Rising from the depth
Nitpickers go buggy looking for faults
Do you like those “Where’s Waldo?” books? Find the funny guy in the striped hat?
If so, here’s a new game for you that’s sweeping the NBA: Find the Flaw in the Warriors.
Steve Kerr is not allowed to play. He cheats. He makes up stuff. The Warriors’ head coach said after Sunday’s declawing of the Memphis Grizzlies, “We were sloppy with the ball; that’s one thing that bothered me.”
“That’s adorable,” said the 29 other NBA coaches.
The Warriors won 101- 86, so the Grizzlies got 86’ d.
Yes, it was just one game, the start of this second- round series. Remember that in the playoffs, momentum is largely a myth. Team personalities change overnight. But Sunday’s win makes the Warriors 5- 0 this postseason, and, gosh, they’re looking pretty sharp.
So find the flaw. ( Hint: This isn’t a tease. I haven’t found one.)
OK, here’s one. Green had a lousy game Sunday. Not Draymond Green. Draymond played out of his yapping skull, hitting 4 of 8 three- point shots and doggedly defending the fearsome Memphis big men.
No, it was Draymond’s mom who had the lousy
game. Mary Babers- Green, whom many expect to be named Tweeter of the Year for her hilarious and spunky zingers, couldn’t bust through Oracle Arena’s mighty cone of Internet silence. We can put a man on the moon ...
Other than that, seriously, the Warriors’ faults, such as they are, are shrinking as though they got Preparation H’d, and their virtues are ridiculous.
Were the Warriors rusty after their seven- day layoff? If you want rust, take your scraper and bucket to the Bay Bridge.
Before the game, Kerr said the rest was great for his team, but Kerr’s glass is always half full, and has a nice head of foam on it.
Kerr didn’t know for sure until Green ( Draymond) drilled two three- pointers and the Warriors jumped to a quick lead that his team was going to be this rustproof. Rust never sleeps? For the Warriors, sleep never rusts.
Green’s early shooting performance was a punch to the gut of the Grizzlies, who could only dream of holding Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to 2- for- 6 from the three- point arc in the first half.
Thompson and Curry already have taken out papers to legally adopt Green as a Splash Brother.
Kerr said before the game that Curry benefited as much as any Warrior from the long rest and that in practice Curry had been “bouncy and fresh.” So if Curry is looking for another commercial endorsement, he might get something going with Febreze.
Seventy- two wins into this season, the Warriors look as bouncy and fresh as an infant on a trampoline. Go ahead, then, find the flaw. Or, as Kerr might say to potential upcoming playoff opponents who are poring over game video, if you shot him with truth serum, “Scout this.”
Well, the Warriors didn’t rum amok, give the Grizzlies that. Memphis’ main goal was to prevent a Warriors’ track meet, and the Grizzlies held the Warriors to 21 fastbreak points. But the Warriors pushed the ball so relentlessly that they kept winding up with good shots before the Grizzlies could settle into their defense.
Find the weak link. Harrison Barnes? He can be a bit streaky, but he seems to rise to the occasion in the playoffs. On Sunday, he shot 4- for- 4, including a couple of inside shots over huge Zach Randolph, and played excellent defense on bigger and smaller opponents.
The Warriors would seem to be in trouble if Andrew Bogut and Green get in foul trouble, but they got in foul trouble Sunday and the bench performed nicely.
Come on, we have to try harder. Here’s one: For whatever reasons, Curry and Thompson still can’t get to the freethrow line. Are they getting Rodney Dangerfielded by the refs?
The two original Splash Brothers took a combined 34 shots Sunday and were awarded two free throws. James Harden gets more than two free throws from being fouled during warm- ups.
The Warriors did have one defensive lapse Sunday. They let Memphis guard Tony Allen slip onto the floor during a timeout and tromp through a dance routine by some kids. The crowd booed Allen relentlessly the rest of the game. Allen will go on national TV Monday night with Oprah and apologize.
Look, this series could turn in a heartbeat. Strange things can happen. The Warriors can’t play this well every game through this series and two more. Their flaws will be revealed and exploited.
But that’s five wins down and 11 to go, and time is running out.