Losing two of eight games recently, the Golden State Warriors looked momentarily as if they might fall from the moon. It was understood that the defending champions are so good they would land on a cloud, still far above the rest of the NBA world. But many have flown over the clouds — so few have reached the moon. Yet just as the Warriors seemed to be letting their foot off the rocket’s accelerator, they come into Cleveland and Chicago — the two elite teams in the Eastern Conference — and they positively crush ’em. They beat the Cavs by 34 and then the Bulls by 31.
Much is read into the dominance — as if it predicts a Western Conference slam dunk in the Finals in June. It doesn’t — too much can happen between now and then. (Cavs beat the Warriors in Golden State by 11 in late Feburary of last year.) But LeBron James looked miserable and the Bulls looked like a defeated JV team. Still it’s before the All-Star break. For all the talk of “sending a message” that’s not what the Warriors are doing. They’re just playing ball, having fun doing it, and when they play at their best, they win by 20 or 30 — no matter the opponent. That’s the message. And if they stay healthy (so critical) their medium will remain the message. The Warriors medium is tireless, unselfish, fun basketball. (Neither the Bulls, nor Cavs play that way.) The other teams — Western and Eastern Conference foes — have to figure out a way to make is so the Warriors don’t play at their best. They have to stop Steph Curry and Draymond Green and company from having so much fun.
