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In a game in which the Oklahoma City Thunder scored 125 points (with Russell Westbrook scoring 34 points and Paul George scoring 38), only one member of the Warriors could consistently stay in front of anyone— assistant coach Mike Brown.
Unfortunately, Brown was staying in front of members of his own team, trying to keep them from picking up technical fouls and getting ejected from the game.
Brown’s first bit of “defending” came in the second quarter as he kept head coach Steve Kerr from really going after one of the officials after quite a few debatable calls went against the Warriors.
Just let Steve get the tech, Mike!
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 7, 2018
(via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/ohthDIBrCS
Kerr might have been looking for the inspirational ejection to try and light a fire under his team, but Brown saved the day and kept the coach on the sidelines for the rest of the game. Unlike the Warriors players, Brown stayed in front of his man (in this case, head coach Kerr) to prevent him from really attacking (the officials).
Steve Kerr picks up a T and he is still livid. Mike Brown stands up to try to calm Kerr down.
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) February 7, 2018
Brown also made a big play for the Warriors right at the end of the second quarter. Draymond Green picked up a technical foul after letting the official know he’d been elbowed in the mouth, getting quite angry because he was bleeding from his mouth. But Brown did his part and kept it from getting a whole lot worse.
Looks like Draymond got elbowed in the mouth again. He was heated at Holtkamp after time expired. Casspi and Mike Brown kept him from getting ejected.
— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) February 7, 2018
Now, Green was ejected later in this game after continuing to argue with the refs but that’s a whole other story...
That’s how bad this game was. The best Warriors performance was by an assistant coach who calmed people down and kept them from getting thrown out of the game.
If you made me pick a Warriors player I would go with Kevin Durant, who scored 33 points and did his best to keep the Warriors in the game. But his performance felt just a bit hollow and empty as the Warriors were blown out for the second time by the Thunder. If the game was a little bit closer, Durant might have received the nod from me. But because it was such a lopsided affair... I just couldn’t give it to him.
One thing is painfully clear— the All-Star Break needs to get here in a hurry, the Warriors need it and are desperately ready for it.
Poll
Who was the Warrior Wonder in the blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder?
This poll is closed
-
32%
Kevin Durant
(163 votes) -
5%
Stephen Curry
(25 votes) -
1%
Klay Thompson
(5 votes) -
3%
Zaza Pachulia
(15 votes) -
2%
Draymond Green
(13 votes) -
1%
David West
(7 votes) -
0%
Andre Iguodala
(2 votes) -
0%
Shaun Livingston
(0 votes) -
0%
Kevon Looney
(3 votes) -
0%
Nick Young
(3 votes) -
0%
Patrick McCaw
(3 votes) -
0%
Omri Casspi
(4 votes) -
1%
JaVale McGee
(8 votes) -
11%
Mike Brown
(55 votes) -
38%
No one— everything is terrible and nothing matters
(188 votes)