 assists respectively (with Curry being the only plus player at +2).

But another invisible game from Biedrins, a quiet night for Lee on the boards, and a DNP-CD for Udoh. Throw in what sounded like the usual late-game heroics from Kobe, and the end result was depressingly the same. The Warriors are now 1-2 on their “easy stretch,” so they better start getting things in gear before the season slips too much further out of reach.

Not sure what to say in the preview since I’m almost less optimistic in this game than I was when they faced Miami a few weeks ago (though that turned out a bit better than expected, all things considered). So good luck tonight, Warriors — you’re going to need it.

There’s not much to get excited about from this game, as most of the positive numbers came from garbage time (though Jeremy Lin’s +6 in 18 minutes was still nice to see). Curry managed to go 24 minutes without a turnover (though he only had 2 assists), Adrien was decent with 10 boards and 9 points in 26 minutes, and the team actually got to the line decently. And the starter got decent rest, so there’s also that.

But other than that, just another reminder of how far this team has to go before they realize the new owners’ dreams. Let’s hope they can regain their composure for tonight’s game against Denver, because with a road trip on tap the team could desperately use a win tonight.

• Monta’s attitude. It’s been a trying pair of games for Monta, as he carried the team both games only to be largely kept out of the offense in the fourth quarter. I don’t really expect him to have a let down against the Lakers (and the only player he considers better than himself), but if he is once again the only player who can hit a first-half shot it will be interesting to see if he starts to dog it a bit,
• Inside hope. Lee remains out and Brandon Wright stayed in Oakland with his bad back, leaving it up to the same cast of characters that got massacred on the boards against the Knicks. I don’t expect them to win the battle tonight, but it would nice to get a glimmer of hope that the Warriors have a chance until they get their big guys back.
• Curry’s funk. Curry had a good stat line against the Knicks, but it just didn’t feel right. He was ugly in the first half, and his second half surge came at the expense of chances for Monta. For the Warriors to have any chance tonight, Curry needs to have a great *point guard* game tonight.

So have some fun, and let’s see how the Warriors new front line does against one of the better sets of big men in the league. Can the Warriors win the rebounding battle for the 3rd straight game?

Hopefully the silver lining from last night is that the reserves — including Jeremy Lin — got some extended run and didn’t look half bad. Now they have Memphis to look forward to, in a game that takes on added importance as it comes right before heading out on a long road trip.

But yeesh — definitely a long ways to go before they can hang with elite teams like the Lakers.

It’s time for the final preseason game of the year, as the Warriors meet the Lakers once again in a place that isn’t the Staples Center. This also is one of our first chances to see the new team on the teevee — what to watch for tonight:

• Who else can play? With Stephen Curry out tonight to nurse his sprained ankle, we’ll get a great chance to see who else can play in the back court. Look for Lin, Williams, and Bell to get most of the minutes alongside Monta — will any of them stand out?
• Is Biedrins back? Another double-double would go a long way toward convincing me that he’s really back (at least, as much convincing as can be done in the pre-season).
• Rebound margin. The Warriors have done a great job out-rebounding their opponents this pre-season. Can they keep it up for one more game?

And: Lin! Sure, his +/- was pretty weak at -16, but he played 18 minutes, had 4 assists, and committed zero turnovers. Not exactly setting the world aflame, but a nice step forward and his best argument yet for getting real minutes in the early going.

And: Brandon Wright and Reggie Williams with production off the bench! Both dropped 14 points, though Wright’s rebounding totals were pretty weak with only two. Overall though, the Warriors outrebounded the Lakers 48-37, continuing one of the best trends of the preseason.

Now the bad news — Monta somehow managed a -29 in just 21 minutes of work, and had a largely invisible stat sheet. Curry went out with a sprained ankle that is apparently better than it looked at least. VladRad got the start (?) and was pretty woeful with 1-7 shooting — I assume that Smart was trying to send a message to Dorrell Wright as he ultimately ended up with the bulk of the minutes at the three, and had a decent line with 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists (but a -18 +/-).

And the Lakers shot 56%. That’s gotta change.

Postscript: Jeff Adrien got only 4 minutes of playing time, but grabbed 4 rebounds and had the best +/- of the night at +5. Granted, they were probably garbage minutes, but the dude keeps putting up solid minutes whenever he gets on the court.