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Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Tampa, Florida
Age: 25
Posts: 15,777
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Playoffs, or a one-and-done, no longer the best scenario
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Even the hairs of Baron Davis' beard looked exhausted.
This was late Monday, after Davis had completed two basketball marathons within 27 hours. The Warriors point guard had played 95 of a possible 101 minutes in the back-to-back, down-to-the-wire games against the Lakers.
So I posed the logical question: "Are you tired?"
"Tired?" Davis replied, an edge in his voice. "No, I'm not tired. You want to race?"
Funny he should ask. Because right now, he has no choice. Davis is already in a race. Not with a lumpy sportswriter; rather, with expectations.
If you have driven past Oracle Arena this week, you might have heard a loud and creaking sound. It was the sound of the bar being raised for the Warriors. And it is about time.
We all can agree that the Warriors have given us our money's worth this season. As the NBA's highest-scoring team (and the team that gives up the most points), there has not been much dullness on the menu. Even the return of tall useless snail Chris Webber, who announced his retirement Tuesday, was exciting for a few days.
All right, for a few hours. Whatever.
For all of this excitement, however, there is one thing that bugs me. Over and over, I hear the following observation: Hey, these guys are so entertaining, it almost doesn't matter where they finish, or how far they go in the playoffs. They are just so darn fun to watch.
Well, yes, they are. But isn't that only half the mission? It is also fun to watch teams win and prove they are world-class competitors. If all you seek in basketball is entertainment, you can always go see the Harlem Globetrotters. In the NBA, the standard is supposed to be higher.
I understand that context matters around here. Long-suffering Warriors loyalists are still feeling lightheaded about the franchise emerging from its lost decade of horrible hoops. They are giddy just to root for a team for which April actually matters.
Last season, you might have shrugged at that and said, heck, the scrappy Men Of Lightning still tried hard. This season, that isn't enough. The numbers show this is a legitimately good team. If you take away the 0-6 start, when Stephen Jackson was serving his league suspension, the Warriors' win percentage is .671. That matches Phoenix and San Antonio, teams that should wind up being seeded third to fifth in the conference. And check this statistic: The Warriors are 9-2 in games decided by three points or fewer. No team among the playoff contenders has done better.
Last season, you might have shrugged at that and said, heck, the scrappy Men Of Lightning still tried hard. This season, that isn't enough. The numbers show this is a legitimately good team. If you take away the 0-6 start, when Stephen Jackson was serving his league suspension, the Warriors' win percentage is .671. That matches Phoenix and San Antonio, teams that should wind up being seeded third to fifth in the conference. And check this statistic: The Warriors are 9-2 in games decided by three points or fewer. No team among the playoff contenders has done better.
What, then, is a fair expectation as we move ahead? Better than an eighth seed, right? Better than just a first-round worry for someone? Let's ask Don Nelson.
"I don't know," the coach said, doing his best verbal mambo. "I'm not going to put a number on it or tell you what I think. You can do that if you like. But you guys kill me whenever I try something like that, if I'm wrong."
But the stakes have changed, right?
"Who cares?" Nelson said. "You write what you feel. . . . All I can tell you is we're just going to try to win every game. And I'll do whatever I can to win that game if it's possible. Then we'll move on. And if it's not possible, then we'll move on."
Oh, stop it. Just stop it.
Look, we all love Nellie. Good old Nellie. Smart, funny Nellie. Cigar-puffing, beer-drinking Nellie. But the whole passive-aggressive stuff only goes so far. It is a mite disingenuous to ask, "Who cares?" How about the 20,713 people who showed up Monday night? They care.
Underneath, I believe even Nelson himself cares. Never forget, this man owns pro basketball's most impressively melancholy record. Nelson has won more games than any coach who has never reached the NBA finals. Surely he'd like to get there once before he quits.
The Warriors are not finals material as things stand today. They are obviously flawed. But so is every potential playoff team in the West. That's why the standings are so tightly packed. If the Warriors get the right playoff matchup, they could avoid the teams they can't beat - Utah, San Antonio, the Lakers at full strength - and go deeper than a year ago. That ought to be the minimum expectation.
And what if the Warriors somehow miss the playoffs? That should be totally unacceptable. Their coach ought to say so. And Baron Davis should be tired of hearing otherwise.
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Playoffs, or a one-and-done, no longer the best scenario
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