Are the defending NBA Warriors champions smug or are they just having fun?
There is one question that matters when it comes to the Golden State Warriors and it is not: "Will they win another championship?"
The answer to the above is probably "yes", at least if you should believe a common consensus, a recent precedent and the Vegas line. It is not complicated Just look at the list.
However, one thing that might be open to a more in-depth examination is how we are supposed to see these Warriors, as the organization turns to their candidacy for a fourth title in five seasons.
Are they arrogant or are they fun? Or are they both?
We know they are having fun, that is clear in a preseason campaign that going to Friday night had produced only one victory and, precisely, no concern for that fact.
For the Warriors there has simply been no reason to worry. There are no chemistry problems to worry about. There is no rework of the system. No revision Only business as usual.
The warming games that are aimed at the campaign at that time, have become little more than simple abrupt changes and the possibility of a bit of lightness. Steve Kerr threw himself into arguing with referees against the Phoenix Suns and seemed to enjoy the experience immensely, as did his players.
Kevin Durant was relaxed enough to leave the field after an offensive foul against the Los Angeles Lakers because he had to "pee", and finally disappeared after 24 minutes of action with a radiant smile on his face.
The warriors get cold. That's what happens when you were the best and you got better. Golden State was stored and stacked, and then DeMarcus Cousins joined to join the party and get a salary reduction for the privilege.
Stephen Curry and his friends emit the aura of a team that has nothing to fear and, in all honesty, could be right. Is that cocky, or is it just the byproduct of having been absolutely dominant for long enough to make the word dynasty is not out of place?
Most likely, your mind is already decided. Sometimes, the teams full of controversial bad guys are the most divisive, but the Warriors divide the opinion just for being themselves.
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They are not hard to like and there are many who enjoy the joke, the smiles, the humility and the enthusiasm and the showy antics, reasoning that a pinch of stardust that illuminates the league is not a bad thing.
For some, their crime is simple. They earn too much Familiarity can generate contempt, or at least annoyance. When your team tries to avoid a lost record, it's probably not fun to take a look at a group that crosses the season and smiles all the time.
Simply on behalf of the variety, there is no shortage of neutrals who would be more than happy to see new faces in the NBA Finals and a new name in the trophy.
Just do not count on it. Under Kerr, the Warriors are as strong as ever and, even though the preseason looks like a casual walk, they may be acting now under a presumed deadline. Durant could be in his last year as Guerrero, while Klay Thompson will also be out of contract at the end of the season and the Draymond Green deal expires a year after that.
Kerr is still there, of course, and feeling sufficiently rejuvenated after years of back problems that he accepted a role as Gregg Popovich's assistant in the US team's service. UU The next two summers.
The warriors also know it. Thompson went so far as to speculate on how five Warriors could start for the national team, which tells him everything he needs to know about his level of belief in himself and his teammates.
So, where are the cracks? Overconfidence could be the most realistic weak spot, and there were indications of that last season, when games against low opposition often saw a sleepy response, an early deficit, before enough effort to secure a "W".
It made the Warriors seem more vulnerable than normal when entering the postseason, but different rules apply when you have so much capacity. In any case, Golden State had kept something in reserve, enough juice to come back from a 3-1 deficit against the Houston Rockets after finding themselves in a hole in the Western Conference finals. They also smiled.
"Joy is not being stupid," Lakers coach Luke Walton said, explaining how he has tried to replicate Kerr's fun-filled methods. "Joy has fun while you do the work, so it does not feel like a job."
The Warriors are doing a job even when it does not seem so, smiling while presenting an exasperating barrier to the dreams of many.
It is a different kind of intimidation, but nonetheless it is intimidation.
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