The Warriors really, really seem to want revenge on the Bucks
The Golden State Warriors firmly, loudly and unmistakably answered any questions about how they’d bounce back from suffering their first loss of the season with Wednesday’s 25-point blowout of the Phoenix Suns. The defending NBA champs then wasted no time in turning their attention to Friday’s rematch with the Milwaukee Bucks, who snapped the Dubs’ historic 24-game season-opening winning streak six days ago … and, evidently, did so with a bit too much gusto for Golden State’s liking.
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From Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com:
[…] the Bucks relished their upset win to such a degree that the Warriors couldn’t help but notice it and record it in their minds.
So when the Bucks set foot in Oracle Arena on Friday, the Warriors want more than mere vengeance. They want, figuratively, the sight of Milwaukee blood on the floor.
“We circled that game last week,” said Klay Thompson, still damp from his post-game shower – or maybe from scoring 43 points in 31 minutes against Phoenix.
“We don’t want to lose to a team twice this season,” he added. “And we only see them twice. So we’ve got to send a message when they come to our building.”
From Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle:
With [Stephen] Curry, [Draymond] Green and Thompson still frozen in their stances of bewilderment on the sideline, Michael Carter-Williams stole a pass near midcourt, raced for a dunk and stared down the Warriors’ bench. There were 42.7 seconds left in a 15-point game.
“I mean, there’s nothing wrong with the dunk, but the staredown and trying to talk mess at the end of a game like that: It’s like, ‘All right, you realize you see us Friday?’” Thompson said. “It’s in our building, too, so that’s going to be fun.”
Green said: “No, I don’t think they knew (they played us less than a week later). But they know now. It’ll be a fun game.”
From Green’s weekly interview on KNBR-FM:
I think Michael Carter-Williams getting a dunk at the end of the game and, like, looking at our bench … like, dude, you lost your spot. You know, so, it’s not quite common that you should be looking toward someone’s bench yelling when you’ve got some ground to make up. But you know, I love the intensity, so I’m happy that everything is what it is, and they’ve got to come in here on Friday night.
From Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group:
“We just felt disrespected a little bit,” Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. “That’s fine. I mean, I have no problem with them celebrating the win. Just there’s a couple things that looked real cocky, which is fine. I would have been happy to break a big streak like that too.” […]
To the Warriors’ players, the game was better remembered for the way the Bucks celebrated. A section of their fans wore 24-1 shirts correctly predicting the Warriors’ record after the loss. The game ball was later given away to a lucky fan. Then there was Carter-Williams’ antics that raised eyebrows.
“We were just taking it all in, enjoying the moment with them,” Green mused. “Cool moment. Big-time regular-season win.”
From Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com:
“Oh, it was a nice celebration. We do remember that stuff,” reigning MVP Stephen Curry said Wednesday night after a 128-103 win over the Phoenix Suns. “We were kind of laughing at some of the stuff going on. It was a big game for them. Friday will be a big game for us.”
OK, then! I guess Steph didn’t need to ask for any extra seasoning on his fries when he hit In-N-Out with Ayesha and Drake after Wednesday’s game. Sounds like there’s more than enough salt to go around in the Warriors’ locker room.
There’s more than a little irony in the Warriors complaining about another team celebrating in the midst of a victory because … well, have you watched the Warriors?
I know Steph Curry didn’t do this last night. pic.twitter.com/BgIst8oRIj
— Dynamics • £ (@theDYNAMICS) October 6, 2015
Iguodala at the top of the screen: pic.twitter.com/Kj4flTq28d
— Dieter Kurtenbach (@dkurtenbach) December 9, 2015
And yet, they expected a Bucks team understandably thrilled to post such a big home win after an early season that’s brought more struggles than expected to do … what, exactly?
Warriors expectation of Bucks reaction after beating them, ending 24 game win streak. pic.twitter.com/XkO4oX5aQd
— Paul Henning (@brewcitypaul) December 18, 2015
Then again, maybe that’s why the Warriors sound so flagrantly aggrieved by Carter-Williams’ post-dunk styling:
It takes one to know one, after all.
Then again, perhaps these Warriors — who have seemed all season to be searching for every possible source of fuel to keep their competitive fire raging in pursuit of a second straight NBA title — are just choosing once again to make a mountain out of an MCW-hill. That seems to be what their interim head coach thinks, anyway, according to CSNBayArea.com’s Poole:
Finding a chip to place upon your own shoulder is a time-tested approach to generating inspiration against an opponent. Locate something that causes irritation. It could be something they did, or something they said or even something completely fabricated. Kobe Bryant resorted to it. So did Michael Jordan and Larry Bird and Bill Russell. It seems to have served them well.
“Whether you’re tricking yourself or you believe it or what, it gives you a competitive edge,” Luke Walton said. “I’m all for that stuff. I’ve played with Kobe. I’ve seen him do it. I’ve seen Phil (Jackson) jab in the newspapers. I’ve seen this stuff work.” […]
“I’m into getting the competitive spirit up,” Walton said. “If that’s through some verbal talk or a rivalry game or what, as long as nothing dirty ever happens or is said, I’m fine with it.”
And the Bucks, for their part, sound just fine with it, too. From Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
“We’ve got to bring the fight to them,” Bucks forward Khris Middleton said. “They’re going to go for the knockout early. So we’ve just got to stay with it, play as a team and stay composed.” […]
“If you fall asleep for 2 minutes, they can go up big-time,” Carter-Williams said of the Warriors. “A lot of respect to their team. That’s why we play the game. We’re not going to go over there and back down.
“We’re going to go there and fight and stay together. That’s why we’re in the NBA.
“The biggest thing is we can’t go into the game and let them punk us. We’ve got to go there and hold our own.”
And the Warriors — rested, ready, home and hungry for revenge — will look to leave them holding their heads and regretting ever (even gently) tugging on Superman’s cape.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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