Mike Dunleavy Gets No Love from Warriors Fans

Well, at least at last night's loss against the Pacers the home crowd didn't boo him (much). But despite the fact that Mike Dunleavy has played some solid games lately (as esteemed colleague Nate Jones observes), it wasn't exactly a love-fest either. Case in point, the Oracle Arena designates various nose-bleed sections as fan areas for different players (Baron Davis enthusiasts sit in the "Boom Dizzle" section, fans of Jason Richardson sit in "Jason's Jumpers," et cetera ad nauseum) and I am sad to report that there were exactly two people sitting in the "Dun-geon" last night. And they were both probably Mikey-D's cousins.

Why can't Dunleavy get support from Warriors Nation? To be fair, the crowd does cheer him when he hits a shot. But it's an ironic cheer -- like the one they use for Andris Biedrins when he actually makes a free throw. Maybe Dunleavy needs an image makeover -- an Al Harrington 'do might fly better than flowing goldi-locks secured by a girl's headband. Maybe the fans have gotten spoiled by crowd-pleasers like Monta Ellis and Dunleavy's moves just pale in comparison. Maybe Dunleavy is just pale (white boys can't get no love!).

Oh wait, I know why fans don't back Dunleavy. It's because at the end of a tight game -- say, when the Pacers have just hit a three to take a two-point lead with one second remaining and an extra time-out to spare -- Dun-Dun inbounds the ball ... and the bad pass hits Baron and bounces out of bounds. Cue buzzer.