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Golden State Warriors To Use Clippers’ Words as Motivation

By Carlos Murillo

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The 2014-15 Golden State Warriors were a very good basketball team. In fact, they had one of the best seasons in the history of the NBA. And yet that still isn’t satisfactory for many.

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After securing the Bay Area’s first championship in 40 years, detractors and critics sprouted all over–from Internet trolls to members of the media–to discredit the Warriors’ title run. One of the most notable voices belongs to Los Angeles Clippers head coach Glenn Rivers.

Rivers, who hasn’t been able to lead the Clippers to a Western Conference Finals appearance, suggested that the Warriors were “lucky” because they didn’t have to face his team or the San Antonio Spurs. The Clippers defeated the Spurs in a thrilling seven game series. In the Western Conference Semifinals, Rivers’ team squandered a 3-1 lead to the Houston Rockets.

Building off the joy from their championship run, the Warriors’ comebacks are already in midseason form. All-Star Klay Thompson noted that the Warriors wanted to play the Clippers in what would have been the second consecutive postseason in which the two teams faced off, but they “couldn’t handle their business.” He also shot down the notion that the Warriors were lucky to have avoided Los Angeles considering that Golden State “smacked” them last year. Center Andrew Bogut added fuel to the fire by telling KNBR that he had his championship ring fitted for his middle finger. And Bogut is truly a man of his word.

Rivers backpedaled hard, claiming he didn’t mean that the Warriors were lucky. But it was too late. The damage had been done.

Mar 8, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard

Stephen Curry

(30) dribbles the ball next to Los Angeles Clippers guard

Chris Paul

(3) in the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Clippers 106-89. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The Warriors and the Clippers have the most intense and relevant rivalry in the league right now. Once cellar dwellers, the two franchises have reinvented themselves and are the premier basketball shows in California. The teams have exchanged words and blows over the last few years. This rivalry is more than just two talented basketball teams going head-to-head; it’s fueled by the genuine dislike both sides have for each other.

Unlike many advertised and forced narratives, the Warriors-Clippers rivalry is genuine and organic. From bench celebrations to postgame bumps to refusals to hold chapel together, animosity has progressively grown. Flagrant and technical fouls are just as common as bounce passes and jump shots when they face off. From fans to coaches to players, everyone is engaged and involved in the rivalry. The games are always physical (sometimes too physical) and tensions run high. While the Clippers may have drawn first blood in the 2014 NBA Playoffs, outlasting a Bogut-less Golden State team in seven games, the Warriors have all the bragging rights coming off a title run.

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For many teams, even the great ones, championship hangovers are a harsh reality. Motivation is hard to come by when it feels like there’s nothing left to prove. The Warriors seem to have no problem with finding motivation as it is being gifted to them, with every declaration of luck noted and the Clippers have a John Hancock-sized signature at the bottom.

The 2015-16 Warriors look like they’d blow out the 67 win, champion 2014-15 Warriors by 20 points. Admittedly, it has only been four games, but they are clearly on a mission. They’ve completely dominated three Western Conference playoff teams, including the Houston Rockets who did their share of talking during the offseason as well. Quite frankly, the Warriors are making championship contenders look like lottery-bound teams. Stephen Curry looks better than he did during his MVP season, leading the Warriors to an easy 4-0 start.

On the other side, the Clippers look focused. After their monumental collapse, legacies hang in the balance and the Clippers need to win now. Boasting one of the most potent starting lineups in the league, they, too, have gotten off to a 4-0 start. They havve only beaten one team by double digits, a resounding 104-88 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Their other three victories are over the Sacramento Kings (twice) and the Phoenix Suns. Not necessarily contenders in the West, but the Clippers have done what they’re supposed to: play whoever is placed in front of them and win.

Tonight’s game will be unlike any other these two have played before. Championships are no longer unattainable oases for these once-lowly franchises. They don’t hope for a championship, they expect one. Steph Curry has one and is chasing another. Chris Paul, who has never even played in a Conference Finals, is seeking his first. Anything less than a title, for both of these teams, will be a disappointment.

Even without all of drama, this is an exciting basketball matchup. Though only four games into the season, Curry and Blake Griffin look like early MVP candidates. This game features two elite points guards who see the game through a completely different lens than everyone else, sharpshooters in Thompson and JJ Redick whose stroke is vital to their team’s success, and a proven Golden State bench versus a revamped Los Angeles second unit. The most electrifying matchup will be the power forward battle. Draymond Green and Griffin are two fearless competitors who will use any and every tool at their disposal to beat the other and, if that isn’t enough, will try to physically impose their will.

But everything is much more fun when you throw in context and narratives. So the emotions and intensity will surely be there as one team will look to remain undefeated. The Warriors’ championship is fresh in the Clippers’ mind and Rivers’ and the Clippers’ words will surely come up again in the Warriors’ locker room. One of the most unlikeable teams in the league visiting the defending champs who have a mammoth target on their back. Regardless of what happens, it’ll be another chapter in the already action-packed story of this new, but intense rivalry.

Oh, and the Golden State Warriors are giving out replica championship rings to the fans tonight as well. But only the lucky ones will get them.

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