Facing 1-0 deficit, Warriors see no need to panic
If the Golden State Warriors needed a group therapy session after their seemingly calamitous loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference finals, they had plenty of options for the role of lead psychiatrist.
They could go with coach Steve Kerr, the five-time champion as a player whose title teams all lost at least one home playoff game during their respective runs. They could ask Steve Nash, the future Hall of Famer/Warriors player development consultant whose Phoenix Suns started their 2010 postseason with a home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers before reaching the conference finals.
Or, of course, the defending champion Warriors could ask themselves. After all, their 2015 crowning took place after they overcame 2-1 series deficits to the Memphis Grizzlies (in the second round) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (in the Finals). Save for the 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers, who established the playoff gold standard by going 15-1 en route to the title, adversity is hardly atypical at this time of year.
“We’d prefer to go 16-0 in the playoffs and win the championship with 30-point games every time,” Kerr said after his team’s practice Tuesday. “(But) the reality is this is what it’s about. I was part of five championship teams as a player, and it was never easy.
“There’s a reason we pour champagne on each other’s heads when we win. It’s hard, and it’s a grind, and this is a great reminder of that.”
But if anyone wondered how the Warriors unwound in those post- Game 1 hours, when that proverbial panic button was just begging to be punched after the 108-102 loss Monday, they weren’t sweating it. To hear Draymond Green tell it, they’re happy to be in this position.
“There wasn’t (any) postgame message,” said Green, who had 23 points, five rebounds and four assists in Game 1. “I saw Steph (Curry) after the game. He smiled and said, ‘We ain’t been here before.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I know. I like this. This will be fun.’
“If you can bounce back from something like this, it makes it all the more sweeter. I’m relishing this opportunity. This is where you see what you’re really made of. This is where you bounce back and everybody is against you and don’t think you can do it and blasé blasé. This is where it gets fun.”
Or if they don’t pull off Game 2 Wednesday that is unofficially a must-win, maybe not. According to Elias Sports Bureau, 243 of the 260 NBA teams that have gone down 2-0 in a seven-game playoff series went on to lose (55 of 59 in conference finals matchups). And based on the last two weeks, no one should be doubting the Thunder’s ability to get that job done.
While much has been made of the fact that the Warriors haven’t faced a 1-0 series hole in the last two postseasons, Game 1 said more about Oklahoma City than about Golden State. From their Game 2 win against the San Antonio Spurs on May 2 to the victory against the Warriors on Monday in which Oklahoma City survived a combined 17-for-51 shooting night from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the Thunder have won five of six games against two of the most dominant regular-season teams of all time.
Slaying the Spurs, who won a franchise-record 67 games in the regular season only to be shown the door so abruptly, was no small feat. Consider this: Of the 10 teams that won at least 67 games in the regular season, eight went on to win the championship (the 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks were upset in the first round by the Warriors; the 1972-73 Boston Celtics lost to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals).
The Thunder revelation, of course, is that this team is about much more than its dynamic duo. Steven Adams is fast becoming one of the best big men in the league. Enes Kanter, the efficient scorer who was a legitimate candidate for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award, is no longer a defensive disaster. Dion Waiters, once considered a wild card by every measure, has become a reliable, versatile and valued reserve.
In his heart of hearts, even Thunder general manager Sam Presti would have to admit some surprise at how quickly they’ve all come together.
“The other guys are playing better,” Green said. “KD didn’t play well last night to KD’s standards; Russ didn’t play to Russ’ standards. Yet they won the game because the other guys are playing better. So that’s something that we’ve got to take care of and make sure that everybody else is not getting off and having really good games. I mean, you can’t expect KD 10-for-30 every game and Westbrook 7-for-21, but we can do a better job with the other guys.”
If not, the Warriors might need a hoops therapy session after all.