When you make bold predictions like I do, sometimes when you're wrong you just have to be prepared to take it on the chin. But I'm rarely wrong, especially when it comes to a team's potential. For instance now, finally, the Timberwolves have people shaking. What I recommended is that they get a pass-first PG to join D'Angelo Russell in the backcourt. They made an even wiser move by replacing him altogether with Mike Conley, thus eliminating the possibility of Russell chuckin. And they have so much other talent on the roster that the absence of D'Angelo doesn't really matter (if everyone is healthy).
But that's not an example of what I mean when I say sometimes I'm wrong. What I'm usually most wrong about is predicting what the NBA powers-that-be may do. The NBA is now, imo, more controlling of games and the fate of teams than they've ever been. For example, NBA players don't have freedom of speech like other Americans do (at least not without getting fined or suspended). If a fan insults an NBA player, the player cannot confront them without being investigated. And I'm not saying that they should be confronting fans. But if it's like, that then every player needs to undergo sensitivity training and certain types of orientation before joining the league, and some of them may even need to do it annually.
Where I was wrong recently is in taking that standard as being indicative of the NBA completely turning against bad boys. In my last predictions for this season, I put the Grizzlies lower on the list of contenders than I perhaps would have otherwise because of the trouble Morant and Brooks was getting into. Since then Ja has been reinstated; Brooks is still playing rough to my knowledge, and Desmond Bane, one of the most-innocent looking players ever, forearmed Kevin Love in the nuts. Besides that, the Grizzlies are hot at home, which will matter since they're probably going to conclude the season with the second seed. And I mean, I don't know what's going to happen. But if the boys stay bad and the NBA doesn't slap them with any type of excessive penalties, then they should make the WCF, at least.
And then, there's Draymond Green. Last season the Warriors were my sentimental favorites to win. I didn't believe they were going to win, but I wanted them to. So when predicting against them proved wrong, yes, I believe the NBA helped them along the way. But I also believe that they genuinely beat the Celtics, and not only that but did so convincingly.
And that's when I really, really had to respect the power of Steph and Klay. By NBA standards, dudes are aged and injury-ridden. There's no question that from an overall athletic standpoint, the Celtics starting five is superior to that of the Dubs. But then again, that's probably been true every time the Warriors made it to the Finals. But the reason they've been winning is because when the Splash Bros, esp Curry, get hot, there really isn't much the other team can do except hope that they go cold.
And the way I see it, it's Draymond who makes that possible. I defend Jordan Poole a lot, but Green is another player on this team who like never gets full respect. And I don't even mean from analysts and fans but like from niggas who's supposed to pay him type shit.
He's the one who makes that the Splash Bros invincible. Remember that up until last year, the three times the Warriors won the Finals, it was never a Splash Bro. that got MVP. Steph and Klay, if you put enough pressure on them, can be taken out of their game. They aren't exactly the biggest players in the NBA. But once Draymond gets heated, it becomes difficult to just focus on Curry and Thompson, because he draws more attention than anyone in the arena. And speaking of aging, he's now such an old man in the game that even barking on his own coach regularly.
And the reason I'm saying this is because if the otherwise-parochial NBA is going to be letting dudes get rough and tumble into the playoffs, well damn, that's Draymond's element. The kryptonite is that he sometimes doesn't know how to control himself. I guess that can be said for all of these confrontational types. But if we're entering an era where bad boys stars will once again be accepted, you see, it's stuff like that which makes the Warriors ageless.
You put Draymond on another team, and he may not really have anything to fight for. But once you light a fire under the Splash Bros., they can beat anybody. You know what I'm saying? No use causing a scene if even after you do so, your team still loses. Sometimes you encourage people to fight out of respect. But other times you do so because with a dose of aggression, they really can beat anybody.
CONCLUSION
The way I've come to understand the NBA is that they don't like thugs, but maybe that's changing. The world moves in cycles, as some would say. And maybe the bigwigs are like 'damn, we can rig games anytime we want anyway. So fukit, let the boys play!"
And if it's like that, that forebodes well for some teams more than others. That's one of the reasons why no one is really intimidated by the Kings or even Nuggets at the moment. It's the good kid / bad kid dynamic, as I like to call it. If a good kid commits even a small offense, he's instantly penalized. But since a bad kid is in fact bad, you can't be punishing him every time he does something wrong. It's like you just grow tired of blowing the whistle or some shit.
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