Golden State Warriors: Love And Loathing In Oakland

As the Western Conference Finals move back to the Bay Area for Game 5, the Golden State Warriors are struggling with being cast as villains.

For the past three seasons, the Golden State Warriors have been living in a state of grace.

First was their solid 2013-14 season, where they finally started to be taken seriously by the rest of the league.

As much as people try to ignore it, you have to give props to former head coach and current ESPN commentator Mark Jackson, who strengthened the Warriors’ defense and provided the foundation upon which current head coach Steve Kerr built the current crown jewel of the NBA.

Then there was Golden State’s breakout 2014-15 season, which culminated in the franchise’s first NBA championship in 40 yrs, plus league MVP honors for guard Stephen Curry.

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Then there was the record-breaking 2015-16 season, which saw the Warriors surpass the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls record of a 72-10 season ( Golden State ended 73-9).

Curry shattered his own three-point shooting record;  Klay Thompson et al added their own shots for a team record, and three Warriors were named to the 2016 NBA All-Star Game. Curry repeated as league MVP.  Kerr won Coach of the Year.

Lead assistant coach Luke Walton parlayed his success in pinch-hitting for Kerr while the latter was out with a back injury into a head coaching job with the Los Angeles Lakers (with whom he won two championships as a player) for the upcoming season.

Curry jerseys were the top-selling across the league. Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar and the late Prince were just a few of the luminaries gracing courtside seats to see the Warriors play.

A new, albeit contentious, stadium is scheduled to open across the Bay in San Francisco in 2019. Family members of the players became celebrities in their own right, whether by dint of personality or other skills.

Even ripples of controversy, due to progeny presence, morality politics or braggadocio, blew over as a the wins kept racking up because success covers a multitude of sins.

The underdog Warriors became the darlings of the NBA, boasting both the old faithful and a tidal wave of bandwagon fans. Curry supplanted LeBron James as the most popular player in the league (and, depending on the source, as the best player).

In every city they played, blue and gold paraphernalia was prominent in the stands.

It was a charmed life for Golden State. Until it wasn’t.

It was the kick heard ’round the world. Warriors forward Draymond Green kicked Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams right in the brisket during a physical play in Game 3. And it wasn’t the first time, as Green also took it to Adams’ groin in Game 2.

The Game 3 occurrence netted Green a Flagrant 1 foul (Adams was assessed a shooting foul) and the possibility of suspension after an automatic league review.

The NBA took an entire day to rule on the play, knowing that any decision would 1) be loudly decried by the fans and players of the team deemed on the losing end of it and 2) have a significant impact on the outcome of the series.

The Warriors, already struggling against an unexpectedly supercharged and gelling Thunder, would see their chances of advancing to the NBA Finals diminish significantly should their do-it-all Green be suspended for one game.

Not to mention, the league (via the referees) was already under fire for several controversial and crucial no-calls during the playoffs and the perceived futility of Last Two-Minute reports.

The Warriors dodged an immediate bullet, in that Green wasn’t suspended. The play was, however, upgraded to a Flagrant 2 foul, which brought his flagrant foul total to three points, and Green was fined $25,000.

If he got another flagrant point (a Flagrant 1 foul), he’d be automatically suspended for one game, and for two games if he got another Flagrant 2.

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Being that this was the second time that Green’s knee was on familiar terms with Adams’ groin, accusations of it being deliberate were inevitable. Of course, Green denied it—repeatedly, and at great length, and with blame-deflecting.

Of course, non-Warriors fans (and even the ones who had no dogs in the fight, such as casual NBA fans and those whose teams were no longer in the playoffs, or never made it at all), expressed disbelief in the ruling and fanned the flames of conspiracy–namely, that the NBA was not going to mess with the current star-laden cash cow that is Golden State.

The NBA tried to defend its decision (repeatedly and at great length), prompting NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to make an appearance on ESPN to explain the already lengthy explanation that NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki Vandeweghe (who made the Green ruling) gave to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports.

(Note to Green, Vandeweghe and Silver: when you’re explaining, you’re losing.)

With the new wrinkle of Green’s trip of Thunder center Enes Kanter during Game 4, the Warriors’ once-lauded reputation (and Green’s current playoff career) continues to take a hit as Green, once again, is blessed by the league and adds fuel to conspiracy theorists’ fire.

Golden State has suddenly gone from loved to loathed. And they can’t handle it.

Perhaps more than any other team in the league, Golden State needs to be loved: by fans and by the media. Maybe it’s because of the persistent rumors, despite the success of the past two seasons, that their most recent championship was a fluke and their confidence is misplaced.

Or that the league is protecting the team (and its overall revenue) by not calling certain fouls or suspending Green.

Or that they are still little more than, as Bethlehem Shoals wrote for GQ magazine, “entitled brats who have never been truly tested.”

Whatever the reason, the Warriors are clearly not prepared for not being anointed as The Chosen, as they have been all season.

This was evident in the past two games against the Thunder, where Golden State has not looked like its normal self and has been outscored by the Thunder in multiple areas.

Green, who has embraced his role as a league villain, was visibly shaken after surviving his near-suspension–and his performance showed it.

His reception by Oklahoma City fans didn’t help matters:

While Green may indeed be about that roundball thug life, his teammates aren’t. And judging by the way he crumbled over the past two games, Green may not be about that life as much as he may think.

If you’re going to be ’bout it, then be about it all the way (shout out to the Bad Boy Pistons and the Portland Jail Blazers). You can’t dip one toe in the water, then pull it back out when the temperature suddenly changes in a way that is not to your liking.

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If you want to play dirty, then

accept the consequences

(hi,

). If you like to

taunt opposing players

, be ready for the backlash.

The Warriors have long labored under the illusion that their charmed life could protect them from anything.

Indeed, after the Game 4 loss Curry stated that “we’re a special team,” as if that is the magic bullet that will erase a 3-1 deficit and allow them to emerge victorious from the death spiral in which the Thunder have put them, and become only the 10th team in NBA history to come back from such a deficit.

Specialness is not limited only to the Warriors, and does not guarantee anything. Respect (and championships) are earned, not given, and are not automatic based on how popular a team or a player is, or how historic their record.

The league (and the media) have been complicit in reinforcing that belief. The dismantling by an underestimated OKC team and the turning tide of fan perception show that charm is fleeting and grudges live forever. And no amount of ticket sales, or adoption by celebrities, will change that.

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Golden State is learning this the hard way.