88/82 W Sacramento Kings 120-100
89/82 L Los Angeles Lakers 112-117
90/82 W Los Angeles Lakers 127-100
“Look, maybe you had visions that this would be easy. That it wouldn’t take everything you have. That we could walk right into it simply because we did it last year. Well, that’s not how it goes. Nothing is promised to you. Not winning. Not starting. Not playing time. Nothing. Get over that and focus on what is promised. Us. It’s Just Us.
We are more than who we have been. We know who we are. We know what we can do. And I can promise you this, gentlemen, if you ride with me, I’ll win this for you. But not if we aren’t in this together. I’ll lead. I’ll even carry, but I cannot do this sh*t alone.” -imagined quote from the Steph Curry speech, before Game 7, ala Coach Taylor
Maybe you heard about it. The speech that the team continues to refer to in mythic terms without revealing the details. A speech where Steph inspires his team that is falling prey to its demons - lack of focus, lazy turnovers, the shadow of Draymond’s punch. The speech from the reluctant speechmaker.
Steph couldn’t sleep after Game 6. Neither could Draymond. They texted each other in the middle of the night which led to Steph’s decision to talk to the team before they left for Sacramento, saying among other things, don’t get on the bus to Sac if you can’t get over yourself.
Whatever he said, it worked. Game 7 was legendary, one to watch over again, in your mind’s eye, in your hard moments, to remember how the Warriors played together with focus and fury and made the season-dominant Sacramento Kings look like they didn’t belong, like they were imposters, like they should be sitting at the kids table. It was glorious. Steph was glorious. Getting 50 points in the game, setting a record for most points in a Game 7, snarling and swishing and smiling and dishing his way to a win.
I am trying to get off the roller coaster of We’re the Greatest/We’re the Worst but in this game, it’s easy to see a future that extends into June. It’s easy to imagine a parade. Though I’m determined not to get ahead of myself, I am going to anticipate the future Kings/Warriors games. The Kings are fun to watch, De’Aaron Fox is captivating, and the Kings won’t make these mistakes again - they’ll be ready next year.
Game 1 Lakers
I’m trying to learn from my mistakes. In the Kings series I got way too caught up - allowing myself to be tortured instead of enjoying what was happening. I stopped reading during the timeouts. I kept hitting the dopamine button instead, using timeouts to check twitter to see what anyone was saying about the game, or trying to find the right salty or sweet snack to shove in my mouth. None of that helped. That’s not what Steph does during timeouts. He sits. He breathes. He stares into space. He settles himself instead of adding to the chaos. When in doubt, follow Steph. I still couldn’t pick up a book for this game but staring into space was a welcome change of pace. And yes, we lost, but we played well, and there were a bunch of clear places to clean up. Klay shot poorly, Draymond got into early foul trouble and was off the floor too often - they won’t repeat those mistakes. The Warriors in general fouled way too much, giving the Lakers easy points from the free throw line and more importantly giving the Lakers a chance to set their defense. Maybe it’s all about the whiplash of going from one series to the next and the impact of extra rest for the Lakers. Either way, this is also shaping up to be a fun series, with many storylines to follow.
Game 2 Lakers
Oh the doom I felt on hearing that Looney was sick and and replaced with JaMychel Green. No Loon!? The bedrock of the Warriors, the 2nd best player behind Curry, the Rebound King. And JaMychel Green!? Who has barely played this season and although he has some weapons, he also fouls a lot. Since coming back from Covid and a leg infection this winter, he hasn’t looked the same. I was skeptical. But JaMychel Green wasn’t. He played his role, made threes, made space on the floor. After the game he talked about the impact of Steph’s speech on him, getting him out of his feelings and into winning however he could for the team. Shows how little I know. I mean, after watching all 82 games, nothing I saw led me to believe that I would be praising Moses Moody and JaMychel Green’s performances in the playoffs.
The other big adjustment was Steph played point guard, getting the ball into his heads first in case he could make something happen for himself. He only had 12 attempted shots-he had a record setting 38 shots against Sacramento. But his ball handling opened up space for Klay, Moody and the Greens (Dray and JaMychel) to get some easy buckets and some harder buckets (we all saw Moody sink a 3 over LeBron, right?). Draymond showed why he is so vital to winning - he was on Anthony Davis all game and took him out of it. Klay got rolling for the first time in a while and reminded everyone how exceptional he is. Klay makes those wild 3s, off balance, on one foot, jumping to one side. They look like ill-advised shots but when Klay’s on fire he cannot be stopped.
Even his teammates get star struck. Here’s JaMychel Green describing what it’s like when Klay gets hot.
This was an easy win. Easy enough that Kuminga got some minutes, and it didn’t matter that Poole was in early and silly foul trouble. Easy enough that Steph danced on the sidelines. Easy enough that once again, I want to get ahead of myself as if that win equals four.
All these series are chess matches and are all about how well a team can adjust over time. LeBron is an awe-inspiring opponent and the Lakers have much better players than they did during most of the regular season. Historically, Steph does not shoot well at Crypto.com. Klay will get to play in front of his friends and family (and his dad who is the Lakers commentator) - it might help or hurt him to want a good game that badly. Klay tends to play better when he’s nursing a grievance so maybe Barkley can say he’s washed up again. We have yet to see LeBron have a big game. He’s got just as much dog in him as anybody and he has hating losing longer than anyone else on the floor. As for me, I’m gonna try (again) to stay in the moment.
Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose. Go Dubs
What…you thought I was gonna reference Friday Night Lights without putting a Coach Taylor speech in?
Timeout Books:
The Spotify Playlist for A Game At A Time (the songs that pop up during the writing of each post)
Songs Added: Adele I Drink Wine, Theme from Friday Night Lights