Dubb Dynasty is a production of iHeartMedia and the NBA.
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Joshua Steh Rother right in.
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Those were some highlights from one of the most intriguing what if teams in NBA history, the nineteen ninety three ninety four Golden State Warriors. I'm Israel Dutierres and this is dub Dynasty Episode three. It was just a couple of years removed from the run TMC Warriors, and the Doves were suddenly sporting a pair of fresh young stars
that led to a fifty win season. One year earlier, the Warriors got a steal with the twenty fourth pick in the draft picking up lightning quick guard Latrell Spreewell from Alabama in ninety three, Golden State would add Chris Weber. He was the number one overall pick by the Orlando Magic, but he would be traded to Golden State for the number three pick, Anthony Penny Hardock.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to report a trade. Orlando has traded the draft rights to Chris Webber.
To Golden State.
In exchange for the draft rights to Anthony Harroway and three future first round draft picks.
Tim Hardaway would set out the Warriors season recovering from knee surgery, but Chris Mullin, Billy Owens, and head coach Don Nelson were still on board, and the Warriors wouldn't have the sixth seed out West, playing some of the most entertaining basketball in the league before being swept in the first round by Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns. Yet, in familiar Warriors fashion, this success would be even shorter
lived than the run TMC team. Before the next season even began, rumblings of an ongoing feud between Weber and Don Nelson had reached a boiling point, leading to Weber the reigning rookie of the year, being traded to the Washington Bullets for Tom Googliata. This was despite Weber having signed a fifteen year rookie contract with the Warriors back when the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement was very much a
work in progress. The following season, the Warriors were terrible again, and Weber would go on to finish a Hall of Fame career in Washington and then in nearby Sacramento, where he had most of his postseason success.
Webber against Malil this fuss Water.
Meanwhile, it wasn't until two thousand and seven, a full thirteen seasons, that the Warriors would make the playoffs again. Within that drought, Spreewell's Golden State career ended after he reportedly choked then head coach PJ. Carlesimo. The team suspended him for what would eventually six eight games, and he never played for the Warriors again. When the twenty fourteen to fifteen season began for the Warriors, high drama was
still on the table. Maybe not quite put your hands on your coach's neck type of drama, but still plenty of potential for internal disputes. Remember Steve Kerr was now the head coach, and it was his first attempt at doing so at any level. There were still some Mark Jackson supporters on the roster, so it would have been
easy to maintain some skepticism. New owners or not, these were still the Warriors, And if this story was going to end anything like the last few Feeld Good Warriors teams, this right now would have been the moment the Splash Brothers era went haywire. You could see it playing out already. New coach affects, burgeoning teams chemistry, GM makes hasty roster decisions. As a result, Veteran Warriors say they never should have
changed coaches and won out. Curry traded to the New York Knicks just couldn't be the ending for Steve Kerr, not for a coach who, despite inexperience, knew the importance of building a culture. He learned it in part while visiting with Pete Carroll while he was coach of the Seattle Seahawks. He experienced it while playing for Phil Jackson
and Greg Popovich while trying to implement it. Kerr started by reaffirming the confidence that the outside critics were trying to damage with all the tension that could have dominated this setting. David lie says Kerr's approach actually was quite settling.
I think relaxing.
The number one thing he came in is he said, look, we have all the talent here we need. We don't need to run a hundred plays, we don't need to overthink things. Let's take a deep breath, Let's have a lot of fun, Let's enjoy one another. We have great chemistry and let's use that to our advantage.
The chemistry wasn't just from many of the players having played together the previous few seasons. It was the chemistry based in humility. No one cared who shot the ball, even though they all knew who they wanted to shoot. But as long as the offense was sticking to its principles and the turnovers were kept to a minimum, everyone would succeed. We've already established Kerr's first true test the benching of Andrea Guadala, and that was based in a humble star willing to play his role.
The hardest part about it was getting in my comfort level coming off the bench, which was very different.
But I was just trying to get it down for our team.
Godra a big shot Kerr and the Warriors would face another challenge just as the season was starting. David Lee, who'd been penciled in as a starter, wouldn't be available to begin the season. Technically having made two All Star Games, Lee was the warriors most decorated player at the time, and his story was one of the most heartwarming of the season. It just so happened to begin with a preseason injury.
And yet going into that fourteen to fifteen season, you know we're playing Denver once against things bad things happening against Denver. I think I'm going to go skiing out there anytime. But it's you know, coach says to me and stuff, Hey, you guys want to go in last preseason game. You want to go in for one last stretch here for four or five minutes in the fourth just to get some extra cardio. We looked at each other like, yeah, why not? Was work on a few
pick and roll options we've been doing. And either way, Draymond was going to play a big part in that season.
Whether I believe I would have been the starter and then Draymond would have played big minutes and probably finished some games defensively for us, but went in there and was scrapping for a loose ball with Farid and lunged and tore my hamstring, and I just remember being like, of course, I was the guy that had to volunteer to go get more cardio, but I set out the first twenty five games or something, I forget what it was, And it was one of the more frustrating injuries I'd
ever been through, because just when you think it's healthy, then you make a wrong movement, You're back to square one.
Okay, So that's one less all star talent the Warriors had to work with to start the current era, but that didn't do much to hurt the chemistry in which he remained confident because Lee's injury didn't alter the mentality of the team. It remained a squad knowing full well that an open shot from either of the Splash brothers was always a great option, but they were all so talented enough and smart enough to take advantage of a
defense whenever they saw the opportunity. Andrew Bogut might have been the best example of this team's puzzle pieces fitting perfectly together. He'd been a number one overall pick with plenty of expectations. His defense had been acknowledged throughout his career, but he'd only made one All Defensive second team. Offensively, Bogo would never average double figures in his Golden State tenure, but he knew right away that Kerr's offense was a great fit for him on that end as well.
It was difficult for me to have gone from Milwaukee to Golden State under Mark Jackson just because it was much more isolation based. I'm not really an isolation player. I like to play in the flow now. With Milwaukee, I was the number one option for a number of years and then number one, number two for a number of years, so I knew I was getting fifteen to
twenty touches right come to Golden State. I've got Steph and Clay Like I would be an idiot to say I want your touches, So I was never going to be the number one guy touches wise. But I also like to play in the flow of things. So the way we played under Steve was perfect for me because it was read and react stuff and it wasn't set play. We ever rarely ran We're going to throw it to this guy and kind of get out of the way and then go to work. We ever really did that.
You know, it was all out of the flow of things. And that's my style my basketball. I queue the way I read and react. Crammond's are same andres the same steps, the same plays as you know. So we had a bunch of guys that played that way and it just all fit in.
What luck by bog It is an excellent pass or playth Curry underneath another lay.
Up for step.
So I really enjoyed playing that role. You know, I knew I was fourth fifth on the picking order as far as touches go, and I was cool with that and no problem. I was trying to grab ten rebounds, block three or four shots. But I knew on the offensive end, I knew I still had a pretty important role and I could dictate the game by setting hard screens, you know, finding step off the ball, hitting guys on back carts, moving the ball, making the right decision.
I'll get looking for a catterp Hi the back to Kerman, reversing layup up and end.
That was just as valuable as times since I shooting the ball. So making sure that Steff has I knew if I got him, I'm realisticon of space extra and he usually gets it's going down.
Right, Usually yes, steph Curry doesn't seem to need any space to get off a decent shot, so creating open space for him would seem to be an effective way to execute offense. What was Keith for Kerr, and this credit should be given to GM Bob Myers for bringing in these types of players, was having players up and down the roster who recognized the same thing as Bogan. Finding shots for Stephen Clay would lead to fund for everybody.
There was Harrison Barnes, the seemingly egoist starter ahead of Iguadala, whose first little offensive skill set made him an ideal asset in Kerr's offense.
Us the bounds who moves inside.
There was the bench mob led by Iguadala, that included a young big and Festus a Zilli, a veteran guard, and Sean Livingston. The Brazilian road runner in Leandro Barbosa, and a stretch forward with spurt ability in Marii Spates too.
They call him Motherfuckets for reason.
It was a selfless group that Lee believes was the real soul of not just this team, but the blossoming dynasty.
Well, I think Andre very similar to Draymond was a guy that might not be now. In Philly he was quite a scorer, and in Denver times he was as well. But I mean just the things he brings to the team, as far as I'm not sure there's anything at the game of basketball he's not great at. He's a great passer, incredible defender with his length, everything he can do with the ball, he can be a point game essentially, can
play one through five and guard one through five. So that versatility he brought, and also his ability to come off the bench to start and to have no ego with that, and also his leadership in the locker room and his character. He did as much in the second half of my tenure there as any guy on the team as far as setting that culture and making things fun. Sewan Livingston didn't say a whole lot in the locker room.
Awesome guy off the court and spoke a lot, but in the locker room, wasn't trying to overshadow anything but talk about And I think you see it a little bit now with the Boston Celtics when you have some of these role players in Al Horford for instance, that like Al knows his role and knows exactly what he's there to do. That was Sewn in a nutshell. Sean wasn't the guy in practice. Ay what, I'm gonna go work on my three point stroke because that's what Stephen
Clair are doing. Sewn's like, no, this is my game. I know who I am as a player. I know where I fit in. There were Knights that he got twelve minutes, and he didn't get pissed because there were other Knights that he ended up getting twenty five minutes and was the reason that we won a big game. So he was the ultimate team guy and knew his role and was an awesome addition in the locker room as well.
Let me still pull up Jumper.
And then most Moe's one of my favorite guys. Mo is awesome. I mean, such a talented, picking pop guy, and he was a guy that gave us a much different look than having Boget at the five and would come in and was able to spread the floor at the five spot or sometimes at the four if we went big. And Moe was such a fun guy in the locker room and had a certain competitiveness and grit to him as well, but also would like get into it with other guys at practice, and we would have fun.
It would keep it competitive. I remember him and Draymond screaming at each other ten fifteen times in practice, but it made everybody better. It was in a fun like fun way to motivate each other. And he's the University of Florida guy as well, so we always got along. So all of those guys on other teams I think would have been starters, and that's what made our team so special. I believe that I would have been a starter on just about any other team after coming back.
But that's why I'm a firm believer that, like when you get to the top of top five teams in the league, which we were that year, a lot of it comes down to chemistry, guys sacrificing, and guys playing their roles, and you don't have four guys trying to take the last second shot. Instead, you're saying, Okay, we know we're going to play to our strengths and we're going to play the correct strategy. And that's why I believe.
You know, when we played against a team like the LA Clippers, and they clearly you could make the case that at least equal talent, if not more talent than us, that we were able to come out on top.
And I think that's the.
Reason that the dynasty took places because of what we had in that locker room, not only out on the court.
All that was left was to put sneakers on the floor to test not just the team first mentality and the roster fit, but to measure up against some of those best teams. Lead with reference.
Let's Curry off the hook, Hey, Curry.
Finding bugget the field goal, the foul.
Oh, I'd like to see more of that as the season goes on.
Ahse face from the Elbowl perfect.
Oh, he's been good where he is seven of ten and the Warriors have needed it desperately.
Raymond Greed, it's his third three.
If the first four look at a Draymond Greed at forty five percent three point shooting eighteen games in Kasoft couldn't save it, bulked steel, Dramond running down the guy to rip it down.
If there was a pressure to succeed, this group wasn't showing it on the floor. That relaxed, confident approach Kerr was implementing was much easier to settle into when you're a leader. Steph Curry was the embodiment of it. It allowed everyone to play to their strengths without concern. According to Boge.
It was your store humming and I think our defense was elite, our rotations were a lead bench was elite. Like it all just feeling so perfectly, like the roster construction was somewhat strategic and somewhat lucky, like you need a bit of luck in the NBA. You never know a guy's personality that you're drafting, fully, you never know a guy's personality that you're trading for. But I think they did a fantastic job of acquiring myself like high
IQ big that can do different things. Acquiring Andre high IQ perimeter can guard at an elite level, Drafting a Draymond who's a high end defensive player at the time and actually gave us more offensively than they thought he would. Harrison Barnes an athletic energy guy. You know, all those guys, bringing those guys in with drafting play and having stepped on the roster already, I think it all just fitting perfect.
They're going out and get most Baits, who was kind of like a you know, was a starter and then fell out as a role player on certain teams. We brought him in as a valuable backup, like you know, stuff like that. It all bubosa, you know, Livingstone injuries. You know, it was just every piece and when you look back, it's like the most genius set up of a roster. A part of that was guys like myself, Andre David Lee were at the middle to talent end of our career, right like we're in the bulk of
our career. We'd all had personal accolades on crappy teams. We'd all had pretty decent, big contracts. So I don't think there was the stress of I need to prove myself numbers. Wise, I can just fit into a role and then the organization is still going to take care of me.
If there were any concerns about how this new coach and his personnel decisions work on the court, they were stimied right away. You saw signs that the Warriors were one of the better teams in the league. Perhaps the most obvious of them was a sixteen game winning streak that started in mid November and lasted over a month.
Hurry three, yes, sir, well he just finished the game here this overtime. He's thirty four for Steph.
Sixteen in a row, ten in a row on the road, twenty one and two, the best record in the NBA, and the streak lives on and moves on to Memphis Tuesday Night. Only nine teams in NBA history to start twenty one and two or better.
Just before Christmas of that season, the Warriors were about to get a gift in the form of David Lee returning from injury. The two time All Star had recovered from a frustrating ham string injury and could have laid claim to his starting power forward role. Draymond Green had taken over the starting role there and flourished to the point where it was quite clear he was an ideal
fit alongside Stephan Clay. When it was time to reintroduce Lee, Kerr new maintaining the status quo was far more important than making sure Lee's career path picked up where he left off. Fortunately for the Warriors, Lee thought the same. Plus he'd already watched Bogit and Igwadala and others sacrificed for the greater good, so he wasn't about to break that pattern.
I remember Steve Kirk coming to me and saying, Hey, you know you've been out a while, and at this point we're like, you know, you know, twenty and four twenty we're a number one in the West. And he's like, you know, I want to talk to you. And I said, coach, I'll stop you right there, Like, the last thing I want to do right now is interrupt what we've started.
Let's keep the momentum going. And I'm a big believer that if I do the right things and I have the correct attitude here, because there was a point in my career when it was about me as it should have been. I'm trying to get a big contract, I'm trying to make a name for myself in the league. But if I do the right things now, I said, I feel like my time is going to come at some point this season.
Lee's replacement in the starting lineup was pretty much the polar opposite of him. Lee was this gifted offensive player who was effectively ambidextrous, was quick off his feet, and would struggle some defensively. Green was a defensive wizard who matched that iq with a physical style, but isn't the most talented offensive player unless you consider his big brain a skill. It made for a mutual appreciation and one that helped Lee lose any ego.
Draymond and I might be very different people play basketball very differently, but there was never a sense, and I'll give us both credit for this, there was never a sense where when we kind of transitioned and started playing smaller, there was never a sense of him being like, hey, I got you or me being like why is he playing not me? Instead, I think we both kept winning
as our I'm very focused. For me, it was an easy decision because I'd put up a lot of good statistics and had a lot of individual accolades, but a lot of the teams in New York struggled to win. And now we're really building something in Golden State that I felt like I was one of the cornerstones of. So all I wanted to see was for it to come true and for us to have a chance to
win a championship. So if that meant me playing more of a supporting role, if that meant me not playing it all, if that met me going back to being the starter, or whatever it ended up being, I just wanted to do as much as I could to help that process.
The Warriors were showing out to start the season. But after the break we'll examine one accomplishment that might be the most impressive of the entire dynasty. Okay, so the record to start the season was confirmation the Warriors would have a contender, and now Lee was back in place. But this team, with great chemistry, should have hit the ground running a bit, even if it was with a
new coach. Right at some point, you'd have to look for other reasons to upgrade this team from spontaneous to special, like say one player scoring thirty seven points in a quarter. On January twenty third, twenty fifteen, against the Sacramento Kings in Oracle Arena, the Warriors were thirty four and six and didn't seem to have a care in the world. Perhaps the most care free of those Warriors is Klay Thompson.
His game would translate similarly, as he was so low maintenance you'd almost never notice him until he's doing something spectacular. So when he entered the second half of this contest leading the team and scoring with a modest thirteen points on three of nine shooting, there was zero indication anything special was in the works.
Thompson fifteen a little more under control there.
I thought he'd rushed it in the first half a few times, but he made that little pivot and he's expecting Cousins to close.
He wasn't there, so he just went up and took a little jump shot a great defense. We're at the passing when he comes up with the steel. Wait, Tom said it it's his feet ending with three point drafts.
Good timing.
They needed that. He did it with defense first.
Right.
Tom said, triple yes, sir. They get me streaking waits streaking good.
It wasn't obvious even halfway through the third quarter that Clay was already erupted. It was just a matter of how many looks he would get.
I remember we saw him get it going on the third there and we come into the timeout and he's like, Hey, I want to run this play, and Steph you're gonna come. And Steph looks and he goes, David, we're not running any place. Every single time, go set a screen for him, and every time he's getting the ball, he's like, well, Quay, let's see how far we can take this thing.
Andrew bunker to the D two one right hand in hander.
Play.
He's got the count of elevation.
We had a old, old regrets and started to said three almost failings were so failing it he wants a heat check it. Cousins right now on five p five including three threes.
But that's a deep bunk, he shower beamons, oh Man, that's a twenty eight.
He's trying to deny play the ball barely in his hands and right in the bucket.
Thompson had nineteen points with just over three minutes left in the third period. This is where Steph's edict would prove Fighter Clay didn't need much time or space to create a flurry. Everyone on the floor understood the assignment, especially the space creators like Bogan.
Oh Man, it was just a blur, like you didn't realize what was going on towards the end of that quarter just because he was shooting the ball. It's such an amazing clip, you know, Stephan him, We'll see the two most notable guys when they give them those modes or those moods. All I'm trying to do is get down there and just hit his hit. Whoever's guarding him to give him space. That's all I'm worried about. I'm
just trying to get down there. Like he's made four straight, you know, wide pin down, just try to screen his guy, just try to get a little bit of a body. So this guy has to veer a little bit wider than he has to offer. Pin down, screen whack it's going in and plays six seven sixty eight, you know, so he doesn't need much room as it is so awesome to be on the floor when those things are going on and just a crowd.
I str's going to fight him. Eight three, he's gotten it his three.
Have you ever seen anything like it? And thirty seven in a quarter Lightstop saying I'm gonna paint that thirty seven in a.
Corn The celebration didn't stop on the Oracle floor, not if David Lee had anything to say about it.
And then I remember after the game going out and ordering thirty seven bottles in vodka to nightclub, and that's how many points together in the corner. I think we only made it through like two bottles as a group,
but it was it was definitely something to celebrate. I mean, what those those are like the times in your career where you're like, wow, I was just a part of something special and and I'm not sure if there'll be many performances like this or there ever have been, and it was so cool to be a part of it.
The best part about that night is just all my bucks were coming from my teammates. Man, they just kept feeding me the ball they want to see me shoot.
The Warriors winning formula was fully on display. While Thompson could pick his spots to be explosive, Steph Curry was regularly dropping jaws. With the combination of Kerr's motion offense, Steph Curry's mind boggling skill, and the high IQ of
so many of STEP's teammates. There were moments Curry's own coach couldn't believe his eyes, like the time he dribbled through and around four members of the Clippers just inside the three point arc, only to step back behind it and launch a perfect three pointer.
Curry flipsis behind the back.
Fire's a trick, a spectacular move where that's the long.
Just flear to the game.
That could be the greatest move I've.
Ever seen that Or the time, also against the Clippers, Steph worked the baseline with his dribble, then went behind the back twice to send Chris Paul into a break dancing pose on the floor. Carry knocked down the jumper for an all time career highlight.
Curry, you want shake the bow out of his boots and it's all Followay jump up.
You want to see a dribble move, watch this home coming out Chris. Paul takes it out under the basket and suddenly goes two times behind his back to leave Paul on the ground, and then finishes it off one to two. Paul thows down. Curry knocks down the jump shot, and the bench is loving it.
While the Splash Brothers were dazzling nightly, it was Draymond Green who was anchoring the Warriors elite defense.
Twenty one now another blocked by Draymond What defense by the Warriors?
The whole building waiting for Curry day.
He could defend any position, but more importantly, he could absolutely blow up in opposing team's play by either predicting what was coming or simply being so physical with his opponent that they can't execute.
Rest out of the shot. Clocket's down to three.
Raymond knows him.
Thence comes up with the steel That unrelenting motor also came with an unrelenting map, trash talking opponents, loudly, questioning reps, even challenging his own coach. Draymond couldn't help himself. It wasn't just part of his personality, it was part of his game, and it meant Green immediately stepped into a leadership role.
Well. First off, Draymond aboud to develop into a voice. He's always been a He's always been a loud tell you what, a king sky and I think that's what makes him so great. He's not afraid to know sometimes cross the line, as we all know, but I think you'd always much rather a guy that crosses the line every now and then than a guy that never gets
to that line with the efident energy and passion. So yeah, look, his first couple of years under Mark Jackson, he's even said he thought he might not even last in the league with the role that he was playing. They playing at the three at times, notably, you know, people saying he's not a great three point shootout as he played the three, he's too small for the four. And then cursionto that starting lineup, the Steve kerryear and the rest history.
And then as as his confidence grew. You know, he always had a loud voice, but then he started to be a bit more strategic with knowing that he's a big integral part of our of our group. You know, he was kind of the people of our group in a way where he'd be the one talking smack and going at guys. I'd always have his back, Andrea I would have his back. Was a domino effect as far as the way we patrolled the paint and police things defensively, and it was kind of us three that were managing
that side of things. Played did a great job as well in the perimeter. But yeah, I mean, he really grew into that role and became kind of he's kind of the barometer of the warrior's energy and effort. How he goes and what he does generally correlates into wins. When he's in his element and he's you know, talking smack, getting guys faces, pumping the crowd up, getting the referees, I think he's really engaged that way. I think it's more of a positive than.
In the game.
By the time the regular season was coming to a close, there weren't many questions left to answer about these Warriors. Steph was on his way to his first MVP award. Golden State had proven capable of winning in different styles. They were dominant at home, finishing the season thirty nine and two on the road. Perhaps their most impressive performance was a March win in Boston after being down twenty six points and doing so without much assistance from steph For Clay down the stretch.
Can you tie the game? Can you take the lead? Can you cap off the comeback? Stafford Bigadala does and ties it up. Do they have enough energy to finish it up?
I believe they do.
Staff has expended lot, Clay has expended a lot. It come a long way.
Raymond down the lane, he could do inside again.
Back to Draymond flip shot, No tim God, We've seen him do that all year long, follow a misshot with that tremendous intensity and wanting the ball.
The last lead four to three, the twenty six point deficit is gone.
That I was gonna be careful at that o'clock at three, I Ray down the lane, the laying head with a high fair out of a big shot, and he was we was grabbed and held and hustled all the way in there. Nice blade without left hand. Think about this. He wasn't Sheppard play here? It was Raymond's eleven. In the fourth it was Harrison with the lead lead and he get dollar with the big bucket there, It's it's a great signed team.
Once the Warriors finished the season sixty seven and fifteen, tied for the sixth highest win total in NBA.
History, Who is this team going?
Curry himself set a then NBA record for three pointers in the season with two hundred and eighty six. He also led the league in total steals, showing he wasn't just an aufensive tun In retrospect, there didn't seem to be any reason to question the Warriors, but doubt still remained. After the break, the Warriors go into the playoffs and experience adversity for the first time all seat. Will the
jump shooting team figure out how to fight back? Rachel Nichols has covered NBA stars since her days in Chicago covering Michael Jordan and the Bulls. She said the Warriors had clearly reached everyone's radar, and the season full of ridiculous highlights and accomplishments, but buying in entirely in the league that featured a Spurs dynasty still kicking and Lebron James back in Cleveland with a new supporting supercast that was a lot more difficult to do.
I think it was a little slow for people to really believe in them for a few reasons. I think because it hadn't gotten as much hype coming in. It was organic because Steph's ankles and injury issues had been such a story for that team over recent years. There was really an idea of like, yeah, okay, but at some point he's going to get hurt again, right. There were a lot of people who doubted sort of the way that they were approaching the game, the gimmick.
You know.
Obviously we heard had Charles Barkley on TV talking about them being a jump shooting team and the jump shooting team can't win an NBA finals, can't do well, that sort of thing. And frankly, the Warriors had a not great reputation around the NBA and with fans and everything that it was. You know, they're not sort of everyone jump on the bandwagon there, so I think it took a while. I think it was a sort of slow acceptance that this team is for real, but they certainly weren't.
Charles Barkley made that jump shooting team remark any number of times, but among the most memorable was the take he got off just before the playoffs, where he didn't include the Warriors as a top three team in their own conference despite having the best record in the NBA.
Is the best team the best team in the West, the same way you did it at these I think that I won't pick three teams.
Because like it's a fluid situation.
I think Memphis getting Jeff Green, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Dallas Mavericks.
I think those are the three best teams in the Western Conference. One more time. No Warriors, No Warriors. No Warriors.
Dismiss a team that has the best record on has is number one shooting. That's why I go to this number one in field bal Brand and garnished. I have said it's the exact same thing for sixteen years here. I don't like jump shooting teams. I don't think you can win the championship being good teams shoot jumpers.
But they're not even top three in your mind? Oh, because I like the big men on those other three teams.
Shout out to Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal there for trying to talk Charles off his rather archaic opinion. But Charles wasn't alone in distrusting Golden State. While the acceptance might have been slow, the warriors drawing power was especially strong. It wasn't just Curry wowing crowds, it was the collection of fresh faces doing it at a time when the challengers were a plenty. Whether it was Lebron in Cleveland or the defending champion Spurs or the mega talents at
Oklahoma City Thunder. There were a handful of teams prepared to take or keep the mantle as best team in the league. But the Warriors weren't building the resume of a team that would flame out in the second round. Mike Breed had been around the league enough to recognize a true threat in the NBA, and the Warriors had done enough in that regular season to convince him they'd be legitimate even in the playoffs.
It was just this crescendo that started to build early on. There's the noise, there's some of these wild performances, and it just didn't stop. And you could also see as the season went on how much confidence they had. You know, it's the old saying in the NBA, you got to lose in the playoffs first before you accomplished the ultimate goal. But they didn't seem to feel that way.
You know, why not us, why not now?
That type of attitude, But they backed it up with their play and just as the season wore on, you could see the confidence they had.
Steve Kerr helped develop that confidence from the start of his first season, and from about the h point of it, he had already begun to prepare his team for the next phase of becoming a champion. He'd already determined his squad had the potential to win it all, but he needed to get through to his team that it would not be this easy come the postseason.
When we got off to the start that we did and won so many games so convincingly, it was obviously we were one of the best teams in the league. So at that point, it's just, you know, can we get there now or do we have to go through the usual route of losing in the playoffs and heartbreaking fashion for several years before you break through. So that became part of our theme in the second half of the season. I mean I brought it up point blank to the players, you know, how do we avoid that step?
And we avoid it by doing X, Y and Z. You got you know, you can't skip steps, but what we can do is accelerate our process of doing the things that win in the playoff. That was a big focus in the second half of the year. You know, this team had been in the playoffs the previous two years, so they already had playoff experience. So it wasn't like I was preaching something that they weren't totally aware of.
But I thought there were there was a lot to get through to understand how hard it was going to be to go four rounds.
You know, four rounds, how about one. The Warriors were the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs and faced the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round, a team that featured All NBA First team er Anthony Davis in his first playoffs and Tyreek Evans, who happened to win the Rookie of the Year award ahead of Steph Curry back in two thousand and nine, and with seven foot Omer Ashik also in the starting lineup, the Pelicans could
challenge the smallesh Warriors inside. While the first two games in the series were a relative cakewalk, Golden State's first road playoff test would in the first possible opportunity Game three, five fifty they lead of the night, or the Pelican Tyreek Cats go starve and scottishes at the round they keep adding to it. The Warriors found themselves down twenty to start the fourth quarter. They were still down seventeen
midway through the period. Behind Curry, Thompson, Sean Livingston and the tightening defense, the Warriors were able to close to within five one o seven, one oh two, but Golden State only had seventeen seconds remaining. After a timeout five seconds later, Curry provided hope, we'll see a Golden.
State has anive year. Down five, Loren scot did look up to Curry or Thompson Curry, that's how they go by and Steph Curry hits a three.
Oh, they're not dead yet, two point game eleven eight remaining this guy.
Buddy, or what.
After Anthony Davis missed one of two free throws, the Warriors had ten seconds on the clock trailing by three.
Chance to tie it here for Golden State. Curry's got it, Curry, I'll let it go. The three cups up short, offensive rebound carry again and it's a time game. Two point eight. Heaven, we have all the time in New Organs.
That game tying three from Curry happened to come over the extended arms of both Anthony Davis and Tyree Gevins. The Warriors would go on to win the game in overtime behind forty from Curry, and then on to sweep the series in four total.
Group effort of me from Tod to Byron.
It's a special He'd enjoying my teammateson get back to open.
The jump shooting undersized Warriors past the first playoff test easily and announced to the haters that size alone can't beat this team. The next round would be about two words, grit and grind. The Memphis Grizzlies were known for it. Their home arena was nicknamed the Grindhouse. It was the type of team that could suffocate all the field good out of the Warriors, with players like Tony Allen, Zach Randolph, and Marcosol.
First playoff matchup between these two teams and what makes it very interesting a contrasted styles.
The Warriors were still proving they could truly grind, not just for a game, the grind in the style of Marshawn Lynch, over and over and over and over. After Game one between the Grizs and Warriors. A fifteen point Warriors win. It appeared Kerr had indeed prepared his team properly for what was to come. But the very next game, the Warriors were stunned, held to ninety points on forty
one percent shooting and a loss. Then in Memphis, per Game three, the Dubs put up just eighty nine and another demoralizing hell.
Memphis went back to back wins again. Instead at number one seed in the West at Golden Saint Warriors, the Grizzlies have a two games to one lead in the team that was the best team in the NBA all years. He's gotten touched in the gut.
Just like that.
The Grizzlies had home court advantage in the series, and the Warriors were looking like another field good story crumbling in the second round. Everyone on the roster, including Leander Barbosa, could feel that confidence was starting to waiver.
I could have seen the lach Rouino as a player, as a veteran, that we have a little question in eachy one of us on the next Dub dynasty.
I was passing Forks because he showed a few orvin break those and he literally was unplayable.
After that, It didn't feel in those finals, at least to me, that they were favored because Lebron being back in Cleveland was such a story, and he's the one who read the experience.
I remember all of us looking at each other in Game three and like at halftime being like, is this guy who's gonna beat us all on his own room?
Consider a great conversation as a player when you hear that you're being benched.
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