Ten years ago, it was the Utah Jazz that ended the run of the Warriors’ squad known as “We Believe.” The Jazz was the tried-and-true traditional basketball team that would put the fun-and-gun Warriors in their place. Utah had size, focused on rebounding and defense, had interior scoring.
A decade is a long time. And the proof in how drastically things have evolved since then are evident in this second-round Western Conference series that begins Tuesday at Oracle.
The Warriors and Jazz will meet again in the playoffs for the first time since 2007, when Baron Davis’ epic dunk over Andrei Kirilenko overshadowed the fact the Warriors were proven to be gimmicky. And the circumstances are drastically different.
The Warriors’ gimmicky style now rules the NBA. They are the NBA’s flashy, high-scoring show that thrives on the perimeter. The up-and-coming Jazz are the plodding, methodical, front-court centered squad few are giving a shot to take down the championship favorite.
In Utah, the Warriors get an opponent whose contrary style figures to impose the biggest threat to the Warriors. And even if the Jazz are too overmatched to truly challenge the Warriors, tackling this style is good prep work. If they are headed for a crash-course with San Antonio — which is like the version of the Jazz that has DirecTV — this series is a fitting precursor.
“They are methodical in how they execute every possession on both ends of the floor,” Warriors point guard Stephen Curry said of the Jazz. “So they’re never in a rush. They never have to hurry to do anything really. … They usually run the clock down looking for the best shot, making the defense work every possession. And then God forbid you give up an offensive rebound and you’ve got to do it all over again. That’s where they kind of beat you down mentally with their pace.”
It would’ve been more captivating to take on the Clippers. Probably not more competitive, but definitely more entertaining. But an ugly grind series is what the Warriors’ need. After getting little resistance from the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, the Warriors, with Kevin Durant in tow, could use a punch in the mouth.
The Clippers wouldn’t have been able to offer that, though they’d like to think they are a worthy adversary. The Warriors own that matchup for reasons that have not changed.
But Utah, it has been a bit of a thorn for the Warriors. An irritant that requires the Warriors to bring their A game. A yawn of a foe that challenges their attention to detail and energy levels.
There is no hype in this matchup that is going to drive the national storylines and give the Warriors an extra layer of motivation. There is no doubt to drive them, no history in this matchup that should make them feel threatened. There is no beef with the Jazz to anger the Warriors into being locked in.
OK. Maybe there is some beef. At least something that can be manufactured into beef like a fast-food burger. Jazz center Rudy Gobert, the 7-foot-1 Defensive Player of the Year candidate, has never been shy with his Twitter presence.
Back in July, after news that Kevin Durant chose the Warriors’ broke, Gobert tweeted out “Wow. Only problem, there’s only 1 ball …”
In December 2015, after a hard-fought win in Utah by the Warriors, a Jazz reporter accused the Warriors of being disrespectful in the locker room after the game. The reporter tweeted out that Curry and Draymond Green mockingly laughed at a comment they saw on TV about the Jazz playing like champions. Both Curry and Green denied the report, but Gobert chimed in on Twitter, proclaiming greatness in Utah’s future and included a shot at the Warriors’ through a hashtag: #laughwhileyoucan.
So maybe there is enough there to spark something in Green, Curry and the Warriors. They might need to fabricate some edge because this series is going to be a grind, a test of the Warriors’ mental toughness.
This series will be in part about about imposing their will on the Jazz, getting Utah to fall for the gimmick. It will also be about proving they can thrive in the traditional sense, that they can execute in the halfcourt and contend with legitimate size. Both will be pivotal in a potential future series against the Spurs, and the expected NBA Finals rematch with Cleveland.
The Warriors won the 2014-15 championship by going through the grit and grind of Memphis. It prepared them for what they were to face against Cleveland and they pulled through.
Last season, they faced Houston, Portland and Oklahoma City before losing to Cleveland. Those were all teams that played similar styles. They were indeed tested by Oklahoma City. But at their own game.
So maybe it is good for them to get a foe with a traditional bent. If for nothing else, they can exact revenge for We Believe
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