Warriors: too good for their own good?
If you are among those worrying that the Golden State Warriors took too big a risk in acquiring superstar forward Kevin Durant, messing with
the delicate chemistry of one of the greatest teams in NBA history,
do not run your concerns past basketball
legend Jerry West.
“Are you kidding me?” West sputtered over the phone, his voice rising in disbelief. “You know something? That might be one of the dumbest questions I’ve ever heard.
“Have you been around Kevin? ... Sometimes I scratch my head. People worry about chemistry? If you have a
person with all the intangibles he has, I think it’s going to be easier to play with him.”
Of course West is high on Durant. As a Warriors executive board member and trusted adviser, he helped recruit the super-talented 6-foot-9 Durant, who came to the Warriors this off-season as a free agent. But if West is correct — and his batting average is skyhigh — we’re about to witness a new wonder of the world: the improved Warriors in full flight.
The potential for greatness is astounding, with Durant added to the team’s superstar crew of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Also very real: the potential for disaster, even disgrace. Achieving anything less than an NBA championship will be considered a classic choke.
The curtain goes up Tuesday night when the Warriors host the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena. It’s just one game, but as coach Steve Kerr said Friday: “If we lose one game, it’s going to be, ‘Oh my God, what happened to the Warriors?’ ”
This team isn’t under a microscope; it’s under the Hubble telescope.
The Warriors surprised two seasons ago, winning the NBA championship under rookie coach Kerr. Last season, Green expanded into a starring role, Curry and Thompson improved, and the Warriors won a record 73 regular-season games, but blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals and lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
That’s when the Warriors, led by owner Joe Lacob, put a full-court press on Durant, selling him on the dreamy concept of playing in the most dynamic offense in basketball, and with some of its best guys.
The hoops world has since gone on red alert. At least two national news organizations have embedded a full-time Warriors reporter in Oakland. Routine press conferences sometimes resemble movie premieres. ESPN ran a lengthy story on Green’s impact on the team, good and bad — unusual because seldom does a team’s fourth-best player get such huge play in preseason.
The expectations and anticipation are huge. But they carry a dark side. Skeptics wonder why the Warriors have tempted fate by tinkering with near perfection. And a growing posse of haters and trolls views the Warriors as basketball’s version of Augustus Gloop, the greedy kid in “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” who winds up disgraced and flailing down the Chocolate River.
Our beloved and joyful Warriors as villains? Get used to it.
Inside Warriors HQ, however, everything is cool. From Lacob down to the ballboy, everyone is ignoring the outside noise. The unanimous belief is that signing Durant was a lightning bolt of vision and genius, the shining example of the dynamic and gutsy leadership that has placed the Warriors, in the words of Lacob, “light-years ahead” of the competition.
So now, the basketball world holds its breath to see just how terrifying the Warriors will be. If the preseason is any indication, look out. The Warriors went 6-1, and there were glimpses of brilliance that brought tears to the eyes of those who see basketball as kinetic art.
Maybe the Warriors really did become more breathtaking and fun to watch with the addition of the new guy.
“Kevin has fit in beautifully,” Kerr said. “He’s having fun, he’s a brilliant talent, great guy, great teammate .... and a brilliant passer, so he’s really enjoying being in this role.” As he learns the offense, Kerr added, “there’s a little chaos, but (we) ... space the floor, make plays, share the ball, and he’s perfect for that.”
Said West: “He’s an impeccable person. He’s one of the most consummate professionals I have ever seen. He’s a serious player, OK? He’s not just a scorer, he’s a basketball player . ... I just think this will be an incredible fit for him here, absolutely incredible.”
So what could possibly go wrong? Not to be Danny Downer, but here’s a partial checklist.
Overconfidence. Might the Warriors be too good for their own good? Crushing opponents on a nightly basis can dull the ferocious edge the Warriors will need to go all the way.
Surliness. The Warriors’ trademark joie de vivre could devolve into a sour and corrosive bunker mentality if they pay too much attention to outside chatter. Kerr will try to keep the joy flowing. “Despite the pressure, despite the expectations, our players do a good job of just coming to work and having fun each day and not worrying too much about what everybody’s saying.”
Talent overload. Can a team have too many superstars? Somebody’s got to do the dirty work. You can’t have four guys average 30 points each. Have the Warriors Augustus Glooped themselves?
Chemical malfunction. Team chemistry is a delicate thing in the NBA.
On paper, forget about it — this is a super-team. West knows something about superteams. In 1969, he and Lakers co-superstar Elgin Baylor were joined by Wilt Chamberlain, forming what was thought to be an unbeatable squad.
But the Lakers failed to win a title for three seasons, winning it all only in 1971-72, after Baylor retired.
West points out that his trio was old when Wilt arrived — Chamberlain 32, Baylor 34 and West 30. Thompson and Green are 26, Curry and Durant 28. Babies.
His Lakers didn’t win a title until a new coach, Bill Sharman, came aboard. There is a lot of the late Sharman in the now-experienced Kerr — super-bright, innovative, tough and sensitive.
A great stew often takes time. When West was general manager of the Lakers, he paired superstars Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, but they didn’t win a title until their fourth season together.
Chef Kerr has no timetable. He just keeps it simple.
“I’m very comfortable with the idea that you just do your best,” Kerr said. “You come out and you put everything into it, and you never know how it’s going to play out.”
Whatever else happens, he said, “just gets thrown into one giant pot and it’s all life, it’s all basketball. You come back (this season) and you just try to get better and see whatever the hell happens.”