In what was clearly the most compelling NBA game played this season—the Golden State Warriors with Kevin Durant sitting with a mild calf sprain–rode 33 second half points by Steph Curry to eliminate the Houston Rockets in Game 6 inside the Toyota Center.
It was vintage Splash Brothers as Klay Thompson carried the load in the first half with 21 of his 27 points. Splash Brother Curry had zero points in the first half and appeared to be bothered by an injured finger on his left hand which surely would have had Kevin Durant sitting in this critical crossroads historic game of sorts.
The narratives following this game will be immense. Some will say James Harden and Chris Paul are post season chokers much like the pair in Oklahoma City named Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Some will say Kevin Durant is still a cupcake and only has two rings because Steph, Klay, Andre and Draymond are the real soul of a team which had already won a championship and then the next season broke the Bulls’ record for wins in a regular season with 73 of them.
The talking heads will have a field day. But here’s the thing—these four guys who played last night in Houston just basically have championship DNA in their veins and the others don’t. Much like Tom Brady or Bill Russell or Tiger Woods or Roger Federer or Joe Montana or Sid Crosby or Jack Nicklaus… they make plays when it matters.
Think about the feeble pair of regular season stars in Oklahoma City who in two seasons together and millions spent have to date not won a series and have a 3-8 record against Utah and Portland in post season. Think about all that money spent and the paltry rate of return while these four in Oakland are on the cusp of a threepeat and their fourth NBA title in five years.
Think about how every time the Warriors appear to be on the edge of a cliff one of these four guys stand up and be counted. None of these four have constant drama surrounding them. None of them to my knowledge are overtly rude to reporters or rumored to be headed to New York with Kyrie Irving.
These guys just make plays and perhaps maybe since they weren’t shaped in the Sam Presti fantasy world culture in Oklahoma City they behave like grown men and perform like champions when it matters most and the spotlight burns the brightest.
But on this night it wasn’t just the four. Kevon Looney came up huge with 14 points and some rugged rebounding. Shawn Livingston added 11 points in his usual low key style. That’s the thing—when your stars lead like stars the role players follow.
But the thing which stuck with me the most on this night is that none of the three stars Sam Presti drafted in Durant, Harden or Westbrook had anything to do with how this Game 6 in Houston was grabbed by the throat by a baby-faced kid from Davidson and a then obscure shooting guard from Washington State.
Sam Presti hasn’t been in Bob Myers’s league as far as pushing the championship buttons…and to me that has to be a major storyline as we examine why Oklahoma City as a franchise became downgraded like a subpar bond in the summer of 2016 while the Warriors have become an iconic dynasty.
Here’s Steve Kerr and GM Bob Myers in 2018 after the repeat over LeBron for their third championship.