Eisengeiste: Sunset at Oracle

I cannot be held responsible for this decision

As I lay on the gurney awaiting my procedure, snippets of conversation floated over the curtains and into my semi-private alcove. A nurse was going through her checklist - I could hear the questions but not the answers - "What medication...?" "When did you eat last?" "Do you feel unsafe at home?" "Do you have someone to drive you...?" Then murmuring and an exclamation of surprise. "Who's your favorite?" And the reply, clear as day: "Klay Thompson".

"Not Curry? Really!?" "Definitely Klay Thompson."

After the procedure, which involved administration of Fentanyl and some other thing - nitrous or thorazine or amyl nitrate or something...they shook my hand and sent me away.

"Oh..." the nurse warned - "...the drugs will take a while to completely wear off. You should be fine tomorrow, but in the meantime don't operate heavy machinery, or drive, or do anything too strenuous. And..." she looked meaningfully at me "...don't sign any legal papers, or make any big decisions for the rest of the day."

I snipped off the wristband, got dressed, and combed my hair. I walked a little uncertainly out to the lobby, where my wife was waiting, and made a big decision.

"Could you drive me to Oracle?"

The Invocation

I had been hoping to see the Greatest Team of Modern Times up close, but between calendars and the epic cost had thought I wouldn't get the chance. But sometimes you just have to make the pilgrimage.

This game against the Sacramento Kings looked to be a good choice. The Kings are fun: they are young, and they play at the fastest pace in the Association. With rising stars like De'Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III they fill up the highlight reel. They'd lost to the Warriors in their three previous meetings, but the games were all close.

I also came to say good-bye. Good-bye to one of the most storied arenas in basketball, since the Warriors move into a new place next year. Good-bye to the greatest crowd in the the NBA, which a Houston journalist measured at 120 decibels during last year's Western Conference finals. Good-bye to the "We Believe" Warriors of 2007, who were making their final appearance at Oracle that evening.

And also, in all probability, good-bye to the Warriors dynasty that I have followed with such interest these past few years. Durant, MVP of the last two Finals, is considered a lock to leave at year-end. Most of the five players remaining from the first championship team of 2014/15 - Curry, Thompson, Green, Iguodala, and Livingston - are also at risk, with Livingston and Iguodala nearing retirement, and Thompson and Green preparing for free agency.

So I was feeling a bit sad, watching Durant warming up, and reflecting wistfully, on the Last Days...

Lucky!

...when the place suddenly went dark.

A spotlight went on at center court and Stephen Jackson - star of both the We Believe team and the Malice at the Palace - appeared, dressed in black and wearing sunglasses. "LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED" he shouted, the crowd roared, and we were off.

Basketball Heaven

Good Lord it was something to behold. Two skilled teams pushing the ball, playing hard, challenging one another. A squad of extraordinary veterans challenged by a young group that knows they can compete and pays no heed to the traumas of yesteryear. Of all the NBA games I've been to, nothing matched the speed, precision, and skill on display in the first quarter of this game. Here is a representative example:

Notice that the Curry dunk gets all the attention, but Fox runs a one man fast break the other way and scores before the Warriors defense can set (AND ONE). Curry misses a three, and Buddy Hield comes roaring back for a quick pull up jumper. Kings Basketball: blink and you'll miss it.

The quarter went by with a WHOOSH, and ended with the Warriors ahead 35-30.

A Young Man's Game?

There was understanding around the table that the lead was provisional. The Kings' guards, Fox and Buddy Hield, shoot threes fearlessly. To hold a lead you have to match them. The Kings also have a man, first round draft pick Marvin Bagley III, who has the size and inside game to exploit the Warriors' suspect interior defense. Bagley is 19 years old, stands 6-11, and is a fully developed offensive player with a nice array of post moves and an accurate short-range floater. He checked in late in the first quarter, and decided to give Kevin Durant some basketball lessons, with the following results (source: ESPN game log):

5:09 - Kevin Durant blocks Marvin Bagley III 's 6-foot driving layup
4:22 - Kevin Durant blocks Marvin Bagley III 's 12-foot jumper
1:47 - Marvin Bagley III makes dunk (Yogi Ferrell assists)
0:22 - Kevin Durant blocks Marvin Bagley III's layup

Message received. But the Kings don't know when to quit. Durant continued in this vein, but Bagley kept coming. He would eventually match Durant's 28 points, and out-rebound him, 14-9.

The Warriors, meanwhile, began to fall victim to the Oracle yips. On the road they have been terminators, but at home this year they have been guilty of over-playing to the crowd, trying to make the fancy play when a simple one will do. As the Kings doubled down on their intensity, the Warriors started dropping, kicking, and fumbling the ball. In one memorable sequence Kevin Durant whipped the ball to team owner Joe Lacob, sitting a few rows in front of us. Lacob gently returned the ball to the referee and play resumed.

By the time the upstarts' lead got to 11, I began to wonder if the title of this post would be "I Saw the Greatest Basketball Team of Modern Times Lose to the Sacramento Kings."

The Galácticos Weigh In

Um, no. The Warriors evened the game early in the 4th quarter, then opened a five point lead that the Kings couldn't close. Despite some last minute theatrics from Draymond, the Warriors won the quarter by two buckets, and the game by one.

And for the fourth time this season the young Kings went home shaking their heads, muttering we almost had them. We were so close!

Dear Basketball God's I don't ask for much but could you please find it in your heart to give us a Warriors vs Kings playoff matchup?
— Tom Tolbert (@byronjr23) February 22, 2019

Just another historic performance

Oh, by the way. Steph Curry shot 10 three pointers (on 16 attempts) during the course of the game. I didn't notice - they came in the normal flow, nothing was forced. This got a passing mention on local radio, but, in an evening of hype at Oracle, it went more or less un-celebrated.

When I got home I looked it up, though: there have been 44 occasions in all of NBA history where a player shot 10 or more three pointers in a game. For the most part, these were one hot night in a career: Kobe, Joe Dumars, Brian Shaw, etc. Only three people have shot 10 or more three pointers in an NBA game on more than one occasion: