Watching Warriors evolve sure to be gripping drama
When Draymond Green very publicly dressed down superstar teammate Kevin Durant late in a recent game, it seemed a sign that this whole Warriors’ experiment in world domination had gone awry. Perfect! When the Warriors lured Durant to a golden state last offseason, many feared that an organization that is light-years ahead of the rest of the NBA had sucked all the fun out of basketball.
A quick check of the standings shows that the Warriors are not 40-0.
They are not atop every expert’s power ratings. They are not the hottest three-pointshooting team. They are not out of Steve Kerr’s lax-defense-and-turnovers doghouse.
It’s so much better this way. A season without drama and turmoil would be like a soap opera without the female star being chained up in the basement.
Instead of sitting back and watching the Warriors bulldoze the rest of basketball, we all get to lean forward in our seats and watch them struggle to evolve and overcome their own collective massive coolness.
Going into a huge week of games against the Cavaliers, Thunder and Rockets, the Warriors face a mini crisis. Imagine if they suffer an 0and-3 week. Imagine if the ultimate team team gets torched by a trio of superstar soloists — LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and James Harden — all of whom will finish ahead of Stephen Curry in the MVP voting, by the way.
Halfway into the regular season, it dawns on the NBA that that you can’t just go out and buy a championship. You have to work through some stuff. You can’t Rosie Ruiz this marathon.
This is great news for the Warriors, who are now afforded the opportunity of showing that they are more than a busload of pretty faces.
There was a special magic in the championship run two seasons ago, and nothing will ever be quite like that. But a championship now, considering the challenges the Warriors face from within and without, would have its own magic.
If only they can somehow escape from that basement.