Whirlwind Series

 What--it's over?  This vaunted World Series for the Ages should be just getting interesting.  Instead it's all done.  Dodgers in five.

It was billed as Ohtani v. Judge but as I suggested it might not be, it wasn't.  Ohtani, with an injured shoulder, was mostly a non-factor.  Judge was worse that that.  With a terrible series at the plate he will go into history with that comical look on his face as he muffed an easy pop fly in the fifth inning of the fifth game (isn't that rule one--keep your eye on the ball?) to open the door to the Dodgers, who at that point had but one hit, and the Yankees had a 5-0 lead.  Another error and a third Yankee mistake later, it was 5-5.

Instead the hero was a guy nobody talked about before the Series started: Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman.  He'd gone without hitting a homer for so long that everybody forgot that he knew how.  But with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth in the first game, he hit one.  The first grand slam to end a game in World Series history.

And he wasn't done making history.  He hit homers in the next three games, which added to the last time he batted in a World Series, made it six games in a row, an all time record.  He batted in two runs in that fateful fifth inning of game 5, further earning his selection as MVP of the Series.  

There were plenty of home runs in this series but most of the games were low scoring affairs.  Defense was the main Yankee flaw going into it--some would say arrogance--and it turned out to be fatal, especially in the first and the final games.  The Dodgers got very good a la carte pitching, superbly managed, good fielding and timely hitting.  The Series had drama, but it was never really close.

But by shutting down the mighty Yankees, the deeper and more talent Dodgers have made things even worse for the San Francisco Giants.  The impression is that the Dodgers, in the same division, are going to be dominant for years.  That could make the many high quality free agents looking for teams this offseason wonder if they will be signing up for highly paid futility if they join the Giants.  Money to pay a superstar won't likely be the Giants only challenge in acquiring one. 

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors, after winning all their pre-season games, were electric in winning their first two in the real season, both by huge margins, and both by playing everybody.  They lost their third game when Steph went down with an ankle injury that may keep him off the floor for a couple of weeks. Then Wiggins was also out with an injury. But even without them, the Dubs thrashed New Orleans in back to back games at home.  So far they've been getting stronger as the games go on, throwing fresh bodies at opponents exhausted by their running, fast pace and tenacious defense.  They haven't played a contender yet, but they sure look like fun, with revelations of new faces and re-energized vets.

Both the Niners and the Steelers won marquee games last week: the Niners defeating the Cowboys on Sunday night, and the Steelers outlasting the Giants on Monday night.  Those are both solid steps on a road to the playoffs.

October Classic: World Series, NFL towards midpoint, NBA begins

A World Series for the ages is about to begin.  The two most talented and (not coincidentally) richest teams (and oldest) in MLB are playing each other.  It's actually a marvel it doesn't happen more often.

 It's billed as Ohtani's Dodgers versus Judge's Yankees, but the real heroes of each team can just as likely turn out to be others. With two offensive powerhouses we expect high scoring games, though it sometimes turns out to be a different kind of series. But spectacle--yeah, that's likely to be high, so it's also likely this will be the most watched World Series in history.

Updating my NFL teams, the Niners continue to be ground down by injuries and the resulting discombobulations (a technical football term.) But there may still be time.  Meanwhile, the also depleted Kansas City Chiefs continue to win.  Could the luck of these two teams be reversed by the end of the season? 

 The Steelers on the other hand are on the ascent.  Disregarding just about everybody's advice, Coach Tomlin replaced a quarterback with a winning record with a quarterback just recovered from injury.  After a lackluster first half, the gamble really paid off.  Russell Wilson put 37 points on the board against the Jets, for the highest score the Steelers have attained this year.  And sometimes injuries work for you.  A beat-up offensive line has suddenly become a formidable offensive line with some new blood.  Add to that a pretty tight defense and one of the game's most reliable field goal kickers, and the Steelers could go places.

The NBA regular season has just begun, and though Golden State has played only one game, and that one against an immature opponent, it does appear that Coach Kerr has the luxury of a deep lineup of players that seem to be thriving with any combination of players on the floor.  That is, the team is not only deep in talent, it is a deep team.  Against Portland the first team started slow, Steph being sidelined with a minor injury for a few days seemed rusty but he got his 3 point mojo back in the second half.  Eventually the entire roster played meaningful minutes. They put up 139 points which is eye-opening regardless of the opponent.

The New York Liberty won the WNBA championship--a league that is on the brink of transformation in the next two years.  Players opted for new contracts (as expected) though apparently they'll have to play with the old ones for another year, but by then they might really get paid a living wage (or the equivalent for a professional athlete.)  The league's popularity should earn it better television contracts to finance better salaries, better facilities and travel conditions.  And there will be a new team, from the Bay Area, backed by the Golden State Warriors.

October Crossroads

 It's October--when big league baseball and the WNBA have their big finishes, NFL football starts defining itself and the NBA knocks off the rust and tests out team changes. 

The MLB playoffs are underway, but neither the San Francisco Giants nor the Pittsburgh Pirates made it that far.  Both had an insufficient second half, though both had moments of fun and promise.  The Pirates frustrated the Yankees at the end of the season, taking that series, and the Bucs won all the games they played against the Marlins.  Their young starting pitchers are more than promising, and they have punch in the lineup.  I imagine they're fun to watch at the ball park, and should be next season.

When the Giants again missed the playoffs last year they went after the two biggest free agents available in a big way, and whiffed on both of them.  Those two--Judge and Ohtani--just happened to dominate the season, and may well meet in this year's World Series.

But the Giants finished the year starting to look like a team that could bring people back to the ball park. The best news is that their new leader is Buster Posey.  That should at least solidify and further advance the Giants feeling like a team and not just associated statistics.

The WNBA playoffs have also started, and Caitlin Clark helped get her Indiana team into them, but they didn't win a game.  She had a great year nonetheless--especially considering that she played a long college season and those playoffs into the national championship game, then almost immediately on a new team at a new level.  Breaking records and earning Rookie of the Year, she also helped elevate awareness of women's basketball, while surviving all the attention and the ugliness that so-called fans and click-baiting posters unleashed.  Angel Reese also had an outstanding rookie year.There's tough and skilled basketball still being played in those playoffs.  Meanwhile Indiana looks forward to an even better year.  

The NFL season has started, with the San Francisco 49ers underperforming, due largely to injuries, and the Pittsburgh Steelers perhaps overperforming expectations,  but neither team has been consistent or appears to have much of an identity yet.  To me the team that looks really solid is Minnesota.

The NBA pre-season is just starting and the Golden State Warriors have going for them the excitement of uncertainty along with potential.   Klay Thompson's absence makes it a new group needing to become a team, adding new players and expecting veterans to add to their roles.  Could be fun.

Curry-Age-ous

 If there were any doubt, no longer: this is the Age of Steph Curry.  After making noise in the first few exhibition games with the 2024 USA Olympic team, Curry got quiet on the scoreboard.  Opponents were keying on him, which often left space for damage close to the basket.  The US team was beating up opponents on the inside, with defensive blocks and steals and lots and lots of fast breaks.  Le Bron James became the point forward, leading the offense.  Steph became an enabler, diverting attention as well as making passes and screens.  His 3 point shot seemed a little off, perhaps due to the speed of play plus the different international 3 point line.

In the last two games, defenses tried to guard the basket area better, which left Steph some space.  He also became the point guard again in key situations.  And then, there's Steph being Steph in big moments. 

 In the semi-final, Serbia was ahead by 14 or so at the end of the third quarter.  So it was Steph who kept USA in the game and then Steph leading the fourth quarter comeback.  He had nine 3 pointers, and a total of 36 points.  Kevin Durant and Le Bron make big shots and key defensive plays as well down the stretch, and the USA played like a team.  For that game--which Coach Kerr and Durant both said was the best basketball game they'd ever participated in--they were a real team.  Serbia played a perfect game, Kerr said, but the US superstars played a better one, by playing together.  And by looking for Steph in the stretch.

At the end of that game it was a foregone conclusion to everyone, including the players, that USA would win the gold in the final game with France.  But the French team didn't get that memo.  They played hard, stayed close, and in the fourth quarter they were very close.  Towards the end it was a one or two possession game.  But then, improbably again, Steph happened.  He hit one three, then another, then another, and finally--night, night--another.  Four threes in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter.  He won the medal.  No player in Olympic history has scored more points in the last two games (60), and no player has ever hit eight three pointers in the medal game. 

These last few games were fun to watch.  I was more impressed with Le Bron in these Olympics than I ever have been.  Kevin Durant, injured for the warmup games, was like a Zen master on the court, hitting his fluid shots and deftly defending with steals and runouts. And wasn't it great to see Steph and KD as teammates again?  They seemed to love it. Anthony Davis was essential on defense, and the younger players who now get the most media attention and awards all had their moments, but these three--Le Bron, Durant and Steph--dominated those last several games.

And now, this team that was a dream to play on--it was Curry's dream to play in the Olympics, Le Bron's dream to play with Curry, and Durant felt the dream while playing, --will play together no more.   So it will all seem like a dream, but one worth having and remembering.

At The Break

At the MLB All-Star break, the San Francisco Giants look forward to a better second half.  And why not?  They got through the first half with a big chunk of their starting pitching staff injured for significant amounts of time.  Now Blake Snell is back, with two stellar outings so far--including eight innings one bad call from being perfect.  With Logan Webb and Kyle Harrison, and some interesting young pitchers, there's progress to be made.

The Giants front office seems to be going with youth, which has the potential of streaks of excitement.  But with the team's leading hitter (Matt Chapman) at a dismal .235, there needs to be a lot of improvement with the bat.

Meanwhile the other team I follow, the Pittsburgh Pirates, ended their first half on a high note--with a four game win streak that sent them on the break with a 48-48 record.  Considering how little was expected of them, this is notably good.  Of course the highlight of their first half was the incredible debut of pitcher Paul Skenes, who has been in the league for a couple of months, and may well start the All-Star game. Super-fastball pitchers don't tend to last all that long, but in addition to his fastball he has a crafty set of pitches that can keep him going for a nice career.   But for sure, now is the time to enjoy watching him.  

Skenes now heads a pretty good young starting rotation.  Bryan Reynolds leads the team in batting, homers and RBIs, Oneil Cruz hits the ball hard and throws even harder across the infield, and Rowdy Tellez is always a threat at the plate.  Plus the Cutch has found a comfort zone with these young players.  The bullpen looked better as the season went on, and they will be a key to the second half.

As basketball eyes turn to the Olympics and the WNBA, the Golden State Warriors are talking up the team as currently constituted, while quietly working on at least one major trade.  But Steph at the Olympics is the upcoming excitement.  Reports are that he's eager to excel and lead.

In the WNBA, Caitlin Clark continues to draw big crowds on the road as well as at home, and she's set some personal records already, but it's the Indiana Fever team that is the most impressive.  Their come from behind win over the MN Lynx is just the latest indication that they're learning to play together better on offense, and their defense is relentless. Clark as point guard and assist leader is of course the key, but everything is jelling around her.

 I'd thought before that this would be a learning year for Clark, and it would take some off-season rest (which she has not had since the start of last year's college season) and work on getting stronger before she could take this team places.  But now it looks like the Fever could make some noise in this year's playoffs.

Meanwhile Angel Reese is having a high-impact season, setting the record for consecutive triple doubles.  She's right to say that she's lucky she wasn't drafted until the 8 spot--she got on a better team and hit the ground running.  Both Clark and Reese will play in their All-Star game.    

Scrambling Time

 A few days into free agency and the Golden State Warriors are into scrambling mode.  They've lost Klay Thompson, and they've let Chris Paul go. They failed to complete a meaningful trade.  They've picked up a prospect and a couple of role players but nobody who can replace either of those players, or their roles.  They are going to save some money, though.

So the Warriors are more or less officially a team in transition, both in terms of next year's competition and the team's identity.  Klay was a big part of both, even though in some ways he was becoming a liability. The Warriors won't be the same without him.  Klay may win a ring with the Mavs, he may even turn into their Robert Horry, but he's not going to be happy in Dallas.  I doubt he'll be in the league at all in two or three years.  I hope I'm wrong.

If the Warriors' goal is to extend Steph Curry's career and help him win at least one more championship, things right now seem to be going in the opposite direction.

The Giants are scrambling, too, at least at the front office level, as they reportedly are deciding whether to go into rebuild mode or maintain their core players and compete for the playoffs.  Recently however they've been doing remarkably well on the field for a team that has lost most of its starting pitching to injuries.  These bullpen games are mostly working, and they're seeing some young prospects.  

Is it my imagination or are there more and more injuries in baseball?  This is hurting not only the pitching staff but the lineup, with guys coming back and going out so much that you can't get a fix on the team.

So soon after Willie Mays, comes the death of another Giants great, Orlando Cepeda.  I remember him from his rookie season through the early 60s.  Like Mays, he went on after the Giants to help other teams win championships, despite nagging injuries. He was the first player from Puerto Rico to play in the All-Star Game.  Roberto Clemente was probably the second.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Pirates are doing well, behind some exciting young pitchers.  Cutch seems to be thriving at last.    

Willie

 Willie Mays died on Tuesday, at the age of 93.  He was unique, as a baseball player and afterwards, because he did not fade away.  The San Francisco Giants and the city of San Francisco kept him active and useful and honored. The Giants' ballpark is in Willie Mays Plaza, and it features an eight-foot high statue of him. Today he's being called the greatest center fielder of all time, and perhaps the greatest baseball player of all time.  But San Francisco especially will miss him (though it took a few years for SF fans to embrace him as a player.)    

I was growing up in western PA during his playing days, first as a New York Giant (where he was Rookie of the Year in 1951 and League MVP in 1954), then in San Francisco (MVP in 1965, with 52 homers) when I was in college, before a final season with the New York Mets (where he made his last plate appearance in the World Series) when I was a working writer.  

 Mays is part of Pittsburgh Pirates history for his bare-handed catch of a deep fly ball hit by the Pirates' Rocky Nelson in 1957, but I hadn't gone to Forbes Field for a game yet.  That was also the Giants' last year in New York, and their last game there was played against the Pirates.  Bob Friend had thrown one pitch to Willie when the crowd spontaneously gave him a standing ovation as a personal goodbye.  It's possible I did see him play at Forbes Field in the late 50s or early 60s, but I don't recall.  I certainly watched him on television--he especially excelled at All-Star games.  He played in 24 of them.

  Today I relished the story San Francisco Chronicle sports columnist Scott Ostler told, of a barnstorming or winter league game somewhere--Puerto Rico probably--in which Mays was playing center field next to Roberto Clemente, the Pirates Great One, in right field.  They apparently worked out a trick play in which, on a single hit to center, Mays deliberately seemed to let the ball go by him, tempting the runner on take another base.  But Clemente was right behind him, backing up the play, and gunned down the runner.  Clemente, especially early in his career, had the best outfield arm in the majors.  Though Mays was pretty close.

 On Thursday the Giants will play the Cards in Birmingham, Alabama, at the newly renovated baseball field where Willie first played professional baseball on the Negro League team.  The game was meant to honor the Negro Leagues, for Major League Baseball has officially recognized them as major leagues (as it has a few other leagues in the past), and the statistics of their players are now in the MLB record books.

It was going to be special for the Giants' outfielder Carl Yastrzemski because it is the only field where both his father (with his career in the minor leagues--when the Negro Leagues disbanded, the field hosted a minor league team) and his famous grandfather (Hall of Fame star for the Red Sox) played.  Three Carl Yastrzemskis is a story about the place of baseball in American history and American life, a sacred place.  Even more is the story of Willie Mays,.  The news of his death came the same day as the official announcement that he wouldn't be traveling to the game, but would watch it on TV.

Mays started with the Giants only a few years after Jackie Robinson broke the color ban with the Dodgers.  He won hearts and minds--President Obama said that he made it impossible to be a racist, at least while he played.  Obama gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. 

 He did not live long enough to enjoy the milestone of Thursday game in Birmingham, but at 93 he had so many, as a player, a godfather to Barry Bonds, and as a mentor to many other players--for he had really studied the game. Right from the start he studied how to hit with power, he studied pitchers before he faced them (he wanted to know their best pitch, because he would probably see it)  and eventually he understood the whole game so well that he directed his team's play from center field--allegedly including the catcher's call of pitches.  He certainly passed this on to Barry Bonds, who startled Giants announcers on a plane ride by telling them the first 4 pitches he would see the next day--and he was precisely right. 

Willie May's baseball intelligence helped make him a great player--he hit for power and average, many times a Gold Glove fielder, and a great baserunner.  But what people remember is that he played with joy and style.  That's something to be remembered for.

And This Ball Game Is Over!

The San Francisco Giants have suddenly been on fire.  After a very successful road trip, they won their first two games of their current homestand before falling to the Phillies on Wednesday.  With their dramatic 1-0 10th inning victory (their bullpen vs. the Phillies ace) Tuesday night, they had won 8 of their previous 10.

Most conspicuous change is their hitting.  It was situational and opportunistic, with a number of the hitters looking like Pablo Sandoval in his prime, driving the pitch to places where the fielders weren't.  Also very obvious, they finally scored big on an offseason acquisition of a star player with Matt Chapman.  Chapman adds power, smart hitting as well, and great fielding at third base.  His incredible play to end a game against Pittsburgh and preserve the win was one for the ages.  For the moment at least, the Giants are in second place and a game above .500.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, the Pirates have been playing above their reputation lately as well.  They won a series in Chicago and more impressively in Atlanta against the highly touted Braves.  They're still below .500 but if they can keep hitting, their new starters should add some victories, assuming the bullpen doesn't give them all away.

Back to the Giants: it was so great to tune into the 1-0 game and hear that same brilliant broadcasting team I listened to in the glory days.  (I find the Pirates announcing embarrassing.  All that Jolly Rodger and cannonball crap.)  

This is something I am well aware of and cherish about rooting for Bay Area teams.  Where else in the country can you find the best announcing team in baseball still on the air (through thick and thin, while oversensitive fans like me listen mostly during the thick)?  Or where else in the NBA can you find core players you've enjoyed watching for ten years but at Golden State?  As part of an organization that on and off the court is the gold standard of sports?  It's gratitude, man.  

In the NBA playoffs, well, it turns out that all the fun was in the second round.  In the third, the Celtics swept and the Mavs won in 5.  I have no interest in the finals.    

NBA Round 2 to 3, and the Young NL Fireballers

 The NBA second round game sevens lived up to their billing.  After being down 20 points in the third quarter, MN completed the biggest game 7 comeback in playoff history, going to up 10 in less than a quarter.  The Denver Nuggets appeared gassed.  MN was longer, quicker and deeper.  Denver's playoff experience could not overcome the T-Wolves.  MN showed impressive playoff resilience by surviving three straight losses to blow Denver out in the sixth game, and then go into a higher gear to end game 7.  They defeated the defending NBA champions and this year's MVP, the favorites to win it all. 

Now Jokic joins some other big names watching the playoffs on TV.  Viewership of the first two rounds was down by 17%, attributed to the absence of familiar stars like the Warriors' Steph Curry, whose jersey remains the most popular around the world. 

MN entered the West finals slightly favored over Dallas, who won their series by defeating OKC by a single point.  MN defeated a better team than Dallas did; Dallas squeaked by a young team not as talented or proven as MN (though they will probably be better next year.) Dallas had the edge in experience and maturity, but MN has proven it can overcome those disadvantages in the long run.  Even though they lost the first conference championship game at home, I'm expecting MN to prevail, and represent the West in the finals. I'll be rooting for them anyway.

In the East 7th game, the Indiana Pacers also set an NBA playoff record for shooting percentage (67.1%) to blow out the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.  Like the MN T-Wolves, they took the series by winning games 6 and 7.

The East finals began with Boston outlasting Indiana in overtime, with the Celtics looking rusty and the Pacers overanxious.  The question now becomes whether they can shake playoff nerves to take better care of the ball and steal one in Boston, and make this a series.  

In MLB, a recent series in Chicago between the Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates showed off two of the exciting rookie pitchers in baseball, back to back.  The Cubs rookie Shota Imanaga shut out the Pirates 1-0, accomplishing a total ERA of 0.84 over his first nine games, the lowest since ERA stats were recorded in 1913.  The next night, Pirates rookie fireballer Paul Skenes struck out the first seven batters he faced, one short of the record.  He finished 6 innings with 11 strikeouts, often on his 100+ mph fastball, giving up no runs as the Pirates' questionable bullpen held on to preserve his victory.

It seems like at the moment, Skenes is attracting the most attention in sports outside of Caitlin Clark. I remember watching the 19 year old Dwight Gooden pitch for the Mets in 1984 with absolute wonder at the speed and location of his pitches.  Gooden was a phenomenon who regularly reached 98mph with his fastball.  For Skenes that might qualify as an off-speed pitch.  There are some other fireballers out there regularly throwing beyond 100 mph, and while it's a wonder to watch them,  I also wonder how long they can do it, or as in Gooden's case, how they can handle it.  (Both in and out of baseball, Gooden had a recurring drug habit, mostly cocaine.)  Skenes seems pretty level-headed, so here's hoping he keeps being successful, on and off the field.  Meanwhile the Pirates have some other exciting young players, as well as veteran leadership.  Their bullpen could be their downfall, though.

Speaking of the Pirates, they announced they are enshrining Barry Bonds in their team Hall of Fame, along with his manager Jim Leyland.  It's a reminder of how great a player Bonds was before his exploits in San Francisco.  I watched him many times at Three Rivers--I especially recall one game in which he smacked four hard hits to every field.  I don't believe it is fair to keep him out of the MLB Hall of Fame--he was competing against pitchers and other players just as allegedly juiced as he was in his SF years.  But no one can criticize the Pirates for honoring him for his years with Pittsburgh.

Going Seven

 The two most interesting NBA playoff series--Denver/MN in the West, NYC/Indiana in the East--started with each team winning two games in a row, before settling down to the usual back and forth, to both be tied at 3-3, and game seven ahead.  The West series was even crazier--MN won the first two in a row in Denver, the Nuggets won their two in a row at MN.  

Unless one team is superior enough to win in 4 or 5, the playoff pattern is based on adjustments.  Teams have at least one off day to plot adjustments for the next game.  Denver had several days after the first two to make assignment and other adjustments to blunt the smothering defense of MN.  Their offense came alive, and Jokic finally had an MVP performance in the fifth game.  But MN came roaring back at home in game 6--downright extinguishing the Denver offense and shooting the lights out at their end, helped by plenty of steals and other turnovers as well as missed shots to get out and run.  

Denver lost the sixth game by 45 points, the biggest margin in playoff history, while scoring the fewest number of points.  But in terms of wins and losses, that loss is the same as it would have been had they lost by 1 point at the final buzzer of double overtime (except that their starters will be much better rested--they sat out much of the second half.)

  Now Denver has several days to adjust to the MN adjustments, and they'll be at home for game 7.  After the first four contrarian games, each team reverted to the usual pattern of winning their next home game.  So Denver looks to have the edge.

 But no matter what adjustments are devised, in a game seven everything hinges on how players play, who is hitting shots, who has the defensive energy and intensity, who keeps composed and handles the pressure.  Denver is the champ, the veteran of these moments, but with these two teams anything can happen.  Game 7 is Sunday afternoon.

The Knicks and Pacers series has more closely followed the traditional script of evenly matched teams: they each won their three games at home.  So game 7, also on Sunday afternoon, is in New York.  Even after being blown out in Indiana, the Knicks have the home court edge, maybe. For the thing about playing in New York is, everybody gets juiced to win there.  So this also will be sui generis, depending on performances, the timing of runs, etc. 

The chief difference between these two series is that the winner of the West series is likely to emerge as the favorite for Conference champ, but the winner of the East series is likely to be the underdog in the next round, against the Boston Celtics who have already won their series.

Meanwhile, Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors won the Magic Johnson Award, voted on by the Professional Basketball Writers Association, for the combination of on-court performance and off-court performance with the media.  It was his second.  A few days earlier, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr won the coaches version awarded by the same group.  Curry previously won the Clutch Player of the Year for the NBA just concluded season.      

It's A Series--and the New WNBA

 Four games into the second round of the NBA playoffs, and both Western Conference matchups are tied at 2-2.  The Denver-Minneapolis series is remarkable.  MN surprised the Nuggets by beating them on their own court in the first game, but Denver was expected to reassert itself in the second.  Instead, MN played an excellent defensive game--even without their recent defensive player of the year Gobert, and shut down the Nuggets again.  So sports bloviators (specifically Charles Barkley and Stephen A,) declared the series over, MN would sweep, especially as the series moved to their court.

But then Denver outshot them in two straight games in MN and tied the series.  Suddenly they were (of course) the favorites again.  The ever-popular pivotal game 5 is in Denver.

Meanwhile, the lumbering Dallas Mavs were manhandled by the young Oklahoma Thunder, but then seemed to find their game to take a 2-1 lead and were ahead in game 4 going into the fourth quarter.  But the Thunder stormed back and took a close one in Dallas, to tie the series, heading back to OC.

In the East the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers have a more traditional split, each winning 2 games at home.  Indiana's blowout victory in game 4 suggested to some observers that they had figured out the Knicks and were on their way to an upset in the series.  However, game 5 is in New York. 

The only series that seems to be moving decisively in one direction is Boston up 3 games to one over the Cavs, and going back to Boston for game 5.  But the battered Cavs gave the Celtics a run for their money in game 4, so at least an extended series isn't out of the question.

Off the court, the blah blah blah is hitting a new level.  It's not enough to speculate on Steph and LeBron playing together, or Steph and Kevin Durant reuniting--now it's Steph AND LeBron AND Durant.  Of course it is going to happen, and soon--at the Olympics.

Meanwhile the WNBA season starts tonight with four games.  Caitlin Clark's debut with the visiting Indiana Fever has sold out the Connecticut Sun arena for the first time in a decade.  There seems little doubt that the WNBA is suddenly at a new level, with national stars from the recently completed college season among their own rising and established stars.  Caitlinmania shows no signs of ending soon, and it's hoped that her rising tide will lift all boats.  Maybe I'll even start getting the admittedly generic team names matched up with their cities at last.  

While Warriors Watch

 The first round of the NBA playoffs is over, with some Western Conference surprises, at least in terms of pre-season hopes and expectations.  The biggest surprise (and failure) is the first round exit of the Phoenix Suns, swept by Minneapolis.  The Suns were often pre-season favorites to win the West and possibly the championship.  But the three superstar lineup, even in the few games all were healthy, couldn't compensate for lack of size, and the resources needed to sign them all contributed to a lack of depth.  By the first round they seemed past caring, criticized for a lack of physicality.

The Los Angeles Clippers were also highly touted, but again failed in the playoffs, losing to Dallas in six in the first round.  The Los Angeles Lakers disappointed themselves, and have already sacrificed their coach.  They bowed to Denver in five, which wasn't unexpected.  

So Steph Curry and the Warriors watching all this on TV could take some solace from their own underachieving season, especially since these three teams just mentioned have no clear path to improvement next season, whereas the Warriors may be only a player or two from improving at least enough to get into the playoffs and do damage there.  This makes it less likely that the team will opt for the kind of wholesale change that is predictably speculated in the ongoing blah blah blah.   In fact they could field pretty much the same team, and with a jump in productivity among the younger players, be more competitive.

And for all the talk about the Warriors being too dependent on Steph's scoring, look at New Orleans that couldn't win consistently without Zion, and Memphis which seemingly couldn't put together any kind of competitive team without Ja Morant.  

Much has been made of the fact that three of the biggest stars in the NBA are sitting at home for the second round: Steph, Kevin Durant and LeBron James.  All three are scheduled to play together on the US Olympic team--their conversations might be very interesting.  Nobody knows how upset Durant is with the Suns, or how restless LeBron is, though chances are still very good that all three will stay where they are.  Still...I have to wonder just what they will talk about during the Olympics.

Now the second round has started, with Minneapolis scoring a surprise victory over Denver on the road. It used to be said that it's not a series until the visiting team wins a game.  So look out, it's a series.

The Games Are Over, Let the Blah Blah Blah Begin

 The Lakers victory over New Orleans was surprising, but Sacramento pummeling the Golden State Warriors was almost shocking.  Depending on who is talking, Sacramento played above their capabilities thanks in large measure to a raucous home crowd and Golden State had a bad night; or, the young Sacramento team beat up on the old Warriors.

So their season is over, and the talk about what changes will be/should be/must be/might be made has already begun.  What a din it's going to be for months and months! 

 In their postgame interviews, Steve Kerr and Draymond were slightly in shock but philosophical, Kerr taking the long view and praising this team for sticking together, while Draymond seemed convinced that the current Warriors could have a better year next year.  There's a case to be made for that, in that the rotations changed so much and so many times during this rocky season, only stablizing in a mostly impressive late season run.  But Steph's slightly shocked postgame response was a little different: "I just want to win," he said repeatedly.  He may love this team as it is, but it sure sounds like he's ready for it to change.

The question everyone is focusing on is the future of free agent Klay Thompson.  That he had the worst shooting game of his long career (the first time in nearly 1000 games that he's played more than 12 minutes and not scored) is not a great last impression, and complicates matters further.  Personally I believe it was fatigue.  When a reporter repeated in the presser after the New Orleans game that Coach Kerr said he was going to rest players for the upcoming Utah game, and asked what Klay thought of that, he welcomed the idea of rest, and noted the end of season heavy travel and back-to-backs.  He was tired, and yet played more than 20 minutes against Utah, carrying the scoring burden without Steph.  The game might have meant something but it turned out to be meaningless: the Warriors would have been in 10th win or lose.  A tired Klay might have been the difference in the play-in, though as Coach Kerr said, the Kings physically dominated.

To be realistic, this loss is of limited consequence for them this year.  The Lakers play Denver in the first round, and if it lasts 4, 5 or even 6 games, they will lose.  I'm not sure the Warriors could beat Oklahoma City in 7, but I really doubt they could beat Denver.  Their chances of coming out of the second round, let alone the first, were always dim.  

The real consequence of this not even close loss is that it's the last impression of the season, and increases pressure on the Warriors front office to make big changes in the off-season.  As Kerr said, the West was very competitive this year--with its 46 wins, the Warriors would have been a playoff team last year.  And it seems the West is only going to get stronger next year.  San Antonio is going to be better, Memphis is likely to be better, Sacramento--though whether they even get into the playoffs this year seems to depend on Zion's health in their upcoming play-in game in New Orleans--is a young team that's likely to be better.  In addition to making next season a steeper mountain to climb, it also may limit the talent available to the Warriors in trades and free agency.

So there may be action in the off-season but there most definitely will be talk, talk, talk.  I hope to avoid it.  On the other hand, it's an election year and so the news will be no refuge.  Well, there's the WNBA.  There will be basketball there.

Play-In Set, Starts Tuesday

 The Golden State Warriors won their last game of the season against Utah, but the help they needed from other teams didn't materialize, and so they start the play-in at the 10 position, meaning they will need to win two elimination games on the road just to get into the first round of the playoffs.

The crucial difference was that even though the Dubs defeated the Lakers last week, they lost to New Orleans at home, while the Lakers defeated the Pelicans on the road on Sunday.  Sacramento also won their final game.  So now the Warriors travel to Sacramento for the first play-in game on Tuesday.  If they win it, they play the loser of the Lakers v. Pelicans.  

The other consequential outcomes on Sunday mean that the Phoenix Suns avoid the play-in after all, and the #1 seed is Oklahoma City, with the Nuggets and Timberwolves behind.  So if the Warriors win the play-in games, they will face the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs.

The Warriors played Utah Sunday at home resting Steph and Draymond, but Klay Thompson, who after the New Orleans game had expressed a desire for a rest day, was left to carry the scoring burden with 25 points.  A banged up Kuminga didn't score at all, though he had the most assists of his career.  With starters and the usual second team getting a bit more than 20 minutes each, Coach Kerr emptied the bench, giving a few players a rare appearance.

So how do things look?  The Warriors are more banged up than they were a month ago, but many other teams have equal or worse injury problems.  That's going to make these play-ins and playoffs less than predictable.  The Warriors had a tough end of season schedule in terms of excessive travel and several back-to-backs, so fatigue may also be a factor.  

Still, the Warriors will be expected to win in Sacramento.  Their likely opponent then will be the Lakers, despite LA's big win against New Orleans Sunday, especially if Anthony Davis is out with the injury he apparently suffered at the end of Sunday's game (he led all scorers with 30.) Also, Le Bron played heavy minutes.

  Either of the 9/8 teams is beatable, though both have defeated the Dubs at least once this season.  Can the Dubs handle the Lakers with both Le Bron and Anthony Davis on the floor?  They haven't in their past two victories over LA.  The Dubs go into the play-ins with some momentum (while Sacramento does not), but so do New Orleans and LA when their stars are on the floor. On the other hand, if the Warriors win both games, they won't have to face Denver in the first round, with those match-up problems.

But first they have to get past the Kings.  They may not have Gary Payton II available, Kuminga may not be fully healthy, and Podz continues his puzzling lack of scoring, putting more of a burden on a weary Klay Thompson.  Still, Kerr has a lot of faith in the Draymond/Jackson-Davis combination to augment Steph and hopefully Klay, and in general Kerr expressed a lot of optimism about the team peaking now.  Andrew Wiggins has been playing well lately, even after his ankle injury (he had 19 points Sunday.) Defense has stepped up a lot, but the Dubs still haven't conquered their propensity for turnovers.  So it's Tuesday, game on for the play-in.

Meanwhile, congratulations to Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who hit his 300th career home run on Sunday.  The former National League Most Valuable Player joins such revered Pirates greats as Willie Stargell and Ralph Kiner on the 300 dingers roll, though unlike them, Andrew didn't hit them all while playing for Pittsburgh. Still, he hit 216 as a Pirate, placing him just behind Roberto Clemente on the all time list.  I've seen him play in both the Pirates and SF Giants uniform.  He was one of the few real stars for the Pirates in the decades after the Barry Bonds era in Pittsburgh, with a lot of joy and charisma as well as the skills that made him an exciting player.  

He remained a fan favorite in Pittsburgh and a fixture in the city, especially when he married a Pittsburgh girl and maintained a home there.  He returned to the Pirates this season by his own choice as well as the club's, and he seems destined to retire there as a player and perhaps remain with the Pirates organization.  This too is in an older tradition of Pittsburgh sports, when it wasn't unusual to see a couple of former Pirates managers sitting together in the ballpark stands.

That Iowa Season, Warriors at the Wire

 I had just a semester in the Iowa Writers Workshop graduate program back in the prior century but enough for me to be an Iowa alum, and call Caitlin Clark's team my own.  I've been watching all season, learning the other members of the team as well as the amazing CC.  They sold out games everywhere they went and during the NCAA tournament kept breaking TV viewing records.  Their Final Four victory over UConn had the biggest audience on ESPN, not only of any women's game, but of any basketball game, period.  

Caitlin Clark was the chief reason.  A deep three point shooter in the mold of Steph Curry (Clark made "logo three" part of the language), she also has Curry's ethics and solid, smiling demeanor.  That she's a role model is a very good thing.  But she was also surrounded by good teammates, like the tenacious Gabbie Marshall, a great defensive player who could also reliably hit the three.  

Iowa played in the championship game two years in a row, and this year met the undefeated South Carolina team, possessed of a much deeper bench.  Iowa won the first quarter and lost the other three.  It can be argued that it wasn't quite a fair fight, since the four best teams in the tourney were Iowa, South Carolina, Louisiana and UConn.  To get to the title game, Iowa had to play two of them.  South Carolina played none. 

For all that Clark and Iowa and other breakout stars for other teams did this year to rocket attention to their sport, the upcoming WNBA draft tells a different story about college womens basketball.  While the NBA has 30 teams, drafting deep into college teams and recruiting high school players and even younger prospects, the WNBA has 12 teams, fewer than half as many.  So while Caitlin Clark will almost certainly be chosen with the first draft pick, her excellent teammate, fifth year senior Gabbie Marshall expects never to play another competitive basketball game in her life.  She plans to get some more education and a professional job in the health field.    

Also on Sunday, the Golden State Warriors defeated a Utah Jazz team of mostly young prospects.  Houston had already lost its game, meaning that the Warriors had clinched the 10th spot and a play-in opportunity.  They lost to a Luka-less Dallas by 2 points on Friday, but the Los Angeles Lakers also won one and lost one, so the Dubs are still a game and a half back of the ninth place Lakers, a less vulnerable play-in spot.  They will very likely need to defeat the Lakers on Tuesday to have a chance to move up.  After that, the Warriors play Portland, New Orleans and Utah, while the Lakers have only Memphis and New Orleans.  New Orleans is the wild card in both scenarios.

The Lakers were playing well but are now facing injury issues with their two stars, Le Bron James and Anthony Davis.  As of Sunday, it's not clear whether either will play against the Warriors.  

Down to the Wire

 While the Warriors were wobbling towards the finish line of the season, the Houston Rockets were soaring.  So what had started out to be Golden State's challenge to get into a guaranteed playoff position has become a fight to live as even a play-in team.

Even with new lineups and no real duds on the team, the Warriors continued to struggle to stay with the game long enough to win it, and especially to win at home.  Losses to Indiana, New York and Minnesota were with nearly a fully healthy roster, and then injuries started to mount up.  Back on the road they eventually roughed up a depleted Miami Heat team, and the next day faced the Orlando Magic, with Jonathan Kuminga hurt and a banged-up Jackson-Davis on the court.  As if that wasn't handicap enough, Draymond got himself two tech and an ejection in the first quarter, and Steph Curry almost lost it.  The despair brought him to the verge of tears.

But the Warriors responded.  They protected an early lead until once again they lost it late, but this time responded with just enough to win a low scoring game by 9.  Klay Thompson was again outstanding as a starter, playing heavy minutes two days in a row.  Andrew Wiggins stepped up with the aggressiveness usually supplied by JK, and bench players picked up on the competitive energy.  (Although for the second game in a row Chris Paul seemed less than sure-handed.)  

But Houston also won, beating the better OKC team in overtime. The night before, the Lakers without Le Bron won in overtime.

 It's not just the Warriors who are beat up--practically every team is--so all bets are off for any given game.  On paper, Houston has a tougher schedule to finish but they have momentum, and the Warriors seem to have fewer games with a clear advantage.  They've got two with Dallas, one with the Lakers, New Orleans and now a potentially crucial one with Houston.  They can afford to take lightly exactly nobody.

Unless Houston goes on as impressive a losing streak as their current winning streak, and/or the Warriors practically win out,  Golden State's status as even a play-in team let alone a play-off team could be in doubt until the end of the Utah game on April 14, the end of the regular season. 

The Dukes (Was It The Shoes?)

It was big sports news earlier this week when the Duquesne University Dukes made the cut to participate in the NCAA men's basketball tournament for the first time in decades.  It was even bigger news when they won their first round game, upsetting 6-seeded BYU.  It was the first Dukes victory in the NCAA tourney since 1969.  

But when I was growing up in western Pennsylvania in the 1950s and 60s, and learning the game, the Dukes were the very definition of the best college basketball.  They participated in the NCAA tourney six times in the 1950s, and won the national championship in 1955. This was a whole different era, with set shots and some players still shooting foul shots underhanded. The dunk was not even a distant dream, let alone the three pointer.  From the time I could read headlines in the sports section of the local paper to later when I could read the stories, Duquesne was dominant.

On Thursday, the Dukes ran at the BYU team with athleticism and a 9-0 run to begin the game, and even after BYU took a brief lead, the Dukes went on another run and were up by 12, and maintained that lead throughout the first half.  They kept the pressure on with steals, a characteristic of their game (so of course they've been called the Pittsburgh Stealers.)  BYU came back but the Dukes edged ahead again and held on for the victory.  

Before the game (as ESPN reported Friday), the Dukes team received new shoes from LeBron James, because the Dukes' coach had previously coached LeBron for two years in high school.  So...was it the shoes?

Duquesne University was founded as a Catholic college in Pittsburgh in 1878, and became the first Catholic university in Pennsylvania.  It's a peculiarly Pittsburgh name, going back to the time before the French and Indian War when France claimed the city, guarded at the point of its three rivers by Fort Duquesne (renamed Fort Pitt when the English took over.)  A number of towns and townships in Western Pennsylvania still have their French names, though no one from France would recognize how they are locally pronounced.  Back in those 1950s, sports events on radio and TV were sponsored by both Duquesne Beer (Have a Duke, Have a Duke, Have a Duquesne Beer) and Fort Pitt Beer (Fort Pitt--That's It!)

The beers are gone (though the Duquesne brand was revived) but the Dukes still have a strong sports program for a relatively small school.  Now there must be many wondering "the what Dukes?"  They've already made a national splash.  Perhaps there's more to come.  

Reality Check

 The night of my last post, Steph Curry went down with an ankle injury towards the end of a game against the Chicago Bulls that the Golden State Warriors then narrowly lost.  He was out three games, and the Warriors lost two of them.  With Curry back and scoring 31 points in 3 quarters, they looked good beating the Lakers in LA, though the fairly early exit of Anthony Davis with a nasty eye injury might have been the key.  

Then they lost at home to the surging New York Knicks, which combined with the Lakers convincing beat down of Atlanta, dropped them into 10th place.  It was the Knicks' fifth win in a row on the road, but notably Coach Kerr and especially Steph Curry did not emphasize this momentum in their postgame comments.  Kerr said the Warriors had simply been outplayed.  Curry expanded on that idea, noting that a week or so ago he was talking about the Warriors moving up to the sixth slot for the playoffs, but now it didn't seem to matter what slot they got, if they played in the playoffs as they did against the Knicks, they wouldn't get very far.

It was a sobering reality check.  The Dubs have a physical disadvantage against particular teams but  the quality of their play is in their own hands.  So even if it was an off night, there can't be too many of those for the rest of the season or the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Kerr continues to play his depth.  Nobody cracked 30 minutes on the floor against New York but Curry and Green, and both of them barely.  In that game only Jackson-Davis was truly impressive, with 19 points and 10 boards in his twenty-some minutes.  The other bright spot is Klay Thompson, who had great games (though in slightly different ways) against both the Lakers and the Knicks.  He continues to thrive off the bench. Draymond Green may be hampered by injury, and Moses Moody is also questionable.  Obviously Dray is a big factor, and in particular matchups Moody could be. 

Now the Dubs have a chance to improve their doleful record at home with two more games this week, against Memphis and Indiana.

Stretch

 After another successful road trip and a 35 point victory over the Bucks at home (with the Bulls coming in on yet another back to back), the Golden State Warriors look game by game at the stretch run of the regular season: 21 more games.

At this point the schedule is potentially better but full of unknowns.  For example, the Dubs play Dallas and San Antonio three times each.  Of course it matters almost as much when you play a team as what team you play.  But right now, Minnesota and New Orleans look to be the only top tier teams they'll face.

Can they get to the sixth seed and out of the play-in?  It's possible, though Phoenix would seemingly have to drop down beyond that slot, and that team is hard to figure.  So far they've certainly been the disappointment of the West.  

But do they really want to?  Because as a six seed they'd probably draw Denver.  The great unknown of any playoff is how teams will perform against each other in a seven game series.  The Warriors' depth favors them in most cases, and Steve Kerr seems to be coaching not only to win the remaining games, but to prepare the entire roster for playing in the playoffs, and the roles they might fill.  But if a team has a decisive advantage, that depth may not help.  And right now the Denver Nuggets look like they have that kind of advantage over the Dubs. (Phoenix may actually match up better with Denver.)  So it's probably better for the Warriors not to face Denver in the first round. 

But then, lurking in the East there's the Boston Celtics.  Their 50 point beatdown of the Dubs at the end of a short but torturous East Coast trip was partly a product of those circumstances, and the absence of Wiggins.  But in general they do appear to be another team for which the Dubs don't have an answer.  Anything can happen before and during the playoffs--key injuries prominently.  But right now the Finals look foreordained: Denver v. Boston, with the Celtics likely to emerge at the end.

So it's best to enjoy the basketball ahead on this stretch run.  The victory over the Bucks was so much fun to watch, from lightning offence to incredible defense, including massive blocks by Jackson-Davis, J.K. and Draymond.  The Warriors scored 32 points in the fourth quarter, and the Bucks scored 9.  

 Though it may be a stretch to consider the Warriors as championship contenders, stranger things have happened.  Beyond team dynamics, skills, experience, match-ups and the will to win, the three elements of winning in the playoffs are health, momentum and luck.  They happen or they don't.  Still, getting there may be all the fun.

Happy Time?

 After a very successful road trip, the Golden State Warriors won their first two games after the All Star break--back to back at home.  Coach Steve Kerr reportedly signed a lucrative contract for the next two years, making him by some measures the highest paid coach in the NBA.  In a postgame interview he seemed almost giddy at the prospects for the rest of this season, especially because of all the young players who are suddenly blossoming.  He even called this a "fun" season, which doesn't exactly match the angst and the won-loss record.  Everyone's excited that Chris Paul will be back. So is it happy time?

Maybe--this next road trip will go a long way to figuring if the Dubs can get that sixth seed to go directly into the playoffs. The Lakers do appear vulnerable.  The Dubs have two games with Dallas and can make up a lot of ground there.  Sacramento is probably the stumbling block but the Warriors' schedule is generally favorable.  The biggest problem may be fatigue.  But this time of year the big factors are health and momentum.  By tipoff in Washington, the Warriors will be fully healthy.  They had momentum and now they must really turn it on,

Once in the playoffs, can they do damage?  Sure.  Can they win it all?  Well, there was the last home game against the Denver Nuggets.  Denver dominated, and swept their four game series--the first time any team has won all four matchups in the Kerr era.  What was clear from that game is that the Warriors have no answer for Denver's team as it currently is.  Denver is too tall, too big, too physical and too skilled.  All of that mirrors the advantages of Nicola Jokic, probably this year's MVP.  If Denver stays healthy, it may well be that nobody can stop them from repeating.  But specifically the Dubs don't seem to be currently built to do so.  Depending on how this season plays out, and mostly whether Denver repeats, that may be a concern during the off-season, when management considers the roster.  

Right now, though, Kerr is right--the current roster is fun to watch, and it is capable of beating most teams.  They won without Chris Paul and depending on how he comes back from injury, they can win even more with him.  So happy time?  Could be. 

At The Break

 At the All-Star game break, the Golden State Warriors have a winning record--barely.  They have won one game more than they've lost.  Considering they were five games underwater not so long ago, that ranks as hopeful.

But they've still got problems.  A major one resurfaced in their last two games: blowing fourth quarter leads.  They were up 14 points over the Clippers as the fourth started, and lost by 5.  They blew another double digit lead at Utah the next night, and came very close to losing that one.  

Figure in fatigue approaching the break, as well as a back-to-back, but still, it's worrisome.  On the bright side, they had a great road trip, becoming only the second Dubs team in history to win 3 road games in a row by 20 points or more.  Their schedule also gets easier in the second half of the season.  So they are well positioned to get into the playoffs, and nobody will want to face them in a 7 game series.  That's partly because the problems caused by a crowded roster is becoming a strength: their depth.  Their bench is still at times outplaying their starters, even as the starting lineup has changed.  It changed again in Utah, for awhile at least, as Klay Thompson didn't start.  He did however come off the bench for significant minutes, and a game high 35 points.  

Realistically, the Dubs can hope to play their way past play-in slots to the playoffs, but it's a difficult climb beyond fourth or fifth place.  Three teams--Denver, Minnesota and the Clippers--have been alternating at the top spot so far this season.  The Warriors will have their work cut out for them to just move up past the Lakers.  Who happen to be their first opponent when the regular season resumes.

In my previous post I failed to give Draymond Green his credit due for the Dubs resurgence.  He's become the key to the starting group, that is, the lineup that most often plays with Steph.  He's working well with the new starters, J.K. and now Podz.  Klay enjoyed being featured with the second unit, an unforeseen development.  The return of Chris Paul adds another element, when it happens.  

It's always a worry when momentum is stopped by the break, which has happened to the Dubs before.  This year they really can't afford it.  It may just be one game, that first game back, but beating the Lakers at home could mean a lot.  That road trip meant the boos at Chase Center are history.  This could be the start of something big.

Super Bowl Preview and Warriors Are Winning Finally

 The run-up to the Super Bowl pits predictions against each other.  Last time I looked, San Francisco was still the odds-on favorite with bettors, but over the last week it seems that sports commentators are heavily favoring Kansas City.  A large majority of sportswriters polled by ESPN are picking the Chiefs, ending with the Athletic predicting the Niners defeat, because of a suspect defense.

The zeitgeist has also been favoring the Chiefs, with the midwestern Kansas City touted as the American team, vs. those weirdos and lefties from San Francisco in the Republic of California.  Throw in the Taylor Swift quotient (expect thousands of new viewers to tune in just to see if she makes it from Japan to Las Vegas in time for the game) and Kansas City seems the media darling.

I will guess that the Niners looking at all this, especially after being consigned to a soggy practice field and been awakened by a false fire alarm, are feeling like unappreciated underdogs, despite the betting lines.  I will guess they have something to prove, and they may even be a little angry.  On the defensive and offensive lines especially, anger helps.  Motivation may not always win games, but it might win this one.

Meanwhile...at last!  With their new starting lineup and rotation, the still undermanned Golden State Warriors are winning.  They won 4 of 5 games on their road trip, including two by around 20 points, and the one they lost was in overtime, the second of a back-to-back in Atlanta. Then they came home to another one point game, but this time--at last!--they won it, on a final shot by Steph Curry.  They beat a western conference rival, the Phoenix Suns--something else they hadn't done recently.  With this victory the Dubs finally clawed their way back to an even record.

And indeed, they survived the trade deadline intact, losing only one bench player (Cory Joseph), who might end up back on the team anyway before the season is over.  Andrew Wiggins has--finally!--come around to playing closer to his potential.  But the big story of this period is Jonathan Kuminga, who at the start of the trade talk was supposedly on the block, and by the end was "untouchable."  His blossoming makes him clearly a major part of the Warriors' future.  Among the other pieces that are working, there is the basic dynamic of Curry dominating outside and Kuminga now punishing opponents at the rim. 

 Both Lester Quinones and Gui Santos got playing time and excelled, while Brandin Podziemski did well according to what was needed, playing significant minutes with the starters.  They all provided energy that the team fed on.  Moreover, the Warriors won a couple of those games without an ailing Klay Thompson, and all of them on the road without the injured Gary Payton II. Payton's return Saturday was electric--now the Dubs are mixing in alley-oops with Payton and JK as well as Trayce-Jackson Davis. Chris Paul may soon return, while other bench players cycle through minor injuries.  Suddenly other teams aren't going to want to see the Warriors in the playoffs, though the Dubs are going to have to keep winning to get there.   

Which Is It? The Warriors and the Trade Deadline

 There's been a fascinating tug of war going on in the media during the past week regarding the Warriors and the upcoming NBA trade deadline.  On the one hand, there are reports of the Warriors likely to stand pat, which to me are strongly reinforced by Coach Kerr's recent comments that the Warriors have the team they want, and there's not much that will improve it currently available anyway.  Then there are apparently well-sourced reports that the Warriors are listening to trade offers for nearly everybody.  (Of course they'll listen, but will they jump?) We'll know in a week who got it right.

Meanwhile with their new lineup, the Warriors are starting to look like a dynamic team again.  In their 20 point road victory over Memphis, even the bench players who haven't been playing made strong contributions.  (Then again, sportswriters will suggest they were being showcased for trade to other teams.)  The emergence of Jonathan Kuminga itself seems to have changed everything.  Is this the change that Steph Curry was talking about?  Change from within?  The Athletic's story about this had the snappy title "Urgent Evolution."  

The Warriors have several more road games before the deadline.  If they continue playing this well, will management want to mess with a suddenly successful chemistry?   Even risk yet another period of adjustment in order to figure out what to do with even a big star?  It's hard not to see a major trade as a kissoff to this season, and depending on who is traded, yet another trauma.

Heartbreak and Hope

 After sustaining yet another humiliating loss against a team of subs, the Golden State Warriors suddenly experienced true heartbreak with the death of beloved assistant coach Dejan Milojevic during a team dinner.  After two games were postponed for mourning, the Warriors responded with a double digit win over the Atlanta Hawks.  However, the next two games were authentic heartbreakers: a one point loss to Sacramento, followed by a one point loss to the Lakers in double overtime.  

The potential silver lining in these last two losses was finding a starting lineup for the future, with guards Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, forwards Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga, anchored by Draymond Green at center.  The Lakers game in particular was heartening for effort and efficiency.  Coach Kerr and the players are positive, at least in public.

If it turns out to be a turning point, is it too late for this season?  It seems pretty clear that the Warriors, slipping further below .500, are no longer among the half-dozen or perhaps even the dozen best teams.  Even Steph Curry was snubbed for the starting lineup at the All-Star Game.  Several young superstars on other teams are coming into dominance, leading their teams to high hopes. 

Meanwhile the trade deadline approaches though the sports gossip has changed.  It's become clear that Kuminga is emerging as a star, so he is no longer in trade chatter.  Nor suddenly is Andrew Wiggins.  Only Chris Paul (not playing due to injury) and perhaps Klay Thompson are talked about, apart from the younger players.  But whether the Warriors front office can make a move depends on other teams, and available players wanting to come to Golden State.  It's starting to look like the Dubs may be in the same position as the SF Giants--stars don't believe they are contenders.  Anyway, I seriously doubt that Klay Thompson is worth more to any other team than he is to the Warriors.

As for the San Francisco 49ers, the spectre of heartbreak became the hope for a Super Bowl championship with their second half in the conference final, coming back from 17 points to defeat the Detroit Lions.  As they did the previous week (though they held on to win), Detroit played a  dominant first half and all but disappeared in the second.  Some bad coaching decisions and some bad luck also figured in.  The Niners rose up to do the rest.

In a further twist, the highly favored Baltimore Ravens were smothered by the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game.  The Chiefs haven't looked that great all this season, in particular settling for field goals when in previous years they got touchdowns.  But they are an experienced playoff team that can outlast any opponent.  Whatever anybody expects from the Super Bowl, it's most likely to surprise.

Change

Speculation on who the Warriors could or should trade, and trade for, are nearly constant, especially online.  It's part of the clickbait noise, the sports shows whipping up business.  But the chances that the Warriors might actually be seeking a major trade jumped dramatically in just the past week.  The reasons are several and related.

After wobbling through the season nearly even, winning and mostly losing close games, adapting to injuries and suspensions, the Warriors collapsed in shocking fashion to end the homestand that was supposed to save their season.  They lost two home games in a row by big margins to inferior opponents, and lost them early.  I doubt this has ever happened before when Steph Curry was on the court. 

More to the point, the Warriors were so apparently listless, ineffective and demoralized that they got booed by members of the home crowd.  That's been reported, though I have no idea how widespread it was.  Also people in the stands noticeably left early.  The next step is that they don't show up at all.  Ownership notices something like that.

Another big element is a particular remark by Steph Curry, quoting the definition of insanity that President Obama often used, to the effect that doing the same thing and expecting a different result is crazy.  That's not exactly the franchise player saying his teammates ought to be traded away.  But an executive on the edge could interpret it as something like that--at the very least, permission.

So the rumors last week that the Warriors were resisting trading Jonathan Kuminga, probably their best trading asset besides Curry, have transformed this week into rumors that everybody is on the table except Curry.  Grain of salt of course.

The reality is that the trading deadline is less than a month away, and deals may or may not get done. How desperate should the general manager be?  The recent woes on defense could possibly be overcome by Draymond's return, eventually.  But how patient can management be in the Internet age? If other teams sense desperation, the Warriors could induce trauma without getting much back.

And at this point, trauma is a likely result to the breaking up of a dynastic team, which means trading away Klay and/or Draymond.  Fans like quick fixes, but there are none.  The current team, with maybe some tweaking, may snap out of it to make a playoff run.  A new team probably means this season is lost, and there will be empty seats.  

If the core, if the heart and soul of this team is broken, it seems to me less likely that Steve Kerr will be bothering about a new contract.  He's likely to stay the year, if he's not fired as part of a major sweep, but less likely to return next year.  

 The pressure to change at all costs could get even more intense, if for example the Warriors get blown out again by a lesser team in Chicago.  These young hungry teams now know just how to do it--take it to them from the start with energy and aggression and daring.  The Internet age is especially prone to hysteria.  This may be a test of character for Warrior front office leadership as much as for players and coaches.  The hounds are baying for them to do something.  To make changes.

   In football: right now major storms and very low temperatures are forecast to hit the Midwest and the Northeast this weekend, just in time for the NFL wildcard games. Three of the games, in Buffalo, Detroit and Kansas City, are within the zone of dangerous weather.  So far, thanks apparently to the greed of the NFL and the host cities and their teams, no games have been postponed or moved. If that continues in the face of more specific forecasts, no good will come of this, for players or fans or others.  It's tragedy waiting to happen.  Let's get priorities in order.

The Team That Doesn't Know Who They Are

As hopeful as things seemed not long ago, the Golden State Warriors prospects now seem just as dire.  Some fans and fan sites are in panic mode, calling for blood or at least a major trade.  Young Jonathan Kuminga seemed like he was goaded into some unfortunate comments criticizing Coach Kerr, then changed his tune a day later in public.  Meanwhile the roster changes again as Chris Paul has a serious injury and will be out for an undetermined time--but probably a long time (4-6 weeks or maybe much longer), while Draymond Green is set to return to the team and begin playing possibly in a week.

The catalyst for all this angst was a three game losing streak at home, the climax being a last milisecond loss to Denver, after being ahead by 18 points with less than a quarter to go.  It was yet another emotionally devastating loss, the kind that has everyone losing its sense of the team, if not demonstrably freaking out. Among the scenarios in this game--in which the Warriors played very well for three quarters--was Coach Kerr's decision not to re-insert Kuminga in the 4th quarter lineup, the cause of Kuminga's outburst.  Kerr has yet to say this was a coaching mistake (as he did when he failed to keep a hot Moses Moody in for crunch time, and watched the team lose that one as well.)  But Steph Curry came right out and said it had been a mistake.

 Yet the Warriors had to play the next night after the Denver loss, and barely beat the team currently holding the record for consecutive losses.  But drained and tired, they did win, and that meant something.  

Steph Curry's analysis after the Denver game was the most trenchant.  When asked what had gone wrong to lead to so many disappointing losses, he said there were different factors in each game but added that it's not a good position to be in when you have to explain your losses--"but that's who we are right now."

He said that right now the Warriors don't know who they are, but the Denver Nuggets do.  They know what they will do to finish games, but Golden State--with its fluctuating lineups--doesn't.  "We haven't established an identity," he concluded, "but there's still belief that we can."

The Warriors have lost a bunch of close games, and won a few.  They can be competitive, but according to Curry what is missing is this sense of identity, of knowing who they are.  They now face the adjustment to Draymond's return, not knowing how he will be different because of his suspension.  A lot of people are expecting a big trade, but that won't help the immediate identity problem, just postpone it.  As other teams loaded with high-priced stars have already discovered, that's no guarantee to establishing a team, an identity, or a winning culture.  

Their short-term hope is that Draymond can step back in and fill the gap that Chris Paul left, though Paul's presence in the locker room will still be important, especially to the younger players he's brought along.  Curry is not expressing panic--he's seen turmoil before over the years, though fans and commentators tend to forget the controversies of the past and how important they seemed at the time. The Warriors' adventure continues.

There is of course another San Francisco team that knows who they are, and if they can escape key injuries Sunday (as the Ravens did), the 49ers will soon embark on their postseason journey to the Super Bowl, where a rematch with the Ravens seems likely if not inevitable.  

Meanwhile the Pittsburgh Steelers await Sunday outcomes that will tell them if they're going into the playoffs, though without T.J. Watt their slim chances to advance very far seem further dimmed.  It would be fascinating however to see if the offensive transformation under 3rd string quarterback Mason Rudolph is to continue, or the keys given back to Kenny Pickett.  In the unlikely event they make the playoffs [update: they did], my guess is Tomlin will stay with Rudolph, but if they don't make the playoffs, next season is anybody's guess. A new offensive coordinator will have a lot to say.  In any case the Steelers have a winning season, the 17th straight non-losing season for Coach Tomlin, and the 20th straight for the Steelers overall.  A generation of winning football--something to savor.