You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story



Ch. 47

Game 3 was in Charlotte and the Hornets — looking for a similar boost — decided to wear their black-out “Buzz City” uniforms, which meant we were wearing our home whites. It was a move designed to hype their team and their fans, and — at least in the beginning — it succeeded. The arena was loud, loudest I’ve ever heard that place, and the Hornets knew they had to redeem themselves after their horrible performance in Game 2.



One problem: Batum was out for the series with a severe ankle sprain. He got it messed up at the end of Game 2 and tried to practice on it, but only ended up making it worse. He went from questionable to out after that practice, meaning the Hornets were forced to start MKG at the three. MKG was good at many things — defense, rebounding, hustle, effort — but he was an absolute zero on offense. He couldn’t shoot to save his life.



He was the Hornets biggest weakness. We smelt blood in the water and came out firing — I was on the attack, driving inside, and scored 13 of our first 17 points. We were up 17-9 when Charlotte burned their first timeout, but by that point I was on fire.







You could feel the air be let out of the arena as nothing the Hornets did worked. We’d ignore MKG on offense, forcing him to take shots he couldn’t make, and we’d hustle for the boards, get on the break, and ram it down their throats. The first saw us lead 33-20 and in the second we got a big boost from an unlikely source: Jeff Withey.



Withey, in a rare display of low post offense, took Cody Zeller into the block and butchered him twice in a row — then, on the following possession, jumped the pass lane, stealing a pass meant for Zeller.







You could hear a pin drop in that arena. It started out rocking but, by the time halftime arrived, the Hornets wearing black had only made them look like they were there for their own funeral. We were loose, relaxed, and enjoying ourselves at the break.







In the third, we watched as Charlotte continued to chuck the ball at the rim and continue to miss. Sabonis showed up in that quarter, getting an extended run as he just owned the souls of anyone coming inside the paint. He wouldn’t let them score.







We ran away with it after that. The Hornet simply didn’t have the offensive firepower to keep up with us — Batum going down had neutered their offense and we walked out of Game 3 the victors by a wide, wide margin.








We ended up winning Game 4 by a wide margin, dropping Game 5 in OT by just a point, and winning in Game 6.



For the first time since Reggie Miller and those 1999-2000 Pacers, Indiana was in the Finals. Gramps was ecstatic, jumping around the locker room like he was twenty, and we celebrated as you’d expect a team like ours to celebrate — with lots of laughter and joy. Going to the Finals was a dream.



But our opponent? They were a nightmare.







The Warriors had gotten their revenge on the Rockets and had advanced back to the Finals. They were on a mission and we were an obstacle in their way. It was going to be a series unlike anything the NBA had seen before with the talent on both team.

(The number generator has assigned me Games 1 and 4. Can the Pacers upset the Warriors? Can Harrison Barnes get his revenge? This one is going to be close.)

[RolePlayer]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Jesus, my Hornets didn't hold up

Guess they aren't exactly holding up in real life

[georgiafan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

it should be a fun series and I hope your still excited to do a few more years even if you win

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Jesus, my Hornets didn't hold up

Guess they aren't exactly holding up in real life

They really just fell apart after Batum went down -- admittedly, they probably had the series of their lives against the Cavs and weren't exactly all there for the Pacers, but it was an impressive year. I think they did enough to almost guarantee Kemba re-signing with them ... they'll need to make some moves in free agency to really seal the deal.

it should be a fun series and I hope your still excited to do a few more years even if you win

I'm definitely going to try to take this as far as I can, even if I win -- winning is great (I doubt I will) but staying on top is much harder. I think the Warriors are going to get the best of me, but we'll see.

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story





Ch. 48

The Warriors — a team synonymous with devastating passing, back-breaking runs, and the famed “Lineup of Death.” Golden State was the team everyone in the NBA wanted to be and, certainly, it was the team we were designed to beat. Acquiring Jabari Parker, trading for Harrison Barnes … it was all to get past LeBron, yes, but ultimately to take on a team like the Warriors.

And here we were. For the first time all playoffs, we were the road team in Game 1. The Warriors crowd was the loudest I’d ever heard — the arena rocked with their noise, even before tip-off, and we came out a bit stunned by the moment. We were young, for many of us this was the first time we’d ever been to this deep in the playoffs, let alone the *ucking FINALS, but McHale kept on us to just “play our game.” That’s all we had to do, just go out and play our way.

He kept it simple for us and it was lucky for us that he did — because, if we had really had time to think about it, we’d have been *hitting our pants. I, especially, would have been freaked out. I was tense, I’ll admit that — who wouldn’t be with the task I had? Steph Curry had been BALLIN’ in the playoffs and had put any doubts anyone had of him to rest.

I had to slow that guy down. I had to keep him from toasting me like he had toasted Chris Paul … he was the engine and I had to be what clogged him up.

The challenge didn’t go great at first. To open the game, the Warriors won the tip, got the ball to Curry, who promptly jacked up a triple and made it. The crowd went wild and I felt like I had been blindsided — how had he gotten the shot off that fast?

We went down the floor, I turned the ball over, and Curry dished the ball to a streaking Durant who jammed the ball with no regard for any life, human or otherwise. Less than a minute into the game, we were down 5-0.

McHale called a quick timeout, brought us together, looked at all of us, and just told us to breathe. He drilled his eyes into me and told me to get aggressive. Harrison Barnes echoed that sentiment, he knew Curry back when they won the Warriors first title, and just like that the timeout was over. We had the ball. We had a chance to get on the board or sink early.

I wanted to get on the board. I called for a screen, Curry got staggered by Myles, and I went inside for a nasty jam. 5-2. The Warriors tried to go right back at us on the other end, but Jabari stole the ball right out of the air, took it down the floor, and jammed it again. 5-4.

We held the Warriors to only five more points as we went on a 20-5 run, silencing the Warriors home crowd and feeling like we were kings of the world. But Kerr wasn’t sweating it — he subbed in Iggy and Jordan Bell, let Durant run at the four, and KD slit our throats. It wasn’t fair watching him swerve around screens or use his outrageous length to get to the rim in three steps, tops.

We got into a shootout and the Warriors nearly took the lead back before the end of the quarter, but we hung on. What was once a 13-point lead had been trimmed down to just five.

In the second, as our subs made their way in, I watched from the bench as our guys didn’t shirk away from the moment. Sabonis nailed two clutch triples in the quarter, and Lance — oh Lance — played like he was Michael Jordan. He wouldn’t be stopped. He wouldn’t be contained. He unleashed a sick windmill dunk that belonged in the all-star game, not the Finals.

At the half, we had managed to extend our lead to six points — again, just barely — as the Warriors were charging back. We knew they were far from done, far from over, but we held our heads high that we had managed to do just enough to keep them out of the lead.

McHale praised our rebounding but chewed into us for the turnovers — the Warriors had scored way too many points off our TOs, so we needed to get that under control. Durant was killing us, but Curry was dead — only five points — and Green and Thompson were both being held in check.

In the third, we came out, got the ball, and said “If you can shoot threes, so can we.” The Warriors collapsed on us as we drove inside, so we kicked it out to our man on the outside — and that man was Myles Turner. Myles had an incredible night from deep, missing only one triple the whole game, and he was our dedicated sniper. No matter what the Warriors threw at us, we made them pay with Myles out on wing, knocking down triples.

He got hot, the Warriors abandoned their strategy of collapsing inside, and that’s when I kicked it into gear. I wasn’t going to let Durant outscore me and save the Warriors — I was going to bury them. I drove inside repeatedly, pulling up for mid-range jumpers, tossing in no-look layups, and slamming the ball down on any poor soul in front of me.

One of those souls was Jordan Bell. He didn’t fare well.

He and his teammates weren’t pleased by my enthusiasm, but I just told them to stop me. They didn’t. The third saw us win the quarter 39-26, putting our lead 110-91 entering the final frame. You’d think the Warriors would have mounted a massive comeback, but they didn’t — we held them scoreless for a combined 4:21 in that quarter and they simply ran out of gas.

Neither team pulled their starters despite the game being decided by the three minute mark — both squads stayed on the floor. It was going to be that type of series … we won Game 1 on the road, and I hoped to God it wasn’t a fluke.

[RolePlayer]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Way to steal a game, calling it Pacers in 5

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story





Ch. 49

We were on a high cloud after Game 1. How could we not be? We had brutalized the Warriors on their home floor, showing ourselves the superior team. We knew they’d come back in Game 2 with extra effort, that they’d unleash all hell on us … but, for at least one night, we were looked at as potential champions and not just an obstacle for the Warriors.

In Game 2, we got the angry version of the Warriors. Embarrassed at their performance in Game 1, they beat us down in the first half of Game 2, holding us to only 39 points while they scored a cool 50. We were on the ropes … and McHale told the team we had to establish ourselves in the third quarter earlier, else we were dead.

The second half of that game was a completely different story. We clawed back into the game, locking down on defense, and took it to overtime, 110-110 at the end of four. In the OT, we got the win —127-124. We had stolen not one, but TWO games on the road.

When we returned to Indiana that night, we were greeted at the airport by throngs of Pacers fans. It was like we had already won the damned championship and I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all — in a good way. Gramps was thrilled with the fan reaction and it was hard to concentrate in the days leading up to Game 3. We were at home. We were up 2-0. This was a prime opportunity for the Warriors to get back into it.

Playing in our home stadium, we knew we had the fans on our side and it energized us. We opened up a 32-25 lead in the first and led 55-44 at the half. We never trailed, despite a 40 point fourth quarter from the Warriors, and we won 121-116 as I scored a triple double of 28 points, 11 boards, and 16 assists — we were up 3-0. We were a win away from accomplishing what the great Pacers never could … winning an NBA title.

Game 4. The pressure was all on us. The Warriors had nothing to lose and they were angry — angry at us, the fans, the refs, everyone. They had been getting progressively angrier as the series went on and the fouls were up for both teams. Things were chippy … and in Game 4, they were just as chippy as ever.

We came out to a roaring, standing ovation. Applause and screaming of the best kind, the fans were already losing their minds — this was the closest the Pacers had ever come to winning a title. Years of misery, endless beatings by the Bulls, the Knicks, the Pistons, and anyone else you could name had a chance of ending that night.

I can’t lie, I was panicking a little. Before the game, Gramps sat me down, whipped out his phone, and put on the first Pacers game we ever saw together.

“Remember to have fun, like you did that day,” Gramps told me.

Fun. Fun was the last damn thing on my mind, but I nodded at him. What he said registered, but it didn’t sink in at the beginning of the game. At the beginning, I wasn’t having fun, I was pressing.

Hard.

Two straight turnovers, two straight triples from the Warriors, and it felt like I was going to puke. My confidence cratered and I waved off the ball — I didn’t want to touch it. The Warriors had to respect me, with the way I was playing they would be stupid not to. But I couldn’t do anything right with the ball, so I let someone else take it.

That someone else? Victor Oladipo . Victor led the team in the first quarter, scoring 12 points on six shots without a single miss. Every pull-up he hit was nothing but net and the crowd absolutely loved it. He scored eight straight, snuffed out any shot around him, and the Warriors went ice cold. We went on a 21-2 run behind Victor and the Warriors couldn’t figure out how to slow him down.

We entered the second up 32-15. By the second, my nerves had settled and I took back control of the offense — shots started falling and fouls started coming. Adrien Payne, the Warriors center with range, couldn’t stay out of foul trouble — we had attacked him all series and he had progressively gotten worse. This game, by far, was his lowest point. He went at me and I loved it, because he was too damn aggressive. And-1s were mine.

The Warriors weren’t done, though. They started hitting shots, finally, after being held to 28% in the first. But for every shot they hit, we hit one back — it was a tit-for-tat kind of quarter and we didn’t let them get away with things. They hit a three? We hit a three right back and our shooter was a man with only one name: Lance.

He was swagger personified and the Warriors got burned by him again in the second. Lance helped keep our lead large and at the half, we were up by 15 points and leading in almost every category. It was like the Warriors couldn’t stop us … like they weren’t good enough. They were (obviously) but we were definitely feeling ourselves at the half. I don’t remember what McHale said, but I imagine he told us not to get cocky.

We got cocky. In the third, Golden State unleashed Kevin Durant, who led the team storming back and cut our lead to a precious eight points heading into the fourth, as we were up only 91-83. The lead was down to single digits for the first time since the first and the crowd, formerly losing their minds, was now getting a bit tense.

We were too. The Warriors were champions — they had been here before. They knew how to climb back into a game and into a series, no matter what the lead. Early in the fourth, they trimmed the lead down to four points and McHale called a timeout with 10:12 to go and subbed in Victor early. Thompson was killing us.

Victor put a stop to that. With Thompson bottled up, the ball was getting forced to Durant or Curry, but neither was getting open looks— contact was high, the play was physical, and then Payne fouled out with 8:23 to go.

That was the turning point. We were up eight then, but after Payne went we started attacking inside — the lack of a proper big made Myles an easy man to find in the paint, and the Warriors couldn’t slow him down. Myles went in and dunked on a lot of guys, including Durant, and after he was called for a foul, he lost it.

Durant was held back by Bell as he talked trash to Myles, then the ref, but Myles didn’t even look at him — he calmly hit his free throw and the Warriors had lost the mental edge. Trailing now by 11, they were trying to dig their way out, but never got the lead down to single digits again.

With 2:40 to go, I was sent to the line for free throws after a foul, and the crowd was going wild with chants of “MVP.” Still gives me chills to think about … just 20 years old, in front of my hometown crowd, playing for the team I loved, and I was being serenaded with MVP chants in the Finals.

It goes without saying at this point, but we won. We abso-*ucking-lutely won the Finals, giving the Pacers — a team that had been part of the NBA since 1976, over 40 years, their first title. It was a sweet moment, one that was earned in blood by generations of fans and players.

Victor was the first person I found and the first one I hugged — he stepped up and saved my *ss in the first, probably saved the game for us, and I — and Gramps, and the fans, and the team — owned him so *ucking much.

We hugged it out for a long minute. We then found Steph Curry and offered our thanks for a hell of a series. Curry looked stunned, he barely said anything, and Durant was off the floor already.

The stage was rolled out. The shirts were handed out. The team was assembled, Adam Silver and Bill Russell came out, and the celebration was officially on. The crowd was screaming their brains out, the noise was deafening, but we were all smiles — nothing, not a damned thing, could take this away from us.

I was named Finals MVP and … well, I felt like I earned it. I wouldn’t have minded if anyone else got it, but getting it — after being snubbed for All-NBA honors, beaten by the likes of John Wall — was a sweet, sweet revenge. Not good enough for All-NBA? How the *uck did I win a Finals MVP then?

The title was ours, the sweep was ours, and the era of the Warriors and the Cavs seemed to be over. Golden State had fallen short of a title, just like Cleveland … and we, the Indiana Pacers, were the 2019 NBA Champions.

[georgiafan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Congrats on the win didn’t figure it would be a sweep

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Congrats on the win didn’t figure it would be a sweep

DUDE, neither did I. I was shocked that the sim engine was so kind to me -- especially after it decided the Pacers should lose to an injured Hornets squad twice. I thought, for sure, we'd be down at least 2-1 entering Game 4.

But I got lucky ... an OT win and a five-point squeaker. We got this one by the skin of our teeth but we got it. Much like Cleveland, I expect the Pacers faithful will always hold this season and title dear no matter what.

The pressure to repeat will be on, but not as much as it would be if we were an older team. We're quite young still -- most of our core is barely in their mid-20s -- and Jack is just 20, so the future is wide, wide open. This could be a case where the team overachieved early ... we'll see. The offseason should prove fascinating for teams around the league.

For the Pacers, key decisions will have to be made on backups. Withey is likely gone, I need to decide what to do with Lance and Glenn Robinson III, and then there's all my PFs (Sabonis, Leaf, Ike ... and not to mention the one I took in the draft the year before!).

And then there's the draft. I think I need to churn the backend of the roster to get a legitimate 6th man, but we'll see ... I'm not looking forward to moving on from people, but there are guys who deserve minutes that I don't have.

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story




Ch. 50

In the days after winning the title, everything was about the celebration. We partied the first night away, booze, music, and replays of our games — a sweep of the *ucking Warriors — all blurred together, rolled into one memory. It was joyous.



We eventually had our parade, the likes of which Indianapolis had never seen before or since. It was our title, a title that the franchise and its fans had waited generations for, and I had helped delivery it. At just 20, I was Finals MVP, a champion, and the leader of the best team in the league. Frankly, it was overwhelming, but I stayed in the moment as much as I could.



But after the celebrations, the parade, the exit meetings, came the summer … the long, long summer. Sitting alone in my house, the MVP trophy proudly displayed on a table, I found myself … empty. My mind jumped back to the celebrations, the parade, all the interviews, and I sickened at how envious I felt of my teammates.



It wasn’t for their money or their fame. It was for the fact that most of them — all of them, it seemed — had someone to be with. Parents. Siblings. Lovers.



I had Gramps, God bless him, but it wasn’t the same. Not for the first in my life did I realize how profound a hole there was in my experiences … but after the season, it hit me the hardest.



I was well and truly alone. Sitting atop the mountaintop, I found there was nothing around me except cliffs. One step wrong and off I’d go. That’s what no one can prepare you for … everyone always claims that getting to the mountaintop is difficult but staying there is hardest. In a way, that’s true — I only wanted to stay on the mountaintop for fear of falling off the damned thing.



Who was I? What was I? I was Jack Tate, leader of the Pacers, youngest Finals MVP in history, and All-NBA snub. I was a good basketball player … but was that it?



I became consumed with the question. Two weeks after we had won the title, with a bad case of cabin fever and more questions on my mind than ever before, I went to Gramps and told him I was heading out of the country. I needed some air. I needed to just get away from it all — social media, ESPN, basketball, everything.



I wanted to go somewhere where I was a bit more unknown. Where I could really just stretch my legs and my mind … maybe find some answers.



Gramps heard me loud and clear. I booked a flight to a place as far away as I could get — Australia.



I was heading to the outback to find … something. Myself, maybe. A purpose beyond basketball, perhaps.



Looking back on it, it was probably a good thing I did get away from it all for awhile. I was tense and not in a good headspace and being in another country, away from the world I knew … it was freeing. Once I landed in the outback, I found my way to a friend of Gramps — some Australian big shot — who was running a car festival. I kid you not, this guy was basically renting out places on the outback with his money, letting anyone and everyone bring their cars out to drive and race.



He called it “Horizon” which sounded goofy as hell to me, but he was getting lots of press and lots of sponsorship. Being from Indianapolis, basketball was my love … cars were a close second. There wasn’t anything like jumping in a vehicle and cruising down the road.



In Australia, that feeling was magnified times a thousand — the rules were different there, speed limits were guidelines in a lot of ways. I was put in touch with a classic car dealer and, thanks to winning the title and being Finals MVP, my bank account was pretty fat with new money. I had always wanted to start a car collection and now I had my chance.



My first purchase was a some Lamborghini SUV thing from the 80s — something I never even knew existed, but it instantly caught my eye. I packed up some camping gear, canisters of gas, shaved my face, dyed my hair (brown, just as a disguise), and went off. I didn’t get any satellite radio or anything like that, I kept it only to local stations — I figured if I was in another country, I might as well experience the culture of it.



The beauty of Australia was something I never knew I needed in my life, but once I got out there, I knew I could never deny myself its beauty again.

[georgiafan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Glad to see you back, I wanna visit Australia one day so I’m jealous of jack

[studbucket]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

LOL, loving the Horizon tie-in!

[RolePlayer]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Great to see this back in Action

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story




PTI: June 14th, 2019

W: Pardon the Interruption, but I’m Mike Wilbon — Tony, temperatures in DC are the hottest they’ve been in a decade! How are you coping with the heat?

K: I’m Tony Kornheiser, and I’m coping with it the only way I know how: I’m commando.

W: Please don’t. Our viewers don’t need that image in their brains and neither do I!

K: It works! It’s the opposite of layer dressing in the winter!

W: *laughter*

K: Welcome to PTI, boys and girls! In today’s episode, we talk NBA rumors, we revisit the NBA Draft order and we dish out some draft talk but we begin today with the news that’s caught a lot of people by surprise: the NBA is expanding. That, in of itself, was expected, but what wasn’t expected was the when: this year! The owners unanimously voted to move up the timetable of the new expansion teams — Seattle and Mexico City — from 2020 to the 2019 season. Wilbon, as our resident NBA insider and the last one of us who does any actual reporting, why the change of heart and how will this affect the offseason?

W: There’s a lot to unpack, but it boils down to a few things. One, the NBA Finals — the Warriors were swept and performed about as poorly as any team could against an underdog. The ratings for that? Through the roof. The numbers are staggering at how well the fall of the Warriors sold to the fans and the new, fresh blood pumping into the NBA — led by the youngest Finals MVP in NBA history, Mister Jack Tate — combined with the value of everyone’s franchises going up made the owners reconsider the timetable. If they waited a year, would things be even better? Maybe. But the overwhelming feeling was ‘strike while the iron is hot’ and the NBA is the hottest league right now. All that was holding it back was the monotony of yet another Cavs Warriors finals, but that was avoided. Enthusiasm for all teams is really high.

K: And the owners in the lottery were fine giving up the fourth and fifth picks to the expansion teams? I can’t believe that, I’d hate it!

W: Of course you would, because you’re a grouch — but the owners were okay with it and the reason why is singular — most front offices around the league believe there are only three players in this class who could really change your team’s fortune for the better. Three guys — the rest of the draft is, to quote one GM, ‘a bunch of role players and an occasional set of starters.’ The owners know this and they figured get the expansion teams in now, let them take their high picks, and get it over with. The 2020 class is where the superstar talent is in bulk — having a lottery pick in that class will be HUGE, but not this year.

K: Let’s just take a look at the revised pick order now.

K: Look! Look at where the Sonics and Aztecs are! Sitting above historic franchises like the Hawks and Celtics, even the Heat!

W: It’s only you and some fans who have a problem with it — the NBA is a league that’s looking ahead to the next big thing, Tony, and the next big thing is the 7’2” monster — and presumed first overall pick — Monty Fuller. The center from K-State is the big of the future, a shooter, a passer, a posterizer, a defender and the Suns aren’t even entertaining offers for him — with a frontline of their 2016 8th overall pick in Chriss and Kanter, whom they signed last summer, the Suns need what Fuller brings. But with a roster with so many young players already, should the Suns consider trading the pick — much like Danny Ainge did in 2017?

K: The Suns are STUPID for not trading this pick. He’s the best player — by a long way — in this class, right?

W: Very likely — lots of rawer players behind him that could make a difference in year one, but no one else is as polished as Fuller.

K: And the Suns have been terrible for years! It’s time for them to make a move towards winning some games, not staying in the lottery for the next decade! The team behind them, the Magic, is the team that Phoenix should look at and fear becoming. The Magic have been in the lottery for the last seven years and have been through so many coaches and scouts, you might as well call them the Browns of the NBA. The Suns have a history, a dedicated fanbase, and it’s time for them to cash in — how long will Booker stay there like this?

W: Not long if rumors are to be believed, Tony. Booker has made it very clear he’s not signing any long-term extension with Phoenix unless a big move is made to get him some legitimate help. He wants to play in the postseason, he wants to get a title, and the way the Pacers went out and built a title team in two years is very much on Booker’s mind; he saw what they did in Indiana and he wants the Suns to do the same. Young players across the league have taken notice of what the Pacers ownership and front office did and, sure, it’s a unique circumstance with Jack Tate’s grandfather owning the team, but it still shows the players on other teams what making moves to win looks like.

K: Absolutely! Which is why the Suns needs to go to Booker and say, ‘We’re trading this pick for a big star to help get you into the playoffs and to get this team competing!’ and if they don’t do that, then Booker will sign his QA this summer and go into next summer as a free man — he can go wherever he wants! Speaking of someone who wants to go somewhere else, the loser of the Finals, the Warriors, are a team that’s angry — and it’s not directed outwards. Reports out of the bay say that the exit meetings between players and the front office have revealed a divide in the locker room between certain players, though whom the players are remain a mystery. Wilbon, two part question: one, who do you think the divide is between and, two, is this the end of the Warriors as we know them?

W: This happens to every championship team — every single one. There comes a point where the pressure and the stress wear on guys and instead of going after the other team, they go after each other. If I had to take a guess as to who one of the parties is, I’d guess Draymond Green — he’s a passionate, high-energy guy who will light into someone he doesn’t think is doing their job; coaches, players, crew, whomever. I think Green is on one side of this, but I’m having a tough time thinking who’s on the other side. Whatever the case, this team will look different next fall — a lot different, I think.

K: I agree with your guess of Green and I think I got the other player in this: Durant. He’s the newest ‘big star’ Warrior and was brought in to get that ring. He got one, they lost to the Rockets in the 2018 conference finals and then they lost to the Pacers — the Pacers! — in this year’s Finals. I think Green’s turned on the guy he recruited because, like you said, he doesn’t think Durant’s done his job. Durant was good in Game 1 and Game 4 and was an absolute ghost in the other two games. You can’t be that passive in the Finals, Mike, you just can’t!

W: It might be Durant, but I could see it being Curry — frankly, he’s overshadowed on his own team by Durant and sometimes Green. I could see him chafing with that and, if that’s the case, I could see the Warriors and him parting ways now while they can get good value for them and he can choose his spot. Kemba is a free agent in Charlotte and you don’t think Michael Jordan wouldn’t love to get Curry leading that franchise? It’s be a huge win for him.

K: I still think it’s Durant. Let’s take a break … when we come back, we sit down with our dear friend Brian Windhorst to talk more NBA and the one person we haven’t mentioned yet: LeBron!

W: Are you gonna ask if LeBron will force his way to the Knicks?

K: We got the third overall pick and young talent! New York’s calling, LeBron, come to the big city!

[georgiafan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

well look who the cat drug in