Heart

"Never underestimate the heart of champion" - Rudy T


Game 6. It's on.

People keep comparing the Warriors-Mavs series to the Lakers-Suns series last year when the Lakers were up 3-1 and blew it. No way. The difference is this: the Warriors have heart. They are also a little crazy. Stephen Jackson was hit by a car and fired shots at a strip club, do you really think he is scared of anything? Do the Warriors even have anything to be scared of?

Back to the whole heart thing. The Warriors are a team that thrives on emotion and wears their emotions on their sleeves. Except unlike an annoying emo kid, they actually channel their emotions into energy on the basketball court. This energy may not always be positive, but at least they give a shit (unlike stiffs like Erick Dampier). And that's the reason why the Warriors are night and day from the Lakers of last year. There's no way Baron Davis gives up on his team and doesn't shoot in the second half while his team is being blown out (ahem). For better or worse, you better believe Baron will be chucking up fadeaway 3's like a madman. I don't mean to hate on Kobe either. He is the best offensive player in the NBA hands down. But Kobe's demeanor is ice-cold, Kobe is a stone-cold killer, the motherfucking professional; when was the last time you saw him smile in a game? The Warriors on the other hand are the complete opposite. Baron Davis is always chopping it up with the fans, refs, and other players. Even Charles Barkley admitted the Warriors are fun to watch. Why? Precisely because they play with heart and emotion. How easy is it to be a fan when your players are laughing, having a good time, and getting pumped up. Everyone from the fans to the players feed off that energy. It's electrifying. That's not to say someone like Kobe doesn't care or have heart either, he just doesn't display it so vividly. It's a matter of personality. And because people can't mindread, all we have are these outward gestures. Tim Duncan may be great, and it's fun to admire his skill, but it can be hard to get into. Ever team has a fan favorite, the guy who hustles, takes charges, and cares just a little too much (Brian Cardinal, for example). It's just rare when that guy is also a star of the team. Social psychology can help explain this phenomena as well. As a fan, a Tiger Woods fist pump makes me yawn, or crack a smile at the very most, but if I see Baron acting a fool on the court, I am way more inclined to act a fool in the stands. When Isaiah Thomas was dancing and singing about the Promised Land, I was right there with him. When Forest Whitaker cried at the Oscars, dammit, I was glad he won. The Warriors know pathos. Just look at the homecourt advantage Oracle Arena provides.


Oracle Arena has more handclaps than MSTRKRFT. Note: The kid in the orange headband is a baller. I bet he would dominate one of those kid's games they have at halftime.


With fans like this, how can the Warriors lose?

All the experts are saying Game 6 is a must win for the Warriors. Wrong again. Dallas has shown me no evidence that they are the better team in the series. In Game 7 of the Suns-Lakers series, the Suns pulled out all the stops and showed they were the better team. I don't think the Mavs can do that. The Warriors have too much firepower. I don't see Game 5 as a collapse because it was ridiculous that the Warriors were even in that position. Dallas came out guns-a-blaze, like they needed to, but the Warriors were able to regain composure and rally back. To be honest, I would be scared of a Game 7 if I were a Mavericks fan. All the pundits would once again be against the Warriors and everyone would count them out. I think Don Nelson, Stephen Jackson, and the rest of the Warriors actually relish the underdog role. They like being the asshole and they thrive off the haters.

Here's a perfect story from Hoop Junkie that illustrates the point:

Funny (or not so funny) story involving Stephen Jackson last night. He was walking to the team bus after the game. On the route he took, he walked past this bar inside of American Airlines Center. The bar, the front of which was floor-to-ceiling windows, was packed with Mavericks fans who, when they seen Jackson, started pounded on the glass and jeering him.
Jackson slows down and flashes a smile to the fans in jest as he walks by, soaking it in. He holds up his iced-out medallion to the people in the bar, as if be stealing the Dave Chappelle line "I'm Rich ..."
Just in case they didn't get the message, Jackson stopped, pulled out a fat wad of cash and taunted the crowd with it.
"I'm an (#%&)hole," Jackson said as he walked away. "That's how I got here."
Classic Jackson.

Compare and contrast that with this:

Goodbye.



To paraphrase Will Smith, we got our motherfuckin' swagger back!

Stars - Heart
Bone Crusher - Never Scared
Nas - Warrior Song (9th Wonder Remix)

*
This post was completely biased.

I got most of these images from Golden State of Mind, an absolutely great blog that stepped it up big time for the playoffs. The Warriors are never in the news, and I am always looking for any commentary whatsoever on them. Well, finally, the W's are getting some buzz and this blog does a great job of compiling articles as well adding its own commentary. Check it out

I had to post this:


U-C-L-A FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!