Inhistoric.com: The Sports History Blog

There are several reasons why the Warriors missed the playoffs despite winning nearly 50 games. Trading 20-point scorer Jason Richardson for a rookie who hardly played at all is one factor, the injuries and suspensions of Mickael Pietrus and Stephen Jackson are another, as is the vanishing of Matt Barnes and the overload of minutes given to the starters.

But what really cost Golden State was the bad losses they suffered to extremely beatable teams. The following is a list of games that got away from them, games that if won would've had the Dubs in the postseason:

December 3: vs. Orlando - the Warriors blow a three-point lead with 18 seconds left, thanks to four Magic free throws and a missed freebie by Monta Ellis. Baron Davis fouls out in the closing seconds of regulation, leaving GS without their best player in the overtime period. Orlando wins 123-117 in OT, ending the Warriors' six-game winning streak.

December 22: @ New Jersey - After trailing for much of the game, Golden State takes a 95-92 lead with 3:12 remaining in the 4th. They finished the game missing their final six shots and turning it over three times. The Nets won 100-95.

January 16: @ Indiana - Meltdown city Indiana. The Warriors set a record with 12 steals in the first quarter, and made the Pacers look like a Division III team. The held a 17-point lead late in the 3rd quarter and led by 14 coming into the 4th. Then... disaster. The scrubs the Warriors traded the year before staged a furious comeback. The Pacers scored 46 in the final period and won the game by 8. Nat Thurman was rolling over in his grave.

January 21: vs. Minnesota - Maybe the worst loss of the year. The T'Wolves carried a 16-game road-losing streak and had the worst record in the league. But Ryan Gomes had a career-high 35 points and McCants and Telfair chipped in with 15 apiece. Matt Barnes' best game of the year goes for naught, as he is taken out in the closing minutes for D-League call-up C.J. Watson. Baron Davis misses a last-second layup and Minnesota wins 109-108.

February 7: vs. Chicago - Chris Webber's second stint in Oakland begins with a whimper. The Bulls were without Luol Deng, Kirk Henrich, AND Ben Gordon. Without any primary scorers, Chicago gets by with 27 from Joe Smith and 25 from Chris Duhon. Chicago wins 114-108.

February 22: vs. Atlanta - Two days after beating the Celtics without Stephen Jackson, the W's struggled with him and Andris Biedrins out of the lineup. Pietrus went scoreless in 26 minutes, Webber scored 4, and Harrington was 0-7 from three-point range. Not even 33 bench points and 61 from Davis and Ellis were enough to stop Atlanta; the Hawks won 117-110.

March 5: @ Charlotte - The Warriors score 38 in the first quarter and appear well on their way to an easy win. However, ex-Warrior Jason Richardson scores 42 points for Charlotte. The Bobcats finish the game on a 13-3 run, and the Warriors lose to the lowly Bobcats 118-109.

March 18: @ Sacramento - Monta Ellis went 3-9, Harrington went 3-9, Jackson went 3-15, and the Warriors got hammered by a team they beat three times. Kevin Martin scored 34, Ron Artest scored 26, and the Kings won 122-105.

The Warriors had a really tough April schedule, and relinquished their playoff spot after losing to Denver on April 10th. Iverson, Anthony, and J.R. Smith combined for 82 points, and the Warriors lack of defense cost them again. A subsequent loss in Phoenix gave Denver the #8 seed.

Oh, and none of this "Golden State should be in because they're better than Atlanta" crap. They're the 9th best team in the West, that's the breaks. They had plenty of chances, as the list above demonstrates. The Browns won more games than the Redskins last year, they didn't get in. The Tigers won more than the Cubs, they didn't get in. Hillary Clinton is a major presidential candidate, she might not even get out of the primaries.