Nets-Warriors: What to watch for

Ever since the Warriors traded Monta Ellis, theyve been upand down in their play. Theyve had games where theyve come with energy andeffort and played very well.But there have been other games where those elements havebeen missing, and the results havent been good at all. The Warriors havelooked very bad in recent losses to New Orleans, Houston, Minnesota andMilwaukee.But if theres a pattern thats developed, its that theWarriors have usually followed up a bad performance with a good one.
If thats the case, expect the Warriors to play well onFriday night against the New Jersey Nets at Oracle. After all, some areconsidering the Warriors last gamea 97-82 loss at home to the Hornets their worst one of the season.Here are some things to watch for during the Nets-Warriorsgame:Defend Deron: His numbers are a littleoff this season, but nobody doubts point guard Deron Williams still isnt oneof the best in the game. On the shorthanded New Jersey Nets, Williams is beingasked to do too much, and its affected his efficiency and shootingpercentage.Still, Williams is the one player on New Jersey capable oflifting his team by himself, and hes got to be accounted for. Assuming NateRobinson starts, which he did on Wednesday against the Hornets, hed probablyget the first crack at Williams. Its a tough assignment but someone has to doit.Rebound better: In the first meetingbetween these teamsa 107-100 New Jersey winthe Nets dominated the Warrioron the glass 45-26. Power forward Kris Humphries dominated the interior,scoring 18 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.The Warriors have been inconsistent with their reboundingthis seasonone game getting hammered on the glass and the next game hangingin. Against the Lakers on Tuesday, they held their own.But that hasnt been the case much of the season, and theWarriors are going to have to re-commit in that area against NewJersey.All about effort: Warriors coach MarkJackson was not pleased with his teams play on Wednesday, and he let hisplayers know that in the locker room afterward.Jackson said Theres a right way to lose, and the Warriorsdidnt lose the right way against New Orleans. What he basically meant was thatthe effort level has to be better and the Warriors have to be more consistentwith the energy they bring.STEINMETZ: Jackson says Warriors still have a lot to play for
The one thing Jackson has been good at this season isgetting his players to go hard on a consistent basis. Expect that to be thecase against New Jersey.