A Meditation on Meaning (and Beating the Houston Rockets)

When the stars are out, the role players find meaning, and so do we.

In the competitive dusk that has followed the Warriors’ 2022 NBA title, reporters have repeatedly queried Stephen Curry to try to understand what he wants, what is important to him. As pundits have declared that the Warriors’ age and talent level lowers their ceiling, putting another championship out of reach, and the on-court results have grown increasingly mediocre, curiosity and anxiety about the contentment of the best player in franchise history is a natural reaction. Fortunately, Steph has repeated himself over and over again, saying that the only thing that matters to him is playing “meaningful basketball,” and that as long as Golden State still offers the opportunity to do so, he wants to be here. It would be very difficult for him to be more direct. But it raises the question: what is meaningful basketball? What does meaningful actually mean?

When the expectation is championships, then an average Thursday night game in March just has less meaning. And when a season must be finished without injured superstars, it can feel lost and wasted. But a game like last night makes it clear, there is meaning to be found every single night that the Dubs lace it up in the Association.

In Houston on Thursday, the Warriors were missing Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porzingis, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, Will Richard and Seth Curry due to injury. All those absences might have made it easy to call the game meaningless and not tune in. And yet, when presented with the chance at owning the Rockets franchise once again on national television, a ragtag group of former G-Leaguers, embattled youngsters and aging veterans rose to the occasion. They rewarded the fans’ loyalty and made the game mean something after all.

For each player on the roster, playing the Rockets meant something different. For some, it was a way to show to their onetime ally that leaving the basketball Nirvana of the Bay was a mistake. For others it was about answering the critics, taking advantage of opportunity, proving themselves or demonstrating that they aren’t washed yet. It’s possible to do all of those things in a losing effort, but the evidence just means more when it comes with a victory.

Given the relative health, position in the standings, recent record and available star power between the two teams as well as the location of the game, victory on Thursday for the Dubs seemed unlikely.

Golden State started strong, with a concerted effort to score inside. The Rockets have great defenders, but without Steven Adams their rim protection is lacking since Alperen Şengün is often nowhere to be found as a help defender. De’Anthony Melton was on fire early, scoring 10 points in the first seven and a half minutes of the game and helping the Dubs to a double-digit lead. Nate Williams also earned first-quarter minutes again and showed his natural fit in the Warriors offense.

On the other end of the court, Houston’s offensive struggles continued, though even without Adams they made the Warriors look small and were outrebounding the Dubs on the offensive boards to stay attached. But throughout the first two periods, when the Rockets pushed, the Warriors responded. As the Rockets started to cut into the lead at the end of the first quarter, Pat Spencer checked in and repeatedly abused Reed Sheppard to steady the Warriors. It couldn’t last forever, however, as the 10-point lead would evaporate just before halftime once the Rockets’ shots started to fall and the Warriors’ lack of elite scorers became more apparent.

Gui Santos did rescue some momentum back with a couple of beautiful finishes off the glass in the final minute before the break. Even with seven turnovers, though two of which were definitely not his fault when new teammate LJ Cryer relocated when Gui expected him to stay in place as a release valve, and going 0-for-4 from deep, Gui played another incredible game. He was a game-high +20 in a two-point victory, and played a team-high 41 minutes. We’ve previously highlighted Gui’s effort, intelligence, handle and speed, but Thursday it was his finishing touch that stood out the most.

He even had the highlight of the game by forcing Kevin Durant to touch the ground on a devastating spin move in the lane.

All things considered it was a good first half of basketball for the Dubs, as they limited themselves to only four turnovers and sent Houston to the line for two total free-throw attempts. They showed that this game mattered to them and that they were going to try hard enough to have a chance.

Then they started the third quarter with a turnover, and it seemed like things were going to immediately revert to the expectations from before the game. Instead, Brandin Podziemski got hot, Cryer hit a number of huge threes, Draymond even cut his way to a nice basket and the double-digit lead was briefly restored.

It was almost as if Draymond read my recap of the Lakers game last weekend. Cutting like that is the kind of thing that Draymond needs to do regularly in order to keep the offense flowing and stay on the court. It’s not as much about how much he scores, but whether he is a threat or completely gums up his teammates with his presence.

On defense Draymond also looked like a completely different player. Likely invigorated by playing the Rockets and Kevin Durant, he took on the challenge of being KD’s primary defender all night and expertly denied KD the ball for most of the game. Durant still managed to score an efficient 23 points because he is inevitable, but Dray’s energy and attentiveness dampened KD’s impact and largely took him out of the game. It was an inspiring effort and a timely reminder of the immense value of Draymond’s intelligence and malleability.

For the other Warriors, attentiveness became an issue at the end of the third and into the fourth. They failed to box out and repeatedly lost Reed Sheppard, far and away the best shooter on the court for either team, allowing him to erase the Warriors’ lead and briefly put Houston ahead.

Where a mentally weaker team might have folded, the underdog Warriors rose to the challenge, eager to prove that this game meant something, and an incredibly exciting game broke out in clutch time. It was the kind of back-and-forth stretch, with almost no break in the action and narrated expertly by broadcasters Michael Grady, Dwyane Wade and Candace Parker, that gives any game meaning no matter the stakes. A masterful ATO from Steve Kerr and massively clutch threes by Melton and Horford reeled in the Rockets, and a last-second Amen Thompson alley-oop wouldn’t go to push the game into overtime.

In OT, heroes were everywhere. Thirty-nine-year-old Al Horford won the tip and scored a bruising hook shot on a post-up. LJ Cryer hit a three. Podz went 3-for-3, scored seven points to reach his season-high 26 on the night, and looked confident and aggressive while doing so. Gui had three assists and three rebounds, including an offensive rebound at the biggest moment of the game. Melton had his cookies taken and briefly looked like he’d be the scapegoat, but managed to put back his own miss for the final lead. And Kevin Durant, one of the greatest players ever, missed two consecutive free throws to give the Dubs the game.

As a fan, having a team with magnetic personalities, that cares about each other and plays for one another, makes it easier to care. But the most important thing is that they are in competitive games. It’s the competition, the drama of all possibilities, that give us the adrenaline and dopamine that makes basketball worth watching. And it’s the wins, like one they managed to escape overtime with in Houston, that provide the satisfaction and validation for believing in this group of youngsters and oldsters, that prove our decision to invest our time was the right one.

All Steph Curry wants is to be playing meaningful basketball. He said as much last year after Game 7 in the very same arena. And maybe that doesn’t include the chance at another ring. But it sure feels meaningful when a two-way player returns to his college stomping ground, hits shots and fires up his teammates. It’s meaningful when a player who tore his ACL last season registers two dunks in a game for the first time.

It’s meaningful when that same guy gets a chance to atone for his sins and win the game. It’s meaningful when a veteran hears the criticism and shows their reputation is still deserved. It’s meaningful when an up-and-coming player seems to figure things out. And it’s meaningful when you come up against your biggest rivals in the west, who you’ve faced at every stage and level of meaning in your dynasty, without any stars to speak of, and beat them yet again.