One More Run for the Warriors

Rich loves when the clock turns back, and it turned back hard in the play-in tournament. The 10-seed Golden State Warriors trailed the 9-seed Los Angeles Clippers by 13 with 10 minutes to go, 98 to 85. What followed looked a lot like 2015.

Steph Curry scored 27 of his 35 in the second half after starting 2 of 9. Al Horford, quiet for most of the year in Golden State, showed up with four threes in the fourth. Draymond Green blanketed Kawhi Leonard, who had zero points in the fourth quarter until 16 seconds remained. One sequence told the whole story. Curry threw a behind-the-back pass to a trailing Draymond, doubled back, got a screen, and stepped back for three. A Draymond pickpocket on Kawhi in open court led to another easy bucket.

Curry is 38. He missed 27 games with a knee injury and is back for just five. Steve Kerr, asked about the closing run, called it a beautiful display of competitive will, the reason Steph came back at all. Curry's own explanation was simpler. Muscle memory. Reps. The work done over a lifetime coming out at the right time. No fear of failure. Keep shooting. The rhythm finds you.

The table is split. Rich is selling the run. Chris is selling reality, 600 to 1 odds to win the title, a likely sweep by Oklahoma City in round one. Others are staking out middle ground. They will not lose to Phoenix. They will not beat the Thunder. But a first round matchup is winnable if Curry is heated and Draymond is locking up the other team's best player.

The broader point is about Warriors fatigue, which nobody is feeling anymore. For years, the league felt the way fans felt about the Chiefs last season, a known ending in November. That has worn off. Curry is in the top five most likable athletes of the century. Nobody dislikes him. And Rich is pitching this as Jack Nicklaus at the 86 Masters energy, a greybeard doing what greybeards are not supposed to do.

The kicker is Minnesota. Chris was in the Garden on June 25, 2009. The Timberwolves had two shots at Curry and used them on Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio. An all-time bag fumble. The Warriors visit Phoenix next to decide whether they travel to Oklahoma City. Between now and then, Rich just wants to enjoy it.