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Stephen Curry tries to get the crowd louder during the fourth quarter of their game against the Houston Rockets at ORACLE Arena on December 10, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Stephen Curry tries to get the crowd louder during the fourth quarter of their game against the Houston Rockets at ORACLE Arena on December 10, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The Week in Bay Area Sports, By The Numbers

The Week in Bay Area Sports, By The Numbers

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It was a busy week for the Bay Area sports franchises. But, we've got you covered. Here's a rundown of all things good, not so good and downright bad (sorry, Niners fans).

The good: Golden State Warriors

14: Current winning streak.

+11.2: NBA best-per-game point differential.

.905: Current winning percentage for the league-leading 19-2 Warriors heading into their Saturday morning matchup with the Dallas Mavericks.

When the Warriors bet the Houston Rockets Wednesday night, they advanced to 19-2 and head coach Steve Kerr became the first rookie head coach to win 19 of his first 21 games. "It means I'm the luckiest coach in NBA history," Kerr told ESPN. "Because I inherited a team that was already really good."

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San Jose Mercury News Sports Columnist Mark Purdy agrees with that assessment, but thinks Kerr is guiding the team in a way his predecessor Mark Jackson was not.

“What Steve Kerr has really done is tap into the mindset of his best players,” Purdy told KQED Newsroom, by allowing “them to play together as a team.”

“When [a team] buys-in in that way, that’s when you’ve really got something good,” Purdy said.

It is a team that obviously likes each other. And likes singing together, evident in the video below.

http://instagram.com/p/v47fQQQvaO/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=video

The only thing team officials aren't crazy about: the team's song selection. (Hint: It's apparently an ode to cocaine.)

-ESPN reported Friday that the team has reached out to free agent Jesus Shuttlesworth Ray Allen about potentially becoming the newest Splash Brother.

The not so good*: Oakland Athletics

(*= judgment TBD)

5: Trades made by Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane so far this offseason.

1/2?: The team might replace as much as half of their roster this winter.

Gone are fan favorites 3B Josh Donaldson, OF Brandon Moss and recently acquired SP Jeff Samardzija. The team has also lost free agent pitchers Jon Lester and Jason Hammel, not to mentionOF Yoenis Céspedes.

In are 3B Brett Lawrie, DH Billy Butler and 1B Ike Davis. Not exactly household names.

Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan tweeted that these moves are just the beginning:

Mark Purdy believes A’s fans have developed some level of trust for Beane over his 17-year stint with the team. So, they are giving him some benefit of the doubt, for now.

“That said, it is really hard to be an A’s fan,” Purdy said. “You just get dizzy every year with the new cast of characters, and you cannot get attached to any of them.”

Although some fans might be angry, confused and unsure what to do with their old Céspedes jerseys, some pundits are once again praising Beane’s moves.

“Oakland is trying always to have rosters with as much flexibility as possible and as many players as possible between the ages of 22-29 because: a) those are usually the least expensive players and b) those are players likely to have their best seasons in front of them rather than behind them,” wrote Joel Sherman of the New York Post, in an article titled, “Billy Beane knows what he’s doing, even if nobody else does.”

Sherman argues that the moves give Beane the financial flexibility to “spend on hitters in trades or free agency who do not have onerous contract burdens, whom Beane could then turn around and trade to contenders in July if Oakland is not contending.”

So, resist the urge to freak out A’s fans.

Over on the other side of the Bay, the Giants continue to bask in their championship glory — Madison Bumgarner was named the 2014 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

One other tidbit: Barry Zito, the $126 million man and (don’t forget) Cy Young Award winner, is apparently attempting a comeback.

Bad: San Francisco 49ers

3%: Percent chance the San Francisco 49ers have of making the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight.

3?: Games left in the Jim Harbaugh-49ers era. Maybe.

After their Week 14 debacle in Oakland, the Niners chances of making the playoffs dropped by 20 percent. That puts them squarely in must-win territory this week when they travel up to Seattle.

The main problem with the team this season has been an inept, stagnant offensive that is incapable of moving the ball or scoring points.

“It’s like watching a nervous breakdown out there,” according to Mark Purdy, who points to a struggling offensive line, receivers that can’t get open and the inconsistency of quarterback Colin Kaepernick. That's a bad trio.

Adding to those on-field problems are reports of problems in the front office as well.

“There’s real rumbling, gurgling and indigestion between the owner Jed York, general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Jim Harbaugh,” Purdy says. Although Harbaugh is under contract for next season, it’s becoming increasing likely that he will not be coaching this team in 2015.

Nervous breakdowns. Indigestion. Add in a trip to Seattle just as the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks are hitting their stride again. Things don’t sound good in Santa Clara.

Watch the complete KQED NEWSROOM interview with Mark Purdy:
http://youtu.be/iCAk7hBgsiE
KQED NEWSROOM is a weekly news magazine program on television, radio and online. Watch Fridays at 8 p.m. on KQED Public Television 9, listen on Sundays at 6 p.m. on KQED Public Radio 88.5 FM or online here.

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