San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Green undoing Warriors’ dynasty
Short takes from the 3-Dot Lounge, where the Golden State Warriors need to remove “they find ways to lose” from the public discourse:
• There is little precedent for what the Warriors have done: 12 years with the same essential core and at least four championships. In fact, the list of comparisons stops at two, and both of those teams maintained harmony to the finish.
The San Antonio Spurs went 14 seasons with Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker at the heart of things, and by the time they all retired, the mood was joyous and celebratory as if they satisfied every critic on their Hall of Fame paths.
It’s an awfully long time ago — ancient times, to hear most tell it — but Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics won 11 titles in 13 years (1957-69). This was before free agency, opulent salary structure and massive television deals, but certain standards are timeless. As early as 1960, those Celtics preached racial harmony and had four Black men in the team photo, eventually fielding the first all-Black starting five. They were the most enlightened team playing the purest form of basketball. From the rosters of those 13 seasons, 11 players had their numbers retired — and not one of them ever left the Celtics to go elsewhere.
Put it this way, then: The Warriors are the first team ever to fashion such admirable longevity and have it turn into a circus in the twilight.
• It didn’t seem possible, did it? That after Draymond Green’s exhaustive history of discord and suspensions, he actually could get worse? I was among those who defended him unconditionally as the heart-andsoul essence of this team, right up until about a month ago. Today, I hope he gets sent away for a good long time. It’s only so often that anyone can watch him confidently trot off to the locker room, done for the night, convinced he did nothing wrong.
• Memphis guard Ja Morant, currently near the end of his 25-game suspension, said he had “some horrible days” as the team and the league moved on without him. Green needs to experience a few of those days. Is it really that healthy that he’ll frequently be around the team, showing the best of his engaging personality? He should know how it feels to see a “No Vacancy” sign on this franchise.
• Because he’s such a decent fellow at heart, Green eventually will convince a lot of people that he has changed. But how will anyone know that until he puts on a uniform and the competitive juices start flowing?
• Green’s problem is that he has no idea what time it is. In the 1970s and ’80s, players were rarely suspended for any reason — certainly not for anything as inconsequential as Green’s pathetic “scuffle” with LeBron James in the 2016 Finals (Green shouldn’t even have been ejected). Players literally threw hard, on-target punches and were allowed to stay in the game. There was no such thing as a “flagrant” foul, and the referees were thickskinned tough guys who took a ton of abuse but maintained complete control, rarely spoiling the spectators’ evening with a petty ejection.
Today’s league has grown so repulsed by
violence, or even nasty words spoken without a hint of body language, that it employs a flock of dreadfully sensitive referees oblivious to the damage done. (See the recent ejections of Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, each for no apparent reason.) Heaven help a player who stands over a fallen opponent in defiance, throws up his hands in disgust or mutters an obscenity only a dozen people can hear. Fans need to know why someone draws a technical; knock it off with the prissy nonsense.
That said, the league stands tall where it counts. There’s a serious image problem when Morant becomes a trouble-making nuisance off the court. When a drugaddled player just can’t shake the habit. Or when Green threatens to put some unsuspecting opponent in the hospital with his reckless, nonstop rage. The hammer should always come down hard.
• What needs to happen now: a full-on youth movement when it comes to Steve Kerr’s rotations, Chris Paul providing leadership, and some penetrating words from owner Joe Lacob.
We wouldn’t know
• Shohei Ohtani came to the United States with a plan: Don’t let people know anything about him, aside from the balls and strikes — and he
succeeded in remarkable fashion. Even the traveling Japanese journalists say Ohtani’s interviews offer nothing of significance. Curiously, the man is six seasons into his major-league existence and hasn’t learned English (although, much like the great Ichiro Suzuki, he probably knows more than he lets on). I’d love to see him open a media session next spring with, “Well, fellas, here we are again.”
• Thanks to Ohtani’s strategy to have the majority of his money deferred, a number of future free agents will be asked to do the same. Not all of them will be thrilled.
• Don’t be deceived by the clips of Jung Hoo Lee, the Giants’ free-agent acquisition from South Korea, if every at-bat shows the radical uppercut of a launch-angle swing. Find another posting, and you’ll see him smacking down on the ball for the purest contact. There’s no way of knowing if he’ll be a .300 hitter in the big leagues, or play elite defense in center field, but he’s a new face in the outfield. Now the Giants need two more.
• Dodger-hating Giants fans will love this: As the rumors swirled about Ohtani’s destination, Dodgersnation.com cited “multiple sources” in announcing, “The wait is over. Shohei Ohtani is
signing with the Toronto Blue Jays.”
• Who’s really ticked off about those erroneous reports: people who hurriedly placed bets on Toronto to win the whole thing.
• Troy Aikman is a glowing exception to network TV analysts terrified to criticize the NFL in any way. During one of those endless replay reviews in the Packers-Giants game Monday night, Aikman told his ABC audience, “Just make a call. This is ridiculous, what we’re watching now. We see something, it takes five seconds. It takes them five minutes.”
• His talent often offset by his wandering oncourt
mind, guard Jordan Poole hasn’t resembled anything close to a franchise centerpiece in Washington, entering Friday shooting 29% from 3-point range and leaving observers wondering if he’ll soon be up for trade.
• Yes, the Lakers actually will raise a banner to the rafters (a bit smaller than the league-champion version) to commemorate the “NBA Cup.” It’s likely to confuse some people, wondering exactly what it’s about. Easy answer: seven games in November and December.