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Why Does Everyone Keep Hating On The Revolutionary Golden State Warriors?

By Gerald Bourguet

Feb 22, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts with forward Draymond Green (23) after making a three point shot against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 22, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts with forward Draymond Green (23) after making a three point shot against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Golden State Warriors
Feb 24, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) looks on against the Miami Heat during the second half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Haters Gonna Hate

For the older generation of basketball legends, appreciating what these Warriors are doing seems impossible. The Dubs have become those gosh-darned kids terrorizing the streets with their skateboards and their hoodlum recreational activities.

Except those “kids” are playing team basketball in a way we’ve rarely seen throughout NBA history, and those “skateboards” are actually mother-freaking hover boards designed with the sole purpose of taking us into the future of a sport that’s constantly changing.

It’s easy to understand why guys like the Big O and Isiah Thomas are coming out of the woodworks now to offer their backhanded praise of the Warriors. They’re not dumb enough to criticize them outright, so they layer their observations with thinly veiled criticism that just looks all the more ridiculous when the quotes are put on paper.

These legends know plenty about the game of basketball, but the disrespect of aging pundits ultimately amounts to nothing more than Ricky Bobby qualifying his crude opinion by starting the sentence with, “With all due respect…”

Except the Warriors are worth more than a velvet painting of a whale and a dolphin getting it on. These are big “ifs” obviously, but if the Dubs reach that 72-win mark, and if they win the championship in 2016, and if they manage to do so without losing an absurd amount of games in the postseason, they will rightfully go down as one of, if not THE, greatest teams in NBA history.

There should be no qualms about it. If this pace keeps up, the Dubs will post the greatest regular season record ever, they’ll win their second straight championship and Stephen Curry will complete the greatest individual offensive season the NBA has ever seen (yes, even better than what Michael Jordan, LeBron James or Wilt Chamberlain ever accomplished).

And if all of these things happen, there will be plenty of people trying to qualify it in any way, shape or form.

Maybe they’ll cite how the Dubs’ point differential (currently plus-11.5) wasn’t quite dominant enough. Maybe the Dubs will get “lucky” again based on their playoff opponents. Critics will continue to cite ridiculous concepts like “rule changes,” “the evolution of the game” and “defenses back then were way more physical.”

And while those things may be true at their core, none of them would have made a damn bit of difference against Stephen Curry or this small-ball team that’s revolutionized the game of basketball.

Next: How The Warriors Are Revolutionizing Basketball

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