Before I begin the recap, allow me to explain to all of you why it is coming at you so late. I tell you this not to make an excuse for the lag in this recap (although that is a nice by-product), but rather to set the stage for the adventure that followed.
For some ungodly reason, I thought the game was at 4pm yesterday. I was so confident of this fact that I didn't bother to check anywhere to confirm. I simply knew it. It was only at just after 10am when YaoButta shot me an email to check and see if I was dead (because I hadn't put up the Open Thread) that I realized my error.
Now thinking that the game was at 4pm rather than 10am the following day... let's just say I made a completely different set of decisions regarding how I chose to celebrate Saturday night. Let's just say I may have had more than my normal share of... um.... Capri Suns.
Open Thread (730+ Comments - WOW!)
Whew! This stuff hits hard!
So as alarmed as I was to find out that I was missing the game (let alone one I had signed up on the recap for, let alone one of this magnitude), the best response that was within the scope of my capability was to roll out of bed and hit record on the DVR.
Problem solved. I'll check the game when the... um... Capri Sun... wears off.
Little did I know that DVR waits for no one. JUMP!
I'm not going to bore you with the work/family related details of the remainder of my Sunday, I'll just bring them up to inform you that as a result of said events, I did not get to watch the DVRed game on Sunday. The only thing I was successful in doing was to not check my email and to answer ever phone call I got with, "Hi I haven't seen the Warriors game yet so don't say anything!!!"
And it worked. While many of you were already mourning the loss of the Warriors to the number 1 team in the West (doesn't it feel better when I phrase it like that?), I was still going about my business with a sense of excitement, anticipation, and most importantly, hope.
I hadn't seen Peja's damn three pointer at the halftime buzzer yet. I hadn't seen Pargo light us up from the bench. I hadn't seen New Orleans' 37 point quarter and I hadn't seen CP3's first triple double of the year (which he conveniently chose to drop on us.)
And so I bravely ventured into work. How could I possible survive the day without someone talking to me about the game?! Especially with all of the Dubs fans I work with?! By acting like a jackass, that's how. (Trust me, it's not really a reach.)
Yep. I seriously started every interaction with anyone I thought was capable of keeping up with the Dubs by plugging my ears and telling them I hadn't seen the game so please don't ruin it for me. And while entering into virtually every conversation like this (many with executives of the company) may have damaged my professional career a little bit, everyone was respectful enough to not talk about basketball around me. The closest that anyone came was talking about Denver's loss in double overtime to the Sonics, a slip that didn't bother me in the least. Especially considering the weight of the news.
As I'm packing up for the day it fell on me like a ton of bricks. A good friend who, to his credit, had no way of possibly knowing what was going on walked by my desk and said,
"What's up with your Warriors?"
BONK. The sound of my head hitting the desk. Frankly, I can't believe it lasted as long as it did. But now you know why this entire recap has been less about the actual game, and more about the story of how I tried to shield myself from the score. Because it's really really really hard to watch a game like this when you know what's going to happen.
Even as I write this, the 4th quarter is playing out in front of me. And short of some horrendous shooting from deep, the Warriors have done a pretty good job of keeping New Orleans within striking distance! Well, rather Monta has done a pretty good job of keeping us within striking distance. Oh... Peja just nailed a three. This must be what starts the collapse. See?! YOU SEE?!!
In the end, it's my own fault. What was I thinking?! The Warriors are in the middle of one of the tightest 7, 8, 9 races for the final playoff spot I've ever seen and I was naïve enough to think that people around me wouldn't be talking about every move they make?! Maybe I'm not used to it. Maybe I'm not used to people caring; bandwagon or not. But I have learned one thing for sure:
The DVR waits for no man.
Observations from the Game:
* Someone is going to want to pay Monta a whole lot of money to play for their team after seeing him play the way he just did. It better be us. The Monta secret is officially out. He's not just good on the Warriors. He's good. Period. We've always known it. Now the rest of the world is starting to realize it.
Truth.
* Not to gush on Monta too much but it was impressive the way he played in the 4th with 5 fouls. He's starting to pick up some veteran's savvy.
* Boom put together a respectable showing but he lost this point guard matchup hands down. CP3 was lights out. Props to him on his triple double.
* Pargo = Warrior Killer
* Beans was excellent on the glass with 15 boards, 6 of them offensive. I'm really starting to dig his rebounding consistency.
* Holy crap. Thank god Denver lost.
* Anyone realize that if we manage to grab the 8 spot we may very well end up playing New Orleans? Thoughts on that? Anyone? Bueller?
So here we sit... grateful that Denver blew their game but still as vulnerable as can be. And while I regret the fact that I didn't get to see this game in real time, there is one thing I can't possibly regret. This endless feeling of anxiety and suspense we all have right now for tomorrow's game against the Kings?! I've only been feeling it for a few hours. How you guys have made it 2 days is beyond me.
Holy Monta Batman. Seriously at times it really felt like Monta was keeping us in this game. His midrange jumper is textbook, he can score at will with his quickness... I'm scared to think of what kind of player Ellis is going to be when he actually peaks!