For the record, the Warriors held the lead in Game Two of the West Finals on five separate occasions. Given the relative strength of the opposition, the number would seem indicative of their competitiveness. Unfortunately, all the aforementioned instances were in the initial quarter, and none after the first eight minutes of the match. In other words, the development underscored the opposite; for all their supposed superiority and momentum following their emphatic victory in Game One, they wound up on the wrong side of a role reversal yesterday.
To be sure, the Warriors will be glad to have come up with a split after the first two outings of the best-of-seven affair. The Rockets secured homecourt advantage in light of an outstanding 65-win regular season, only to lose it on their very first match against the competition they were precisely built to withstand. On the other hand, there’s something to be said about the manner in which the hosts bounced back from an otherwise-disappointing outing. They didn’t just win; they proved to all and sundry that they deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as the defending champions.
Needless to say, Game Three will be pivotal for both protagonists. For the Warriors, it figures to be an affirmation of what they stand for. Yesterday, they found themselves mimicking the Rockets’ isolation-heavy offense, to mixed results; even as Kevin Durant managed to assert himself anew, backcourt partners Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were all but ineffective at best. And so caught up were they in the one-upmanship that they actually finished with fewer assists.
No doubt, the Warriors will spend much of the next three days studying film and being reminded of the primary source of their edge. Through their extended run of success that netted them two titles off three straight Finals appearances, they willingly shared the ball and accepted the importance of any one player to their cause. In Game Two, they succumbed to a deliberate style that underscored a pecking order and accordingly devalued the egalitarian thrust of their system.
True, the Warriors are so stacked that they can readily win in a shootout, even against the vaunted Rockets. In so doing, however, they play the percentages and thus discount the source of their greatness. They’re at their finest when they highlight their unpredictability, not when they resort to playing hero ball. Which is to say they’re unbeatable when they’re at their best. Whether they actually get to be by resisting the lure and allure of ego-boosting one-on-one forays is another matter altogether.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
