The warriors have rediscovered their joy and it is catastrophic for everyone



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Golden State Warriors guards Klay Thompson (11) and Golden State Warriors (30) Stephen Curry celebrate after the Bulls' timeout at the United Center on Monday, October 29, 2018, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune / TNS via Getty Images)

It all started with Jonas Jerebko's winning tip in Utah. As he turned away from the Utah jazz bench, Jerebko was assaulted by teammates, including a naked torso, Andre Iguodala, who sprinted from the locker room to join the fray. A few days later, Steph Curry achieved a brilliant 51-point performance against the Washington Wizards, while Kevin Durant and others supported him. Then it was Durant's turn, losing 41 points, including 25 in 4th place, on an unfortunate Knicks franchise that, according to rumors, would be his next destination.

Finally, Klay Thompson managed to break Steph Curry's record with three shots on goal in a match with 14 of his own. During the second half of the season, his teammates, including Curry, fed Thompson specifically to get the record. When the 14th move fell, they celebrated wildly. Kevon Looney jumped in the air, Curry raised his arms, Thompson roared with triumph.

After ten games, the Golden State Warriors are 9-1 and click on all the cylinders. Curry and Durant always play seamlessly, alternately posing feats from another world in a unique style. Curry is in a particularly dazzling form right now, averaging 32.5 points per crazy game on 53.9% of the players and 50.9% of the three. He is well ahead of the marks he's established in his "Unanimous MVP" season right now. That's blowing up the hopes and dreams of so many fans with its patented long-range bombs, that it scours the track with the precision of a world-renowned surgeon or that it Harlem Globetrotter's unstoppable trick shots, he lives up to his powers.

Meanwhile, Durant methodically distinguishes defense with the incredible array of offensive tools at his disposal. Mid-range, pole, at the break, it is simply unstoppable. As he does since he's with the Warriors, he presents the full gamut of his complete game, but there's also a little something extra. Unlike some times in the past two years, everything is in the flow of the offense.

Few combinations in the history of the league have been as devastating as those two now. Although it seems unlikely that they both have an average of 30 points per game given the Warriors' penchant for rest, they could very well become the first teammates with an average of 50% on the field, 40 % of the three, and 90% of the players the same season. . Surrounded by Thompson 's incredible shooting ability and defensive tenacity and the Draymond Green Trophy, which seems to adore the defensive player' s trophy of the year, the Warriors look just as scary as they are. they have never been.

The return of joy

Whenever warriors look like this, there is a secret ingredient. Coach Steve Kerr has always preached four core values: joy, mindfulness, competition and compassion. Above all, this unbridled enthusiasm, passion and endless joy were the hallmark of their rise to the top. Fans of Warriors have not seen it go wild for some time. Maybe not since the regular season 73-9 did the Warriors seem so carefree, so natural and so happy.

That was the team that Durant was thinking of joining in the summer of 2016. At the time, Durant had stated that, when Curry, Thompson, Green and Iguodala had entered the room, they had "Look to hold hands". There is no doubt that the partnership has been fruitful. Durant and the Warriors won two consecutive titles together. This first year was the discovery phase. The final title was greeted with more relief and satisfaction than pure joy. For Durant, the monkey escaped his back. For the warriors, he exorcised the demons of the 2016 playoffs.

Then there was the long work of the 2017/18 season. Nobody had looked happy last year. Tired, frustrated, bored were better adjectives for the regular season. During the Media Preparatory Day, a candid candidate, Draymond Green, who, among his many varied roles on the team, was often used as an emotional barometer for the locker room, confirmed what everyone suspected. Green said, "One of the hardest things I've ever done in my life was winning this championship last year. And after that, I did not want to have anything to do with it anymore, I did not want to think about basketball – I did not want to think about running … I did not even want to see the trophy. "

But the tone has been different from this season. For a host of reasons, from the Cousins ​​DeMarcus signature to the pivot of the cast, to a younger cast, the Warriors promised to be a little more interesting this time around. For his part, Kerr realized that understanding how difficult repetition became a self-fulfilling prophecy. The pre-season trip to China in 2017/18 may have shaken the team. In 2018/19, they went far, to Seattle, for an evening back in force for Durant.

What the NBA sees now is what everyone feared. In the third year, chemistry finally merged. Two MVP candidates at the pinnacle of their games. Flanked by another of the greatest shooters of all time and one of the most versatile defensemen in the league. Nobody needs to sacrifice anything. A cast of wise veterans, young sports players, and an incredible story in Alfonzo McKinnie, spent playing in Luxembourg and Mexico to become a real contributor to a dynastic candidate. And we have not seen what DeMarcus cousins ​​can do yet.

The impending cloud of the free agency

It could have been so different. Durant and Thompson offer a class of outstanding free agents next summer. Major markets like New York and Los Angeles salivate with every move. The weight of relentless speculation about the future "what comes next" could have driven everyone down.

Instead, he acted as a liberation. When Klay Thompson uttered the most prophetic and poignant sentence he ever uttered in a recent interview – "the ball does not bounce forever" – it summed up the attitude of the Warriors. They have the opportunity to enter the story this year. After that, what will be will be. But if they go out, they come out in a flame of glory.

The irony of all this is that it can really help keep the team together. Thompson has always made it clear that he wants to stay with the Warriors throughout his career. But Durant is the biggest domino. When he signed a shorter contract this summer, he may reasonably feel that he has joined a team to do a job and that he has held the end of his run. Given the nature of his first two years at Golden State, it's not surprising that he may have begun thinking about his next challenge. So far, it was not quite that basketball nirvana that seemed to be back in the Hamptons.

But at the beginning of the season, the Warriors are themselves again and Durant is finally an integral part of this seemingly unstoppable juggernaut. Durant can still use his talents elsewhere at the end of the year. But for a confident player, the joy of playing so freely, so naturally and with so much pleasure can be too difficult to resist. For the rest of the league, the rediscovery of the warriors' joie de vivre could still spell the end of a long period of misery.

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Golden State Warriors guards Klay Thompson (11) and Golden State Warriors (30) Stephen Curry celebrate after the Bulls' timeout at the United Center on Monday, October 29, 2018, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune / TNS via Getty Images)

It all started with Jonas Jerebko's winning tip in Utah. As he turned away from the Utah jazz bench, Jerebko was assaulted by teammates, including a naked torso, Andre Iguodala, who sprinted from the locker room to join the fray. A few days later, Steph Curry achieved a brilliant 51-point performance against the Washington Wizards, while Kevin Durant and others supported him. Then it was Durant's turn, losing 41 points, including 25 in 4th place, on an unfortunate Knicks franchise that, according to rumors, would be his next destination.

Finally, Klay Thompson managed to break Steph Curry's record with three shots on goal in a match with 14 of his own. During the second half of the season, his teammates, including Curry, fed Thompson specifically to get the record. When the 14th move fell, they celebrated wildly. Kevon Looney jumped in the air, Curry raised his arms, Thompson roared with triumph.

After ten games, the Golden State Warriors are 9-1 and click on all the cylinders. Curry and Durant always play seamlessly, alternately posing feats from another world in a unique style. Curry is in a particularly dazzling form right now, averaging 32.5 points per crazy game on 53.9% of the players and 50.9% of the three. He is well ahead of the results he's got in his "Unanimous MVP" season. That's blowing up the hopes and dreams of so many fans with its patented long-range bombs, that it scours the track with the precision of a world-renowned surgeon or that it Harlem Globetrotter's unstoppable trick shots, he lives up to his powers.

Meanwhile, Durant methodically distinguishes defense with the incredible array of offensive tools at his disposal. Mid-range, pole, at the break, it is simply unstoppable. As he does since he's with the Warriors, he presents the full gamut of his complete game, but there's also a little something extra. Unlike some times in the past two years, everything is in the flow of the offense.

Few combinations in the history of the league have been as devastating as those two now. Although it seems unlikely that they both have an average of 30 points per game given the Warriors' penchant for rest, they could very well become the first teammates with an average of 50% on the field, 40 % of the three, and 90% of the players the same season. . Surrounded by Thompson 's incredible shooting ability and defensive tenacity and the Draymond Green Trophy, which seems to adore the defensive player' s trophy of the year, the Warriors look just as scary as they are. they have never been.

The return of joy

Whenever warriors look like this, there is a secret ingredient. Coach Steve Kerr has always preached four core values: joy, mindfulness, competition and compassion. Above all, this unbridled enthusiasm, passion and endless joy were the hallmark of their rise to the top. Fans of Warriors have not seen it go wild for some time. Maybe not since the regular season 73-9 did the Warriors seem so carefree, so natural and so happy.

That was the team that Durant was thinking of joining in the summer of 2016. At the time, Durant had stated that, when Curry, Thompson, Green and Iguodala had entered the room, they had "Look to hold hands". There is no doubt that the partnership has been fruitful. Durant and the Warriors won two consecutive titles together. This first year was the discovery phase. The final title was greeted with more relief and satisfaction than pure joy. For Durant, the monkey escaped his back. For the warriors, he exorcised the demons of the 2016 playoffs.

Then there was the long work of the 2017/18 season. Nobody had looked happy last year. Tired, frustrated, bored were better adjectives for the regular season. During the Media Preparatory Day, a candid candidate, Draymond Green, who, among his many varied roles on the team, was often used as an emotional barometer for the locker room, confirmed what everyone suspected. Green said, "One of the hardest things I've ever done in my life was winning this championship last year. And after that, I did not want to have anything to do with it anymore, I did not want to think about basketball – I did not want to think about running … I did not even want to see the trophy. "

But the tone has been different from this season. For a host of reasons, from the Cousins ​​DeMarcus signature to the pivot of the cast, to a younger cast, the Warriors promised to be a little more interesting this time around. For his part, Kerr realized that understanding how difficult repetition became a self-fulfilling prophecy. The pre-season trip to China in 2017/18 may have shaken the team. In 2018/19, they went far, to Seattle, for an evening back in force for Durant.

What the NBA sees now is what everyone feared. In the third year, chemistry finally merged. Two MVP candidates at the pinnacle of their games. Flanked by another of the greatest shooters of all time and one of the most versatile defensemen in the league. Nobody needs to sacrifice anything. A cast of wise veterans, young sports players, and an incredible story in Alfonzo McKinnie, spent playing in Luxembourg and Mexico to become a real contributor to a dynastic candidate. And we have not seen what DeMarcus cousins ​​can do yet.

The impending cloud of the free agency

It could have been so different. Durant and Thompson offer a class of outstanding free agents next summer. Major markets like New York and Los Angeles salivate with every move. The weight of relentless speculation about the future "what comes next" could have driven everyone down.

Instead, he acted as a liberation. When Klay Thompson uttered the most prophetic and poignant sentence he ever uttered in a recent interview – "the ball does not bounce forever" – it summed up the attitude of the Warriors. They have the opportunity to enter the story this year. After that, what will be will be. But if they go out, they come out in a flame of glory.

The irony of all this is that it can really help keep the team together. Thompson has always made it clear that he wants to stay with the Warriors throughout his career. But Durant is the biggest domino. When he signed a shorter contract this summer, he may reasonably feel that he has joined a team to do a job and that he has kept his promises. Given the nature of his first two years at Golden State, it's not surprising that he may have begun thinking about his next challenge. So far, it was not quite that basketball nirvana that seemed to be back in the Hamptons.

But at the beginning of the season, the Warriors are themselves again and Durant is finally an integral part of this seemingly unstoppable juggernaut. Durant can still use his talents elsewhere at the end of the year. But for a confident player, the joy of playing so freely, so naturally and with so much pleasure can be too difficult to resist. For the rest of the league, the rediscovery of the warriors' joie de vivre could still spell the end of a long period of misery.

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