Warriors lay smackdown on Pelicans to remind them of their place
Warriors lay smackdown on Pelicans to remind them of their place
DON'T TALK TRASH TO THE CHAMPS!
The Golden State Warriors overcame the New Orleans Pelicans last night 120-109 in a see-saw battle that reeked of playoff intensity.
Let me share with you my running diary of how this bad boy was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish.
ARE THE WARRIORS TRASH OR NOT?
The Pelicans came out hot, showing the confidence and exuberance of a team riding a five game win streak. These birds are a pretty versatile team, with the ability to play different styles. They’ve got the big veteran center Jonas Valancuinas at 6-foot-11, 265 pounds to play bully ball. They’ve got long athletes with legit shooting ability who are at least 6-foot-6, like Larry Nance Jr., Josh Richardson, Trey Murphy III, and Herb Jones.
And they have C.J. McCollum, an explosive scorer in his own right who once put up 41 points on the Dubs in a playoff game. AND they’ve also got certified All-Star in Brandon Ingram, who is a supreme shotmaker with height at 6-foot-8 who can get into scoring rhythms that feel positively unstoppable at times.
That’s why they’ve inserted themselves in the playoff picture right on Golden State’s heels despite their best player, the electric wrecking ball Zion Willliamson, only playing 29 games this season with injuries. Coming into this pivotal contest, New Orleans had a record 38-37 while the Dubs were 39-37. And after GSW blew a very winnable contest in the fourth quarter at home against the 39-37 Minnesota Timberwolves, this game had direct playoff implications.
Normally during the Golden Empire’s iron grip on the league’s throat, you could count on them to rise to the occasion anytime a game was actually serious. This season? Ehhhhh.
Some combination of injuries, rotational questions, and downright boredom have kept these Warriors from consistently being THE WARRIORS we know and love. The ones who open the floodgates in the skies and unleash a devastating flurry of splash that sweeps their opponents out into deep water, never to be seen from again.
This year it’s more like, damn they were up double-digits in the fourth quarter and had eight straight inexplicable turnovers and lost? AGAIN??
So last night, when the Warriors were down 33-25 in the first quarter with four seconds left to go in Chase Center, I was like hmmm Pelicans sure look spry for being on the second night of a back-to-back. Oh well, let me grab a quick snack during this commercial break because nothing could possibly go wrong here.
That’s when that weird, ominous feeling started to creep in about whether or not this Dubs’ season has been cursed. That feeling bubbled up even more after Draymond Green trucked Ingram on a drive and got a flagrant foul…and then a double-tech on both players as Green boiled.
Ingram made both free throws to push New Orleans up to 52-41 with 3:44 left. By the time the halftime buzzer mercifully sounded, the Pelicans had pushed the lead to 63-46! The home crowd was nauseous watching New Orleans run GSW off the floor, probably wrestling with the looming fear that maybe this Golden State team doesn’t have that “IT” factor right now.
THE WARRIORS ARE ACTUALLY TERRIFYINGLY GOOD
But in the third quarter, those championship tested Warriors began to turn the tide, starting with a phenomenal highlight from Donte DiVincenzo to score the first bucket of the second half for the Dubs.
Halfway through the quarter, McCollum got called for a flagrant foul for running through DDV, and the Warriors’ guard was NOT having it.
STAND UP FOR YOURSELF DDV! Suddenly it became clear that the Warriors were activating psychological warfare; trash talking the Pelicans to show that no matter what the deficit was New Orleans wasn’t on the champs’ level. Golden State finished the third quarter outscoring the visitors 39-26, bringing the score to a 89-85 deficit.
And that’s when the Warriors took over with an onslaught of highlight reel plays and inspired defense.
Yeeaaah, that’s what the Warriors I know look like. True grit, defensive intensity, joyful camaraderie, and preposterous shotmaking that rips the soul out of a once feisty team. Keep it going gentlemen, the season only has five games left for the Dubs before the real show starts. Let’s make sure we get in there, and then do what we do: WIN IT ALL BABY!
Okay, there’s a new thread up for your general discussion. I have fixed the issue with comments…
https://dubnationhq.com/p/2022-top-10-warriors-celebrations
Two part question. 1. Who is your favorite active player not on the Warriors (and not really associated with the Warriors)? 2. Who do you guess everyone else will say?