54/82 W Los Angeles Lakers 128-110
55/82 W Charlotte Hornets 97-84
56/82 L Denver Nuggets 103-119
57/82 W Washington Wizards 123-112
58/82 W New York Knicks 110-99
59/82 W Toronto Raptors 120-105
60/82 L Boston Celtics 88-140
61/82 W Milwaukee Bucks 125-90
62/82 L Chicago Bulls 122-125
63/82 L San Antonio Spurs 113-126
64/82 W San Antonio Spurs 112-102
Warriors Record: 34-30
Wizards Record:11-54
Two days ago I was overjoyed. The Wizards won their second game IN A ROW, after not winning all of February. I could feel the wins coming. Just ask my parents, who have heard me say every day for weeks now that the Wizards are much better but they aren’t winning yet. They had yet to bridge the gap between what is possible and what is. But back to being overjoyed. Shaking my fist in the air, eyes tearing up a little. The next day my Oura ring said “your heart rate was elevated last night. Could it be something you ate?” No, Oura ring, it wasn’t sugar before bedtime - it was the Wizards and their win streak keeping me up.
It’s a curious thing. Even though I started watching only to see Jordan Poole, I have grown to love this group of players, to know everyone on the roster, to know their strengths and weaknesses, to question their decisions, to cheer their victories, even when their victories don’t end up in wins. Of Anthony Gill, who almost never plays, but is universally described as the best teammate. Of Tyus Jones, his one-handed runner, his stunning assist to turnover ratio, his adorable son on the sidelines, of Corey Kispert, his 3 point shot and his tendency to wear suits. Of Bilial Coulbaly’s rapid adjustment as a rookie. And moreover, their increasing ability to play as a team, at first only for short stretches of time but now for longer. It has been the biggest surprise. Of course, Jordan Poole led me to watching the Warriors but that made its own sense - watching a team with many stars that is always in playoff contention in the place where I live. But the Wizards are also a compelling story and I might be the only person on the West Coast to see it. There are a lot of parallels between the two teams, even though they have very different floors and ceilings. Both have yet to figure out a consistent starting or closing lineup, both have had to get better on defense, both play much better in transition and want to push the pace at every opportunity. Both have short guards on expiring contracts who never turn the ball over.
And both have star players who are adjusting to unexpected roles in Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole. Neither one has experienced the season they were expecting when they started in October. Thompson was coming off one of his best seasons ever, anticipating a return to his All Star form. And Poole was described as the leader of the team, and assumed to be the highest scoring player on the Wizards.
But by the time the All Star Break was over, both players were coming off the bench. The 6th man. Trying not to see it as a demotion.
Changing Roles
Klay and JP have a lot in common. Both have had to adjust to a new position even before they came off the bench. Klay is no longer guarding guards. The Warriors play positionless basketball which for the most part is another way of saying they rarely have a center and sometimes they play four guards and their forwards aren’t tall enough to be forwards like the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Timberwolves but they aren’t fast enough to be guards.
That’s where Klay sits now. He can be counted on to guard a wing pretty efficiently. He can be a shooting guard when he’s on the floor. But in the past he was almost entirely a catch and shoot guard who was never asked to get shots for his teammates. Now getting looks for his teammates is an important part of his game. He is an older dog learning new tricks.
Jordan Poole’s role on the Wizards never looked right. Although the ball was technically in his hands a lot of the time, he wasn’t the point guard (where he is comfortable and at home). And once the ball left his hands he rarely got it back. Case in point: in a recent game against the Cavaliers, with JP on the floor with the second unit, they got to a 6 point lead with 8 minutes left. Having a lead in the 4th is not a typical experience for the Wizards. The rest of the starters came in, JP didn’t get another shot off and Wizards lost. It’s more egregious than that because he never had anything close to a look at a shot. He brought the ball past half court a handful of times but as soon as his first pass was made, he never saw the ball again.
His role not only changed, but it was unclear for the first 50 games. He was not involved in the action, relegated to waiting outside the three point line, often in the corner. It’s strange to bring a young guy over because of their skill set and then ask them not to play to their strengths. Why would a team do that?
Now that he’s off the bench (and more appropriately, with a second unit that will attempt to get the ball back to him), he’s been playing better. Not just a little better - a lot better. Multiple 30+ games, increased assists, steals and blocks.
Klay is playing well off the bench too. He recently said that he likes coming off the bench because he can see how the game is going and see what’s happening on the court before he enters. I believe half of that - I’m sure Klay would rather start but I appreciate his positive slant.
The question of “will they start if someone is injured” has also been answered - probably no. When the Wizards had two starters injured, JP was in the second unit. The Warriors had Wiggins out and Klay was with the second unit. Against the Knicks, three 21 year olds started over Klay - Podz, Moody and Kuminga. And they did great, especially Moody, but that’s still a tough pill to swallow. “Oh wait - I’m always never starting? Ok, ok, cool, cool, cool.”
“He’s washed”
Both get the lion’s share of criticism from the fan base and from the noise beyond the fan base. The Warriors are the most watched basketball team and every little move is scrutinized. Fans have a lot of love for Klay and a lot of (misplaced) disdain for Klay. He’s a drag on the team, he mopes, he’s stubborn, he’s arrogant etc etc. Near constant calls to trade him for the first half of the season. It makes sense that Klay - an All Star, a Hall of Fame player on the most watched team–gets a lot of commentary about him - more people are watching. They see when he kicks a chair and when he cheers his teammates.
But JP also gets a tremendous amount of national media and social media attention even though the Wizards have no national presence. Two games on national tv all year. And yet, clips of every single mistake JP makes are all over youtube the next day. Slip on the floor? Watch the clip. Bounce the ball off a foot? Watch the clip. Get a franchise record off the bench? Crickets. The national audience really likes to see him fail and then broadcast it.
Quirkiness
I have no idea what their real life personalities are like, but their public personalities are similar. They have both said they are introverts. They both do their own thing. Klay is a chess player, devoted to his dog, to swimming in the San Francisco Bay, to boating and biking to practice, to knowing random facts. He has a limited social media presence which is mostly occasional videos of him talking while on his boat on the way to work. Like this one from last week:
JP has said he’s into nature, walking around taking pictures, his cats. In college his teammates said he would watch hours of Animal Planet in the hotel room. They are both flashy on the court but subdued off of it. They keep to themselves.
Introversion can be read as snobbery or arrogance when it’s really just trying to preserve yourself. And being demonstrative on the court can seem at odds with being an introvert. But most of the performers and entertainers I know are introverts. They turn it on for the stage and then they turn it right off. JP and Klay are like that. In the wrong context it gets read as unconcerned with others. Those that know Klay describe him as the most competitive member of the Warriors and the one who is hardest on himself. JP is known for being the hardest worker, the person in the gym before everyone else, who is always looking at film. Here’s how he describes his approach: (the question he is asked is “you haven’t said anything this whole time…talk about that)
One of the many lessons of life to learn and re-learn is that none of it goes according to plan. Not the long term plan, not the short term plan.
When I’m not watching basketball, I’ve been slowly reading Pema Chodron. In the part I’m in now, she talks about letting go of the endless suffering of grasping after relief and of the freedom that can come in embracing what is, whether that reality is wonderful or challenging. The grasping after what isn’t is where the suffering lies. (You will never see Pema listed in The Timeout Books because it’s too deep to read during timeouts, but in case you were wondering the book is “When Things Fall Apart”). There is no difference I can see between what Pema is saying and when Poole says he’s trying to control what he can and let the rest go.
And in the last two weeks for Klay and Jordan, their basketball life has had a lot less suffering in it. Klay is pumping his fist, often for his teammates’ accomplishments. He hasn’t made a paper airplane in a press conference lately, but it’s coming. Poole is dropping dimes and smiling again on court. He’s coming off the bench and letting the work speak for itself. They are embracing reality as it is. Klay knows that trying to be an All Star player is keeping him from who he is right now and keeping him from enjoying this part of his career.
I’m no Klay Thompson, but I know a thing or two about doing everything you can think of to get back to the person you were. It is a fool’s errand. It is the fast track to suffering. I’m not trying to say that basketball is Buddhist - it’s capitalist. But there are some great truths to be found in sports and I’ve been watching Klay and Jordan work them out in real time this season.
On a much lighter front, Jimmy Butler starred in a Fallout Boy music video, which seems so perfectly Jimmy Butler
And bringing together all my worlds, Roger Federer made his first trip(!) to San Francisco and saw the Warriors. In 2025 the Laver Cup will be at Chase Center, so he was checking the space out. (In 2025 Chase Center will host All Star Weekend, the Laver Cup AND a new WNBA team starts!!!)
The Timeout Books: (books I read during the timeouts and halftimes)
A Game At A Time Playlist (the songs that pop in my head while writing this)
None this time!