Warriors’ fun has begun
Joe Lacob took a steaming rush of heat in 2016 when he announced the Warriors’ superiority to the world. The Warriors’ primary owner told the New York Times Magazine that his franchise was “light-years ahead” of the other NBA teams in terms of structure, vision and performance. The critics had a field day.
Those comments were bold,
and they were arrogant, hardly a surprise to anyone familiar with Lacob. There isn’t a bit of evidence, however, to suggest he was wrong.
Gazing about the Warriors’ landscape, one sees the brilliant general manager, Bob Myers, and the progressive president, Rick Welts. The public-relations staff is by far the NBA’s best and is honored as such. Andre Iguodala and David West are two of the brightest, most culturally aware athletes in America, bound for great success in their post-basketball
life.
And that’s just for starters, not even addressing a starting lineup targeting the franchise’s third title in four seasons.
If Friday night’s exhibition game had taken place in the regular season, fans would have been disappointed by the absence of Draymond Green, Kevin Durant and Iguodala, who were essentially given the night off. But this team refuses to be dull, or unwatchable. Stephen Curry’s performance alone was worth the price of admission, particularly when he faked Sacramento’s Frank Mason into the air, knew he’d be fouled as he gathered his shot, then switched to his left hand in midair and floated up a sweetlooking 20-footer (it just missed).
Buddy Hield thought he had Curry pretty well covered on one possession, but Curry’s catch-and-shoot release was so quick, yet another three-pointer finding the mark, Hield could only throw up his hands in frustration, as if to say, “What am I supposed to do with that?”
Imagine being head coach Steve Kerr, with Curry’s unlimited repertoire such an essential part of the scheme. “There are guys, obviously Michael Jordan impacted things, but the way Steph plays puts the fear of God into defenses like nobody I’ve ever seen,” Kerr said. “Nobody has been able to shoot off the dribble from 35 feet in a normal setting. But he does that, which changes the entire game. So everything we do revolves around Steph.”
How smart are the Warriors? They selected Damian Jones 30th in 2016, but they made their biggest draft splashes when they landed secondrounders Patrick McCaw and Jordan Bell through clever, last-minute purchases. That represents roster management at its very finest. You’d think such acquisitions would be afterthoughts; surely no team would surrender prime-time talent so easily. And yet, there they were in Friday night’s starting lineup, feasting on playing time and making it clear they’ll be significant players in this season’s rotation.
As the third quarter came to an end — this is when you know it’s preseason — the Warriors’ lineup consisted of Georges Niang, Michael Gbinije in his turquoise sneakers, Kevon Looney, JaVale McGee and McCaw, who gleefully became the No. 1 scoring option. Bell had been a formidable presence all night, looking instantly comfortable in the Warriors’ system and showcasing his leaping ability in all the right ways. (Perfectly timing a longrange McCaw miss, Bell sailed through the lane for a sweet lefty tip-in).
It was an out-of-left-field kind of night, an Oracle Arena scene about to make a 100 percent transformation with the Warriors opening the season Tuesday night against the intriguing and revamped Houston Rockets. Until further notice, “light-years” fits nicely into any critique.
Other observations:
Nick Young had to love those 30 minutes of playing time. Shaking off a bit of rust, he hit five three-point shots for his 15 points and cracked a few smiles. For the entire preseason, not so good: 10-for-29 shooting, 0for-8 from the free-throw line, just one assist in 56 minutes.
This game marked the unveiling of Kerith Burke, replacing the incandescent Ros GoldOnwude (off to TNT) as the Warriors’ sideline reporter. Burke looks up to the task. She has been covering prime-time basketball for years, including the Rio Olympics for NBC and the dynastic UConn women for SportsNet New York. “I know this game,” Burke, a Washington State grad, told NBC Sports Bay Area. “I don’t fan-girl over anybody or put people on a pedestal. It’s just people in a sport I’ve covered for years. That doesn’t mean I don’t know their popularity and how much they’re loved.”
The Warriors’ gift shops feature “The Town” T-shirts, crafted in the mold of the Warriors’ new alternative uniforms. A nice gesture. But why not go all the way? At some point, the team should fashion jerseys that simply say “Oakland.”
Draymond Green had a lively interview session with GQ magazine, his comments reflecting the team’s utter confidence as opponents try desperately to catch up with offseason deals. “It’s so funny sitting back and watching this s—,” he said. “Teams know they don’t have a f— clue. It’s pretty sick to see how everybody is just in a panic about what to do. That’s the fun part about it: They know they don’t stand a chance.”