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Philippines, 19 Apr 2024 |
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NBA --- Winning the Warrior way By Adeline Deladisma PhilBoxing.com Fri, 11 Dec 2015  INDIANAPOLIS -- "We're going to lose at some point." Really? The words uttered post game by Golden State Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton in most instances would seem ridiculous. Or just plain arrogant. Of course you're going to lose a game. But in this odd circumstance, in this rare air of merciless winning, the words sounded less like bravado and more like the young coach's way of acknowledging that his players are human. Even though right now they are fairly supernatural. In fact, they are Golden. With their 131-123 win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning Manila time), the Warriors stand at 23-0 in the young season and carry over a 25 game win streak that started during the NBA Finals last June. If they continue to play this well through the remainder of the schedule, they will match and overtake the 1996 Chicago Bulls who were 72-10 in the regular season. We have all bought into the Warrior Way. Teams are trying out "pace and space," pushing the tempo of the game and going small with their line ups. Their latest victims, the Pacers, tried to beat the house at their game and failed. Over the summer, Indiana eschewed their bust-you-in-the-chops style of big man play in favor of the Golden State system and moving fleet-footed Paul George to power forward. The Pacers' revamped line up has had success. Prior to their last three losses, they did surprise some with their 12-5 start. George has excelled in his return from almost an entire season off the court, the fallout from a broken fibula in the summer of 2014. November's Eastern Conference Player of the Month is averaging 27.9 PPG (44.9% shooting), 4.3 assists and sports a +16.9 efficiency rating. Even with George and his 33 points last night, it wasn't nearly enough to best the Warriors. The Pacers jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the first quarter, but the Warriors woke up and went on a 22-0 run. They lead by as many as 32 in the third quarter before withstanding a 40 point fourth quarter from the Pacers and sealing their win as the minutes ticked down. The Warriors are continuing their push into league history and we, the basketball fans, have bought into them because, man, are they fun to watch. Even more importantly, they are having fun while doing it. Sure, it's a lot easier to have fun when you're winning. But it takes work to do what the Warriors are doing. What is relatively nouveau to the league, they have put the time in to perfect. It doesn't hurt having the league's reigning MVP, Stephen Curry, and another All-Star in Klay Thompson. But as we know from their performance in the Finals, the supporting cast makes big contributions. Even on nights when the almost alien Curry is merely human and "only" scores 29 points (he is averaging 32.2 points per game) and misses a couple of free throws, the Warriors still provide just enough pace, space and splash to pull out the win. Thompson provided most of that splash for the evening, scoring 39 points in the first three quarters. And his teammates loved every minute, whooping and celebrating his 10 made 3-pointers and passing him through a congratulatory line of high fives as he left the game. Where will it end? Their most formidable opponent in the coming weeks will be last season's Finals opponent, the Cleveland Cavaliers, on Christmas Day. Whether they continue the streak and however far they go, it has certainly been fun to watch. Photo: Steph Curry and his Warriors remain the only unbeaten team in the NBA this season. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Adeline Deladisma.  |
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