When the Golden State Warriors’ notoriously fickle attention becomes fixated on an opponent, they can turn any contest into 48 minutes of fiendish torture. On defense, they choke off the other team’s preferred gameplan, daring them to adapt on the fly. They sinisterly abandon non-scoring threats on the perimeter to force opposing scorers to either pass the ball to a bricklayer or score over a wall of swiping arms.
The champs cruelly expose the emotional frailties of their opponent. Wide open players don’t get the ball because their teammates don’t believe in them. Playmakers are rendered useless as they get swallowed alive by the Dubs’ defensive aggression. Any turnover is instantly transformed to an easy bucket as the Warriors gallop the other way on lightning quick fast breaks.
Defense to offense pic.twitter.com/NPNJKXlH3z
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2019
That’s what the Los Angeles Clippers were destroyed by last night, in Staples Center, during Game 6. Did you notice the Warriors laughing and exhorting each other with each monstrous block, every cagy deflection, and each pass intercepted? This is what they live for: disrupting the souls of their opponents.
Holy Kevin Durant block! pic.twitter.com/Obf9xmYtd7
— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) April 27, 2019
We heard much in this series about how the Lou Williams/Montrezl Harrell bench attack was dominating the champs, and with good reason.
Lou Williams + Montrezl Harrell
— Brady Klopfer (@BradyKlopferNBA) April 25, 2019
Game 1: 51 points, 22-36 FG
Game 2: 61 points, 23-33 FG
Game 3: 31 points, 10-21 FG
Game 4: 22 points, 7-18 FG
Game 5: 57 points, 23-33 FG
Clearly the Dubs got the message and snuffed that whole concept out with authority. Game 6 stats for those two dudes were a completely different world.
Lou Williams: 8 points on 3-of-21 shooting with 3 turnovers.
Montrezl Harrel: 10 points, 5 fouls.
Yikes.
And yet, that’s not even the story. Today all anyone can talk about is the Warriors unstoppable offense, led by Kevin Durant’s 50 points, 38 of them in the first half.
Every bucket from KD’s 3️⃣8️⃣ point first half ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Gu9T7r6eXB
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2019
The Warriors have such a high potential, that we often take their wins for granted and freak out when they lose. Let’s focus on appreciating this is once-in-a-lifetime dynasty; the most devastating team in the NBA.
I expect they won’t have trouble locking in Sunday when they welcome the Houston Rockets to Oracle Arena.
Poll
Which has you most hyped going into Game 1 vs Houston?
This poll is closed
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23%
The Warriors offense
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61%
The Warriors defense
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14%
Respectfully lurking on "The Dream Shake" blog to learn more about Houston’s traditions and basketball culture
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