One of the many lessons I learned from my older brother, most of them the wrong ones but they’ve made life more entertaining, was that if you’re running late for something, just go ahead and be late. He taught me this one day as I was hurrying and scrambling to 8th grade or high school, and I had no hope of arriving any earlier than 10 minutes after I should have. So why hustle and be out of breath if you’re going to be late anyway? Take your time, enjoy the morning, and be half-an-hour late. Because honestly, what’s the difference? You’re late, and the degrees of late aren’t really going to matter to those in charge.
I eventually morphed this lesson into not showing up to any high school class before 10 a.m. by my senior year, so yeah, which was probably beyond what he had in mind as I shot most of my future into the nearest dumpster. That’s why I work here!
That’s pretty much the only logic to apply to the Warriors last night, who had to close hard on the outside to only lose by 39 to Memphis, 134-95. At points they were threatening to lose by 60. They spent most of the second half trailing by somewhere in the neighborhood of 50. You really have to make an effort to get your ass paddled to that degree…or really lack an effort, I guess.
But if you’re going to get your intestines pulled out through your mouth, you might as well do it in a fashion that allows all your important players to sit for most of the second half instead of say, what the Celtics did, and choke away a win and feel all deflated. Sometimes it all goes wrong. Sometimes it all goes wrong in a hurry and you can just let go of the joystick. This plane’s crashin’ either way.
It’ll be good for the Warriors’ heel turn when they win this series next game, while fans across the nation wail that a series win over a Morant-less Grizzlies team that they previously lost to by an Australian Rules score isn’t fair or doesn’t count. They’ll be even more enraged by the Warriors return to the conference finals, claiming it is now illegitimate. The Dubs won’t care, because in the playoffs, a loss is just one loss, and they hold the upper hand still. As experienced as the Warriors are, they knew this game was basically optional — and then they played like it. The playoffs are a grind, and when you know the exact measure it takes, you exert the exact amount of energy required.
So were the Warriors really going to scrap and claw to come back from 20 after the half? Nah, fuck that. They’re flying home anyway, might as well drag the Grizz with them. If you’re already going to miss the meeting at the office, then fucking miss it! Have a nice breakfast, walk instead of drive, soak up some sun. The window for correct action has passed. Soak in the wrong.