There's probably nothing more frustrating to a sports fan than watching athletes who don't work hard. Some players have talent, some don't have as much, but it's easy to tell who makes the game look easy (but is playing hard) and who is just taking it easy. Example: Mike Dunleavy, who had all the skills (except quickness) but was almost always content to execute perfect chest passes rather than take (and make) big shots.
A close second in frustration-inducement would be watching players who play dumb. Some players may be able to leap out of the gym and hit threes from halfcourt with regularity, but they wouldn't box out or would commit turnovers at crucial points. Example: Troy Murphy, who would let his man grab offensive boards if he wasn't the one grabbing the defensive board. Also, the story about him sitting out the final game of the 2005-2006 season to protect his double-double average is just... yeah.
The Warriors have had a decent amount of talent over the years (you have to when you get that many lottery picks), but a disturbing shortage of heart, competitive spirit, and drive. Too many players earned the enmity of fans by not diving for loose balls, not keeping in shape, not playing defense, not making the extra pass, and in general not showing the grind-it-out commitment that is needed to win on a regular basis.
Now that the Warriors have been able to remake themselves with players who play somewhat smart at times, but above all, play hard, they've become America's darlings. No one would have thought that could happen 2 years ago, or even 2 months ago.
Last night's Matt Barnes dunk over Dirk Nowitzki probably epitomizes those two principles, and the title of this post, best:
When a 2nd round draft pick playing for his 5th team in 4 years can impact a game more than the league MVP - that's heart. That's hard work. And, maybe a little bit of talent mixed in. Barnes impacted this series more than I think Dunleavy or Murphy will ever do.
Who's to say what will happen in the next round (for the record, I think the Rockets are a better matchup, since Yao can't run with them and Boozer always kills us). For the time being, it's quite a treat to be able to enjoy a team that is finally working hard, playing smart, and having a surprising amount of success and a ton of fun while doing it. Hopefully they take this experience into the offseason, whenever it comes, and return ready to go in the upcoming years, making this a franchise that people want to play for.
2 comments:
That last picture is why I don't respect Laker fans.
Frailty, thy name is Laker Fan! A little week; or ere those shoes were old with which he followed his poor Lakers.
Best example of an athlete who plays with heart: Shane Falco
Post a Comment