4/82 L Suns 105-134
5/82 W Heat 123-110
6/82 L Hornets 113-120 in OT
7/82 L Pistons 114-128
The Warriors are in the middle of a 5 game roadtrip and it’s not going great. When they left San Francisco, Coach Kerr said that the team was looking forward to the bonding time, but then he’s also said before that being on an NBA team is like being on a submarine with 60 people, which is not my favorite way to bond. Look, I could talk about all the things the Warriors are doing wrong – too many fouls, not enough defense, the Klay ejection–but that’s not what interested me about this week because I’m still thinking about homecomings.
Charlotte was the homecoming game for Steph who grew up in Charlotte and then went to college at Davidson, 22 miles away. His dad Dell is the color announcer for the Hornets. The Charlotte trip has always been a big deal for Steph. It kinda showed. Curry throws up errant shots if he’s gotten fouled or if time is running out but he generally takes a moment looking for the best shot for him or his teammates. At 107-107 with time getting low and Steph with the ball, you could feel how much he wanted to have the buzzer beater. You could feel him move out of the moment and into the future where he was already celebrating his winning shot. It got ugly. To his credit, in his post-game conference he admitted that he was playing “hero-ball” and it hurt the team.
And then the night after the Warriors played in Detroit. A homecoming game for Draymond (Saginaw/MSU) and a reunion for Poole (who grew up in Milwaukee but went to Michigan). On paper this should have been an easy win but the Pistons had the Warriors on the ropes from the start and at one point were up by 19. The Pistons. Who, in theory, are nowhere near as good as the Warriors but they are the type of bigger more physical team that the Warriors struggle with. Draymond had his worst game of the season, getting 4 fouls early and having to sit for much of the game. Maybe the homecoming got to him too? So much of it is a mental game.
Jordan Poole did much better with his homecoming. He had a stretch where he had 12 points in 52 seconds. This is the only time that the Pistons and the Warriors play and also the only nationally televised Pistons game all year so I took in all the Michigan alumni joy I could with Poole, Livers, John Beilein (their college coach now with the Pistons) and Jalen Rose watching from the sidelines.
I’ve been waiting to see Isaiah Livers play since March 2021 when he was injured during the Big Ten Tournament. Poole and Livers are my favorite Michigan players from the last decade and I had an ear-to-ear grin every time they were on the floor. They were college roommates then and still close friends. Poole left for the NBA after his sophomore year, which at the time was seen as foolish and that he needed at least another year in college. Livers stayed all 4 years but had significant injuries in his junior and senior years and spent his first year in the NBA either injured or in the G League. Their journey from then to now is pretty amazing.
What was 4 years ago like?
On the court, it’s easier to imagine their current situations. But take a look at this interview for a few minutes. These are two goofy sophomores giving each other a hard time about who hates scary movies and who is neater. College roommates. The people who knew you when. Back when all you had was potential. I don’t know about you, but when I was a sophomore I did and said and acted in all kinds of foolish ways and was sure I was right all the time. And my friends, they loved me anyway. Maybe today is a good day to text your college friends for no reason and have a mini reunion. Maybe today is a day when the Warriors will get a win on the road.