Kevin Durant is not 7 feet tall. According to google he is 6'9". How can a professional sportswriter get this so wrong?
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Dec 14, 2016 · Improbably, Kevin Durant’s official NBA height is listed at 6-foot-9, but the superstar has at last come clean. ... Durant says he enjoys “messing with people” when it comes to his height. ... Speaking to Bob Fitzgerald on KNBR, Durant put fact over fiction when answering the age-old ...
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Listed heights are often incorrect. Durant is 7’0 and people have known this for years
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Steve Kerr is a class-less act. Period.
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Warriors are cream which always rises to the top.
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@DENOTE MORDANT
If Paul hadn't been sidelined by injury last year before Game 7, the Warriors would have already been vanquished.
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@Elizabeth
Andre Iguodala gets sidelined by injury and misses games 4,5,6 and 7 but no Rockets fan talks about that. Only that Chris Paul misses game 7. Andre is their best defender on Harden. If Andre isn't sidelined Golden State probably wins the series before it even gets to a game 7.
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"Playoff basketball is one of the great treats in sports, all sweaty intensity and artistry ... " A non-contact sport? Please. Wikipedia calls basketball a "limited contact sport ... contact is moderate or rare ... " No again. Its more like Sumo wrestling combined with padless hockey. No, its not (quite) football, which is an "impact" sport. But the contact is almost continuous, unlike decades back - watch some Bob Cousy YouTubes.
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As to the referring. It is their inconsistency that ruins the game. For example, Harden when driving consistently uses an elbow to the chest of the defender with the intended effect of throwing the defender off stride. I cannot recall that during the season he was ever called for such a foul. In last night's game, I counted 3 in the first half alone. Yet, in the third game when Curry's elbow hit his defender, he was called for a foul, but last night Harden's blow which knocked down a GS defender wasn't called. I turned off the tv.
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@Don Alfonso Valid point.
What a finely crafted piece of sports writing, on deadline no less.
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Bring in Boget, protect the rim!
The players whine because the officials are not consistent in their calls. You fail to mention Green assaulted Harden in the eyes in two consecutive games.
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It's crazy. The GS Warriors have Curry, Thompson, Durant, three of the best shooters in the league.
And then they have Iguodola and Green, two of the best defenders in the league, and who can score as well.
Meanwhile, the Rockets have Harden and Paul (who's not doing well this series), and that's it.
It's five against two.
The best team in history is not going to lose this series, or any other this year.
@usarmycwo
The Warriors are not even close to being the best team in history, though they may be one of the best teams money was allowed to buy—under rules that were in effect for about 10 minutes of NBA history!
Furthermore, your so-called great team would have been beaten by the Rockets LAST YEAR had Chris Paul not been sidelined with an injury before Game 7.
Btw, it was a young Houston Rockets team (led by baby superstar Hakeem Olajuwon) that DID beat one of the greatest teams in history—The 85-86 Lakers, which included Magic Johnson AND Kareem Abdul-Jabbar AND James Worthy, along w A.C. Green, Kurt Rambis et al—to win the WC Finals. The Rockets then took Larry Bird's Celtics to Game 6 of the Finals.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/865311-10-greatest-nba-teams-of-all-time#slide10
You must be a Californian stationed in San Antonio. You're certainly not FROM Texas.
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Good article. Rockets are adjusting...finally and now the Warriors need to adjust...and make some normal stats threes. Not even a mention of the ankle injuries which, if regular season, would see Steph & Klay not playing. Please don't mention the eye scratch and I won't mention Curry's middle finger which has to be splinted straight to heal right. What about Chris Paul cheap shot on Iguodala's left knee? It is big boy ball and awesomely competitive so bring and see who can withstand it all. 4 Straight finals are taking a toll.
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I'm with Powell. There have been few reasons to live since the glory years (year?) of Willis Reed, Clyde, Dollar Bill, Earl the Pearl & Co. Most mornings I have coffee and go back to bed, stay there till dinner.
Sweet writing. Damon Runyon visits Houston.
I found one metaphor––"It’s as if a rodent had burrowed into the stomach of the fans."––a bit, how shall I say...off.
I survived. Knicks fan. It's what we do.
Major thing for the warriors. Don't leave you feet when guarding Harden. He gets many free throws by his 3 points attempts and the defender leaping up and forward and he leans into them as they come down. The other move is to dribble around them once they are airborne.
The other thing is many warriors stand to the side of the person they are defending, why not stay directly in front at all times, make them run through you not allow them to go around and you reaching.
Let Harden make his 3 point shots don't let him go to the 3 point line each time.
Curry goto the basket and pass off to the wingmen.
The referees stole -- simply stole -- the first game from the Rockets. They allowed Golden State to take away Harden's landing space on his three-pointers, a dangerous and illegal defensive tactic that effectively removed that crucial weapon from Houston's arsenal. I have no doubt that came on orders from the NBA front office, and if the Warriors are threatened again, the referees will step in again, just as they did last year. Warriors give good ratings; it's that simple. I wish someone would investigate the subtle machinations behind this soft corruption -- the memos that tell the refs what to focus on and what to deemphasize, the choice of officiating crew, etc. It's a continuing travesty.
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@Guy Travesi And the refs stole--simply stole--game 4 and gave it to the Rockets by allowing them to absolutely maul the Warriors without getting called. The reffing was grossly one-sided as ticky tack fouls were called on Klay, putting him in foul trouble early (a good ref tactic), while Rockets assaulted the Warriors without getting called. I agree that the NBA is rigged: NBA tells refs which team to favor in every game. In game 4 the NBA told refs to favor Houston, not wanting Houston to go down 3-1 with games left in Oakland. Basically a sham.
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This is NBA playoff basketball at its very best. Two heavyweight champions at the top of their game going head to head. Hopefully the eventual championship series will match this thriller in intensity and drama.
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The Warriors live and die by the 3 point shot. In this game, they hit 8 compared to the Rockets 17. That they almost put the game into overtime after being down by 15 is remarkable but also telling that they failed because they couldn't make two 3 pointers with 11 seconds left. Curry and/or Klay have to get hot and Harden has to cool off for the Dubs to prevail. Either way, it looks like the best of seven.
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Harden feel from "grace" in my book when he whined "All I want is a FAIR game!"
Give me a break.
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@Dolly Patterson Feel shd be "Fell"
No one is writing about the Rockets's Eric Gordon, who is destroying the Warriors.
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Great article. I have lived in two cities that spawned basketball champions: the Boston and Houston. Legend has it that Dave Cowens was so excited after the final winning game in one of the Celtics championships that he couldn't stand to go home, so he slept on a park bench that night. He and Havlicek were amazing. I rode the subway from my Back Bay apartment to games at the Boston Garden. Those years were romantic. Then later, Olajuwon, Drexler, and the Rockets won a couple in '94 and '95. I still have the t-shirts. Two cities thrilled by victories.
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Last night, the Rox outscored the W's on 3s by 27 points. Otherwise, most of the stats were balanced.
The writer didn't say anything about the W's bench, which is painfully thin.
The Ws still have home court advantage and are fully capable, if healthy (another question not raised by this writer) of beating the Rox, but I don't see how they can beat the Bucks.
I say that as a dyed in the wool W fan.
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At this point the judging panels on Iron Chef or America's Got Talent have more credibility than Adam Silver's NBA officiating crews.
The whistles seem to be triggered not by the actual play but by the game score, the make-up call imbalance or the volume of whining by players, coaches and fans.
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In the end GSW will win, albeit with much more difficulties than expected. The next round for them should be an easier one but then MIL will likely face them and that would be a series to behold (MIL is clearly the best team in the playoffs so far).
That said, HOU is by all means great and they may actually surprise. However, their only chance to win 2 more is for Harden to go berserk which has so far been rather infrequent in these playoffs.
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Great series. I hope Houston can pull it out if only because I'm tired - and I'm sure others are as well - of the GSW winning year after year. The NBA is going to suffer if this continues. The NFL will be in the same boat if the Patriots win again. Everyone loves a dominant, talented team but change is good. We need new contenders, new teams to vie for the crown. Let the GSW go on vacation already.
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Great piece of writing. As a lifelong Knicks fan myself, starting as a child in the ‘60’s, you brought to mind so many heartbreaking and glorious moments. Keep them coming!
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@Rufus Collins Seriously...Ewing's missed finger-roll flip shot that bricked out off the back of the rim, is forever haunting my Knick's memories. Dangnabbit
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Houston has a team of very physical players and they wanted the win more than Golden State did. They deserved the win. The Warriors have to find a way to stop Harden who is unstoppable. Besides his deadly threes with both Curry and Klay fouling two of his makes (fouling a 3-point shooter is unconscionable), GS allows him to drive to the hoop unimpeded. Harden is a real threat to the Warriors being eliminated.
As an admittedly long-suffering Knicks fan, Mr. Powell probably enjoyed the Houston fans chanting "New York Knicks" whenever KD was shooting free throws. If GS doesn't pay Durant this summer during free agency what he wants, who knows? KD may be wearing the blue and orange.
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@Reuven Taff The problem is that if they touch Harden on his drives to the hoop, it's a foul. There's literally nothing you can do to stop him. The refs seem fine with him burying the ball like a fullback and blasting through whoever is in his way, traveling on the way if necessary. He's honed this to an art form, along with causing defenders to commit fouls on his three-point attempts. The only way to beat him seems to be to exhaust him. The Warriors have to get back to that if they are to win. Unfortunately, the Ws look exhausted themselves; their bench is not good enough to play at this level.
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@Reuven Taff if KD leaves, it will not be about money. As the retaining team, by rule GS can (and will offer to) pay him more than any other team. If he leaves, it will be because of the criticism that his time with the Dubs “doesn’t count” because they were the best already before he arrived.
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Wow, a sports writer that can write. Well done!
Warriors were ice cold and the Rockets red hot but they still would have won if they had been interested in rebounding.
Yes, the officials make an amazing number of miscalls but the whining is truly ruining the game. Add one more referee, give each coach three replay requests and eject each and any player or coach that complains.
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@b.noing What's ruining the game is the one-sided officiating. Basketball is such a flawed game because refs have way too much power over the outcome. In game 4 the refs allowed Houston to maul the Dubs without getting called while ticky tack stuff was called on GS. It's that one-sided reffing that is ruining the game.
Well written piece. This is really the de facto finals series after all. Both teams are giving the fans some great play. As a Dubs fan I can only hope those shooters start to hit and the Warriors move on. Somehow the statistics are on our side. We need Oracle to rock more than one more time. Go Warriors!
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Nice write up.
These guys are beyond fantastic. All of them.
Once loved the bay boys, then they added one more over-the-top superstar and it seemed too much.
Happy the Rockets are grinding on.
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@Ama Nesciri Cousins, one of the "over the top" superstars to which you probably are referring, never really played like a superstar this season. He was rehabilitating from a serious injury. Then they get to the playoffs and he goes down with probably a season-ending injury. So he's not playing. His only impact on this series is that his absence leaves the Warriors more depleted than they'd counted on being. The rest of their bench is not very good.