1) When the Warriors jumped out to a 21-2 record last season, head coach and former Bull Steve Kerr quickly squashed any talk of matching the 72-win Chicago club. His reasoning: “We had this guy named Michael Jordan on the team … What I remember that year is there were about 10 games where Michael just decided, ‘We’re going to win.'” Stephen Curry isn’t Michael Jordan, but as one of the most skilled players in the history of the game, can we agree that he is at least a close facsimile of the Jordan spirit? In the final six minutes of the game it felt like the Warriors were never going to lose as long as Curry had the ball. He made a three to tie the game seconds after being reinserted in the fourth. Then he had a no-look lob to Festus for a dunk; I mean, who even attempts that pass in crunch time? He then hit a step back jumper with Favors switched out on him. And of course he had that cold-blooded crossover three on Rodney Hood for the final lead of the game. I don’t know whether the Warriors will win 70 games this season, but I know they have that Stephen Curry guy and sometimes he just decides, “We’re going to win.”
2) The rebound Draymond Green secured to win the game is a pretty good microcosm of his NBA career. He managed to box out the bigger, taller, stronger Favors for the rebound, only to have the long-armed Gobert snatch the ball from above him. Yet somehow, through determination and grit, Dray was able to regain control of the ball, fending off the hands of both Gobert and Gordon Hayward. Three players with more “talent” fought him for the ball but, in the end, it was Green who made the decisive play.
3) Admittedly, saying you like watching Andrew Bogut set screens is akin to saying you’re a huge basketball nerd, but man, Bogut sets some devastating screens. His kinda-sorta illegal hip-check screen on Raul Neto completely freed Curry for the first bucket of the game. Who needs plays when the Australian big man can get Curry a shot all by himself?
4) Derrick Favors (23 points, 10 rebounds) got good. He showed some deft moves in the post and a decent mid-range jumper. He also moved his feet well on a couple of Draymond drives. He averages 16 points, 8.5 boards, 1.4 blocks and 2 steals a game and is 12th in PER. Favors is basically a younger, slightly less skilled version of Al Horford, and he’s locked in for $35 million over the next three years. Kevin O’Connor has done a good job with Utah’s roster. The Jazz are basically the opposite of the Kings. 
5) Uncanny timing by Shaun Livingston: his first three-pointer of the season gave the Warriors a one point lead with under six minutes left in the game.
6) Rudy Gobert is a beast defensively. Where Bogut is a good shot blocker, the French Rejection is a devastating one; multiple Warriors looked lost taking the ball towards the rim in the fourth. Once Gobert decides to just dunk the ball on offense instead of taking cutesy floaters and flips in the lane, he’s going to be an even beastier beast.
7) Sometimes Dray will eschew all sensibility and drive head down towards the basket for a shot regardless of who’s in front if him. He usually does it when leading the break. You can see him thinking, “I’m taking this layup no matter what!” Those drives, though reckless, seem to galvanize the team. In the third, Dray inexplicably went right at the Gobert Beast for a dunk. He got blocked, yes, but also picked up a (dubious) foul and mad respect in the process.
8) “Next man up” is the cliche sports mantra teams defer to when a key player goes down. The Dubs are a living embodiment of that refrain sans Barnes. The Brandon Rush Spectacular gave then 16 points in the previous game, and last night the Ian Clark Show provided 12 desperately need points in the second as the backup guard knocked down four threes on five attempts. As captain of the “Ian Clark will be a rotation cog” ship, I invite all of Dub Nation to join me.
9) Craig Bolerjack and Matt Harpring are pretty good on Utah’s telecast. At one point, the pair realized they had incorrectly complained about a non-foul call on Livingston and made a point to correct their mistake on air. I appreciate that.
10) On Kobe (as a Warriors fan): I went to college in southern California during the heyday of the Kobe-Shaq Lakers. This was before League Pass and Vine and Youtube so the only basketball I could get came from local LA broadcasts, which is to say I watched a lot of Kobe Bryant. I remember watching live the time he took the ball around his back, spun and jammed on the Nuggets. I can still see him carrying the Lakers past the Kings in the playoffs despite the curious case of food poisoning. He and Antawn Jamison both had 51 points in the same game, but I always knew they didn’t have the same game. Challengers like Vince Carter would try to take his place as the best guard in the league from time to time, but Bryant was always twice as good. Vince had an iconic nickname, but Kobe was all man all amazing. As a Warriors fan, I hated Kobe Bryant. But I also respected him. The Mamba’s announcement yesterday was a gentle reminder that NBA careers are ephemeral and should be appreciated. Remember that the next time Curry pulls up from 25 feet with the game on the line. “Nothing but net” eventually gives way to “nothing left to give.” Thanks for the memories, Kobe. (I still hate you.)
Great Article!
You do a great job of distilling the complex would of Warrior Basketball.
The Dubs are closing the circle on what it means to play basketball, from set shots and jumpers to dunks and now back towards set shots and jumpers. Generations brought up on isolation clear outs are beginning to see how the game was once played. It is interesting to see how they don recognize what basketball can be.
The attempted discrediting of Curry, Green and Thompson is humorous. After all how can they combine for over 60 ppg night in and night out with only assist driven open looks? Whip and Cut is eclipsing Drive and Dish.