(The Warriors Girls wave goodbye to a very successful 2012-13 season.)
We came. We saw. We overachieved.
The Warriors season just ended and to say the least I’m just a little bitter. The series was there to win, but the Warriors didn’t go out and get it. They fell victim to a team who was better at winning than them. I think the Warriors were the better team, but winning is the name of the Spurs game and we learned a difficult lesson.
A difficult pill to swallow but medicine that we needed. In order to get better, we’re going to have to take some medicine. And this lesson from the Spurs in how to close out playoffs game will serve us well in the future. As my girl Mary Poppins would say, “A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down.” Let’s do a brief recap of Game 6 based on notes I take on my phone while my wife watches the game with me.
From the start, Steph was the only one aggressively attacking the rim. I had to make note of this fact during the game: Steph leads by example. I don’t want to harp on Klay Thompson but he has to know that getting fouled is a part of the game. I’m not one to side with the referees especially during this series. But, had Klay used his size, speed, and quickness the floor would have opened up for his teammates.
Andris Biedrins came in and played some decent minutes. Granted, he went through fouls like golf tees at a pro-am, but he held his own provided energy. He even had a sweet offensive board turned assist on a Curry 3. Jack got things moving for the Warriors in the 2nd with high screens to start the play before imporvisation took over. Overall, Jack played a solid game shooting 50% from the floor with Zero (yes) 0 turnovers. His reverse on Duncan was sweet followed by a nice dime to Ezeli after a steal. Jack upheld his end of the bargain in the last two games. He should be commended for that, but really that’s just Jarrett playing his game. He would do the same no matter what some un-read blogger or well-heard talking head says. The biggest play of the game was Barnes getting hurt at the end of the 1st half. Our top scorer, aggressor, and mis-match maker would come back, but he wouldn’t be the same and was the last Warrior sent to injured reserve. A sadly fitting end for a great series from the rookie that was emblematic of the end of the season for Golden State. Shouts out to David Lee for playing with a torn hip flexor, Steph Curry for a twisted twisted ankle, and to Bogut who I’m sure would have given anything to play more than 20 minutes in the game.
I made the note that the Warriors were “mailing it in” after the sequence when 4 Warriors left Harrison all alone to fend off a 2 on 1 break. In retrospect, they were injured. They were hurt all over the floor and making plays drained them. They’ll have to learn how to take care of themselves, prepare, and alter their games to accomodate a long, drawn out series. Important lesson: how to take your medicine.
Let’s not forget that the Warriors had a chance to win this game with 5 minutes left. Klay hit a jumper from the baseline, the crowd was up, and Steph hit a jumper to bring us just one basket away 75-77. Then, Duncan threw the ball into the 6th row 15 feet from the nearest Spur and we went to break. Van Gundy was talking about the energy of the crowd and how the lower bowl stands like a college crowd.
Curry had a 3 roll out, but then an offensive rebound led to another shot and…miss. Ginobli finds Parker in the corner and Parker hits. 3 pointer. 5 point lead 75-80. Jack would add a jumper and 2 free throws but Leonard’s three, 2 misses from Klay and Steph sealed the deal, and a Tony Parker pen knife 3 ended it. The team better at winning had done what they were billed to do: win. All due respect to the Spurs. I think Memphis is going to eat them for lunch and dinner depending on the time of the game.
I’m really proud of the way this team plays together and showed the class that makes them true Tibkids. Click this link to see them prove it. They are lead by a coach who in his second year butted heads against two legends and came out on top 1.4 times.
I can’t event begin to deal with the Sharks loss. I live in LA and wasn’t able to watch the game…thankfully.
Giants won.
- Good night.
