The key to this NBA season is more and more obvious: it is health. It is the strain of all those games. Almost every team is missing its stars at crucial moments. Fans are being cheated of the basketball they expect.
Last time I noted that the Golden State Warriors were winning and healthy. Almost immediately they lost Steph Curry for two games and lost them both. Then they lost Gary Payton II, probably for the rest of the season. Payton was having among the best stretches of games on both offense and defense of his career, but injuries have always kept him off the court most of the time. With him the Warriors were truly formidable. Now they have less room for error.
Their first game with Steph back in the lineup was almost as unimpressive as their two losses. They played lowly New Orleans with its two biggest stars out of the lineup, and only one of its regular starters on the floor. Once again--as has been their pattern on this road trip--they lost the first quarter, after vowing repeatedly to come out stronger. The whole team including Steph had a bad shooting night. They won because they wore down the comically depleted Pelicans.
They won on Friday but so did the Clippers and the Timberwolves, their two very close rivals for the 6th spot to get a playoff series. And both of those teams won more impressively. Even though they have identical records with the Clippers at the moment, the Warriors actually dropped out of sixth because the Clippers have beat them three times this season.
So now the Warriors have less than no breathing space, and their championship caliber will be tested every game. They've won just one of the supposedly easy games in this road trip. They next face a depleted San Antonio, but then they play Memphis (higher in the standings but in turmoil, with their coach just inexplicably fired) and the Lakers, games they should be able to win. The rest of their season is at home, but including three quality opponents, with away games at Phoenix and Portland.
The Clippers play the Cavs and Rockets as well as the Warriors in their last games, but Minnesota's only real challenge appears to be Denver. So all kinds of things can happen, including Minnesota leapfrogging to fifth and Memphis falling to sixth. All the Warriors can do is win and maybe they'll still earn that six spot, a week of rest and a guaranteed playoff series.
Meanwhile in the NFL, the Steelers have lost both quarterbacks that started last year and are unbelievably waiting on Aaron Rodgers to make up his mind. I can't believe Pittsburgh has much patience for this. Rodgers was an immense asshole in New York, hardly played and is now 41. Pittsburgh and the Steelers used to have little tolerance for jerks. They may have no good options here, this being an awkward situation, but kissing off Rodgers seems just about mandatory.
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