Golden State Warriors: 3 takeaways from Game 2 vs. Rockets

(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

1. It’s still just basketball

Here is the general reaction when the Warriors win: “They are so unfair.” “This team is just ridiculously loaded.” “They are boringly dominant.” “The other team played so great, but it just didn’t matter against these guys.”

When the Warriors lose, the reactions take on a different tone. “They were out of sorts.” “They weren’t themselves.” “They didn’t want it as badly.” “Wow, [insert Warriors opponent] was AMAZING tonight!”

The great irony here is that in reality, the Warriors actually win and lose for the same reasons as any other team. When they play better than their opponent they win. When they play worse, they lose.

The Warriors do not almost always win because they are unfair. They almost always win because their players almost always play better than the other team’s players.

Really, that’s all being a superstar is: playing better more often than other players. There is nothing Trevor Ariza can’t do that Thompson can. They can both make shots, can both dribble, can both pass and can both dunk. The difference is that Thompson has honed his body and mind to the point where he does these things successfully more often than Ariza.

Yet it is only when Ariza has a better night that one guy “outplays” the other. When Thompson has the better night, it’s because he and the Warriors are “impossibly better.”

Here’s my point: Games are not played on paper. Therefore, no team is “better” on paper. Golden State’s players are seen as better than Houston’s players because they play better more often.

In Game 1, despite the claims that Houston was the team that brought its A-game and that Harden was the best player on the floor, the Warriors played better than the Rockets.

In Game 2, despite the incessant pregame moaning that this series was over because one team was unfair, Houston’s players played better. That’s why this series is tied.

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Whoever plays better three more times is going to make the NBA Finals. Let’s enjoy it the same, analyze it the same, apply the same credit and apply the same blame no matter which team it is.