FROM OKC TO DALLAS TO THE WARRIORS PRACTICE FACILITY IN 24 HOURS, OAKLAND, CA — Dear #DubNation, the Golden State Warriors need you now, more than ever. Over a span of four days, I witnessed first-hand how the Oklahoma City Thunder’s home crowd helped feed the energy of their team.
Now, a splash is worth three points as compared to a dunk’s two, for sure, but typically it only takes only one dunk at the appropriately named Chesapeake Energy Arena to ignite a crowd. Some of you may disagree but, on average, it takes one-point-five to two three-pointers in a row to match the “en fuego”-ness of a fast break slam dunk.
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are two of the most freakishly athletic players on the planet, so it’s like they’ve got flamethrowers at their disposal as soon as a Durant deflection of a Stephen Curry jump pass leads to spectacular soaring Westbrook jam.
That energy feeds excitement which feeds confidence which, over the course of Games 3 and 4, led to unlikely yet timely catch-and-launch triples by “refined-Shawn-Marion-release” Andre Roberson and “Oh, hell naw” pull-up threes by Dion Waiters.
Hell yes, those went in.
Remember how demoralizing opponents at Oracle Arena looked this season, as the Warriors missed a three, got an offensive rebound, passed the ball back out to Curry or Klay Thompson, and they reloaded and buried a triple right after?
First of all, the Thunder’s length have all but made those plays extinct, but anyways that’s the same look on the Warriors’ faces at Chesapeake after Westbrook bolted for the other rim and slammed it home like a meteor about to fossilize the dinosaurs.
Not to mention that whole Draymond Green kick of Steven Adams in the groin. Look, Green is not a bad guy. He felt bad. You could see it in the postgame moment:
?TROPHIESˢᴹ ? | TRAILER: @Money23Green has a moment with @RealStevenAdams after Game 3.https://t.co/gk8G65wg4U
— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) May 23, 2016
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Thing is, you could see it during the game. The missed layups, the missed defensive assignments. Everything fell off a cliff after that flagrant foul call which, at the time and not given all day to dissect, seemed a bit excessive.
Then the day after, the waiting to be suspended or not. When the ruling came down that Green wouldn’t be suspended, but that another Flagrant One would force an automatic one-game suspension, there was no doubt Green would have to dial his emotions down a notch for Game 4.
How do you play an NBA game with, “Don’t flagrant-foul this guy” pulsating in the back of your mind? You don’t.
To top it off, knowing you’re being hated on by 20,000 fans for something that was accidental.
Warriors fans probably don’t know this, and not all of you are on our Snapchat, but during pregame layup lines, Green was shown on the jumbotron. Just Draymond.
Boos rained.
Then they showed Adams. Cheers.
Back to Green. Boos.
Daaaaaaannnnnnggg!!!
How do you play an NBA game when you’re a marked man? The marked man! I know it was Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, but in my book, Draymond gets a pass.
As for Curry, well, he just missed shots. Tom Haberstroh of ESPN this morning broke the myth that Curry wasn’t getting good shots, that the length bothered his “locked in” trajectories:
When you make an embarrassing turnover that OKC’s high-flyers turn into dynamite and the crowd becomes piranha on the attack, that’s just mentally tough. I don’t care if you’re the two-time MVP. Makes me wonder if Michael Jordan would have flinched. Yeah, the Thunder’s crowd is that intimidating.
It’s time to return the favor, DubNation.
Remember when you arrived two hours before tipoff? Jason Richardson does. It’s time to believe, again.
Green said today the Warriors believe.
Marreese Speights believes:
#WeBelieve2.0 @Mospeights16 https://t.co/I0kojesbDt pic.twitter.com/vT6ts0c3si
— LetsGoWarriors (@LetsGoWarriors) May 25, 2016
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It’s #WeBelieve2.0.
So, DubNation, your Warriors are down but, as the cliche goes, they’re not out.
They need you, DubNation. Be ready. Sneak out of work early. Call an Uber to get to where you need to be, this one time.
Heck, head coach Steve Kerr needs you:
Coach Kerr has a message for you, #DubNation ? #StrengthInNumbers pic.twitter.com/Qm7t4cfM5a
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) May 26, 2016
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Whether you’re at Oracle — where doors will open at 4:00PM for the 6:00PM tipoff — or at home, watching on TNT, at a sports bar, watching over the Internet on an airplane.
Wherever you are, let your heart spill. Scream at the TV. Post it on Instagram and tag us, tag Green, tag Curry, the whole team.
For all the joy Steph, Draymond, and crew have given you these past couple years, tonight is your night to give back. The anti-73-win lynch mob is at the gates of the castle. They want to put a blemish on our legacy.
Give the Warriors everything you have, your 110%.
They need a pick-me-up in the worst way. I was there, fam. I saw the carnage. Put that light back in their eyes, DubNation. Make it epic.
Give them something they can bring with them to Game 6 back in enemy territory on Saturday.
He’s worried! You cut him! You hurt him! You see? You see? He’s not a machine, he’s a man!
— Duke to Rocky in Rocky IV
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWyoQy32olc&w=560&h=315](Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via NBAE/Getty)
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