“No one is bigger than the team. If you can’t do things our way, you’re not getting time here and we don’t care who you are.”
No, this isn’t head coach Steve Kerr describing how his team miraculously came back to win 123-119 over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night. Instead, it’s his former coach, mentor and friend Gregg Popovich illustrating how the San Antonio Spurs have achieved such unswerving success for the better part of two decades. What may seem like heroic coach-speak for some is unwavering truth for others, and Popovich has made his system the most desirable in all of sports.
-== 7 Reasons Why Stephen Curry is the NBA MVP ==-
Consistency breeds contempt, and the Golden State Warriors are nearing levels of such consistency, albeit in its infant stages.
The Warriors are labeled as Stephen Curry’s team, and for good reason: he’s on the verge of winning the Most Valuable Player award, his progression from frail rookie to unstoppable force is clear, and his team simply fails to function without him on the floor. He’s the team’s best player, and combining his unique talents with those of Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut and a cast of veterans give the team the perfect blend of talent for a championship campaign.
That mixture in addition to Kerr’s adoption of the “no one is bigger than the team” mentality is what makes comebacks such as the one that occurred in Game 3 plausible. Not to say it was expected, especially considering the decaying production of the bench throughout the game, the Warriors’ sudden loss of defensive prowess, and Ryan Anderson having the game of his life. The win was remarkable relative to teams not named the Golden State Warriors, a franchise so drowned in their torrid history that their ongoing historic season makes comebacks of that magnitude seem more like destiny than luck.
Outside of some other historic performances this season – Klay Thompson’s 37-point quarter, for example — Curry’s game-tying three with 2.8 seconds left doesn’t happen without production from others. Despite three quarters of stunningly sloppy play, the metaphorical switch was flipped, and with some help of their small-ball lineup the Warriors imposed their will in the final regulation stanza.
Curry and Thompson only amassed 15 of the 39 points in the final quarter, with only six of those points coming from deep. As was the case in Game 2, Anthony Davis was severely limited in the final minutes. Green – along with Bogut — did a tremendous job of bodying Davis, overplaying passes, forcing turnovers and making life miserable for the superstar. Heavy minutes aside, this is abnormal for a player of Davis’ stature, and fresh off a Defensive Player of the Year snub it was only right Green closed out on such a commanding note.
Green’s play on Davis had an adverse affect in other areas, especially rebounding. The Warriors collected 10 offensive rebounds in the final quarter, which would be acceptable for the totality of a game, not simply one quarter. Those rebounds led to 16 second chance points, highlighted by a Harrison Barnes putback dunk with 3:35 to go to dwindle the lead down to a measly eight points.
What proceeded was the rising stature of a growing Warriors team and subsequently, the collapse that makes a young team better moving forward. Despite Golden State’s heroic comeback efforts, Davis had a chance to essentially seal the victory with nine seconds left and a 4-point lead. Like Blake Griffin the night before, the game was lost on a miscue. It may not be fair to lay the entire game on the shoulders of Davis, especially given the plethora of mistakes made by his teammates – Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon, specifically – but Davis’ miss laid the groundwork for the greatness that followed and can’t be overlooked.
This isn’t the first time Curry’s heroics have surfaced and it won’t be the last, but this was certainly the most important of his already historic career. After Monty Williams’ team inexplicably failed to foul anyone in blue multiple times, Curry found the ball in his hands. The sweet science of Curry’s stroke failed on the first attempt, but as Green said following the game, “You give him two looks at that basket? In the corner? Oh man, I knew that was money when it left his hand.”
Curry proceeded to get mauled after the shot; a foul that reportedly would’ve been called had the shot not gone in. Regardless, it’s unfathomable that the Pelicans allowed Curry not only to hit the three with 11 seconds left, but also not have the awareness to foul him or even Mo Speights on the rebound following the initial miss. New Orleans, and especially Anthony Davis, will learn from such horrid late game execution, and it’s scary how much better he’ll be because of such heartbreak.
Curry’s gravity-defying three and the stills, videos and testimonies to follow will make the headlines, but it’s the contributing efforts of everyone that made it possible for such a play to happen. Like Popovich and the Spurs, the Warriors don’t care who you are. These first three games were hardly in the fashion they desired, but they stuck with their way, the way that led them to one of the best regular seasons in NBA history.
Like the very shirts that bled throughout the Smooth King Center on Thursday, the Warriors play on to their goal: an NBA championship.