All-Star Zaza Eases The Pain

I've gotten better getting over a Raiders loss. It helps to have the Golden State Warriors as your local NBA basketball team to help transition from football to basketball. Though there's many Raiders highlights to enjoy from the 2016 football season, the heartbreak of seeing #4 go down with a broken leg makes it very hard to look back. And so we press onward to cheer and root for another potential Bay Area sports champion.

In last night's game in Sacramento, surprise All-star vote candidate Zaza Pachulia, showed the NBA exactly why his fellow countrymen feel he's deserving of an All-star weekend appearance. 

The NBA modified its All-Star voting rules this year because of Pachulia, who received an inordinate number of votes last year from fans in his home country of Georgia.

The stone faced fellow from Tbilisi, Georgia, where legend has it the area was named for it's sulfuric hot springs, was a volcanic force on the basketball court last night with his harassing defense, scoring, assists and lock-down play on Sacramento Kings All-star center DeMarcus Cousins.

Zaza has stepped up his game to become another integral part of this elite Warriors team of high powered offense with suffocating defense. Earlier in the season, with Zaza replacing former Warriors center Andrew Bogut, the Georgian seemed out of place and awkward looking among his fast-paced teammates. Where new forward Kevin Durant fit as comfortably as Cinderella's slipper, Zaza needed a shoe-horn to wedge his 6'11 frame into the Warriors gameplan. 

I suppose we can throw away the shoe-horn now, because it seems Zaza has forced the Warriors to expand the width of their gameplan to the point where no forcing is needed to fit him in. His basketball smarts make-up for any athleticism he may lack. In just a few short weeks he's made us Warriors fans sit up and take notice.

Many experts will say that #27 Zaza Pachulia, a 14 year NBA veteran approaching the age of JC at crucifixion (33), is not an All-star caliber player and is lucky to be playing with All-stars on an elite NBA team. But Warriors fans and basketball fans from the country of Georgia see it as the Warriors who are the lucky ones to have a seasoned center who can pass, defend, score and run with the rest of the team at a high skill level. 

Maybe his no-look, over the head pass to Steph Curry last night will have the basketball experts taking another look at the big man from hot springs country. Or maybe his stats from last night, which could stand toe-to-toe with those of Sacramento Kings All-star DeMarcus Cousins, will make believers of those doubting the Zaza factor. 

Sooner or later, time reveals the hidden values in peoples, places and things. It appears that Zaza Pachulia's place and time in the NBA has come and some truths about his basketball game are about to be revealed. 

We Believe In Zaza!


Final Score
Warriors 117
Kings 106

Warriors To Watch On All-Star Weekend

Warriors All-Star State of Mind

And there you have it, the NBA will showcase four All-Stars from the Bay Area's Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately, we won't see the Warriors fifth potential all-star because of a shoulder injury that's still not fully healed. 

Zaza Pachulia, aka "The Zaz" will not be participating in this weekend's All-Star activities. There's something about Zaza that brings out the commoner in all of us. It would've been nice to see five Warriors players with their coach Steve Kerr holding court for the Western All-Stars, but that old 80's "greed is good" motto went bye-bye with the wall street scandals that rocked the era.

Remember wall street stock broker Ivan Boesky before serving time for illegal insider trading?:

"I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself."

Well, we Warriors fans feel good and can live with four of our guys deservedly representing the West. As for Zaza, I hear that Las Vegas has laid odds on the Georgian favorite son perhaps appearing in a beer commercial.

It could happen!

Goto ZazaPachulia.com

Golden State Warriors Bop Brooklyn

I love the hip, confident looking fashion that comes with anything labeled Brooklyn. Its like having an "I'm Tough, Don't 'F' With Me" sticker plastered on your chest.

Well, the Golden State Warriors went into Brooklyn last night and let the Nets strut around on the basketball court in the first half of the game as if they were tough and could hang with the mighty Warriors. Then came the third quarter and the Nets got punched in the mouth repeatedly by a basketball Bully. 

The Warriors ripped off 31 points to the Nets 19 in the third quarter, while stripping the fake tough guy sticker off Brooklyn's chest, revealing a cowering clark kent with no cape in sight.


The Warriors, who's own tough guy, Draymond Green, was out of the line-up due to a new baby Green delivered to his fiancee, turned up the defense and caused the Brooklyn Nets to stumble and bumble their way through a 117-101 beatdown. The Nets shouldn't feel bad, the mighty Warriors have a way of sometimes toying with the opposition before applying the death grip. 

Warriors Zaza Pachulia and David West both had big nights in the absence of Draymond. The team is now 26-4, sporting the best record in the NBA as they play a back-to-back tonight in Detroit. The big test comes Sunday, Christmas Day, against Lebron and the Cavaliers in Cleveland. Its the game all basketball fans have been waiting for; a Finals rematch. But this game brings a new challenge for Cleveland to contend with. No, not Daddy Green passing out 'its a boy' cigars, although he will be there.

No, for this rematch the Warriors will unwrap and present Lebron and the Cavs with a Christmas gift of explosive proportions. In the infamous words of Scarface Tony Montana:

"Say Hello to me little friend,"#35 Kevin Durant!

Warriors Silence Thunder In Oakland

The Oklahoma City Thunder awakened a giant last night in Oakland. The Golden State Warriors had their most lopsided win in a game that was more a statement to the undefeated Thunder and any others who thought the Warriors had lost too many parts in free agency to be dominant this season. 

New Warriors sensation #35 Kevin Durant was sensational with 39pts as he dismantled and dominated his former teammates. Klay Thompson awoke out of his early season slump going 4 of 8 on 3pt. shots and scoring a total of 18pts. Stephen Curry of course broke down the Thunder defense and got his both inside and outside the paint. Draymond Green, Andre Igoudala and new edition Zaza Pachulia raised the defensive effort and looked like the Warriors of today.  

Livingston, Clark and McGee were outstanding off the bench once again. Sure the Warriors will miss Moe Money Speights and others from past seasons, but this years' bench players are showing us that they can keep the winning momentum going in games by both defending and knocking down shots. Shaun Livingston might've of gotten better as that smooth, floating jump shot of his just seems to go down with consistency. And the youngster Ian Clark has definitely returned as a seasoned player with more trust and confidence in his game. Clark could be a difference maker down the road.

It's very early in the season. The Warriors are (4-1) as they take on the L.A. Lakers in Oakland tonight. The Lakers, led by former Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton, have a talented young group of players mixed in with veteran experience. It'll be fun to see how the Warriors attack Luke's team being that he knows everything about them with the exception of their new sensation K.D.. And that Kevin Durant exception is exactly why Luke probably didn't get much sleep last night. Good Luck Luke. Go Warriors!

Final Score

Thunder 96

Warriors 122