Posted:
#1
It’s fitting that the great battle in The Game of Thrones, between the Bolton’s and Starks for Winterfell, is on the same night as the NBA finals. Like the Starks, the once indomitable Warriors have been reduced to a shell of themselves, partly due to bad luck (Curry’s injuries), partly self-inflicted (the suspensions and ejections), and partly from dealing with a ferocious foe (LBJ and his gang) looking for revenge. And like the weakened, battered and defeated Starks, the Warriors, this Sunday, are, despite Vegas odds, underdogs in their own home, at least according to the public who are both on the Cavs spread and ML.
The nobody believes in us theory (developed by Bill Simmons) goes something like this: “The Nobody Believes In Us (NBIU) theory. It's pretty self-explanatory: a team feels, rightly or wrongly, that everyone has picked against them and comes together to pull off an upset because that added unity trumps talent.”
This theory is not so much a theory as it is a description of a motivational tool/tactic that athletes and coaches use to overcome competitors who are bigger, faster, stronger and better than they are. The beauty of this is “theory,” when applied to the NBA, is that (due to the long nature of a series, and all the developments that can take place) it can apply to both teams at different parts of a series. Take Warriors vs OKC for example. The Thunder played like the NBIU team for four games, until everyone started doubting the Warriors, reminding themselves that perhaps they should have never believed in this team of fleet footed, diminutive jump shooters, whose star player looks like he just graduated high school. It was at that point, when the pressure shifted, and that the hunter (OKC) became the hunted. Or how about the Cavs? Once they became the NBIU team (down 1-3 in the Finals), they started to turn things around.
For much of this season, the warriors were the NBIU champions (if there ever was one). Champions only on paper, but not in the hearts and minds of most basketball players, pundits and even fans. In response to this skepticism, they went out and set the record for most wins in a season, surprising, perhaps, even themselves. And yet, what was not a surprise, in hindsight, is the fact that if there was any team in history that would take umbrage to being dissed the way the Warriors were after winning the title, and respond to it in record-breaking fashion, it would be the Warriors. Why? Because the core of this NBIU team is made up of NBIU players the likes of which we have never seen. Go back and read interviews and stories about Curry, Thompson and Green, and what you’ll find is a common theme: all three guys (for various reasons and at various points in their basketball careers) were guys most people did not believe in. Curry, despite having father who played in the NBA, was not highly recruited and ended up going to a small private school to play ball. Klay was also not highly recruited and ended up playing for Washington State University (not exactly a powerhouse). Green was chosen in the 2nd round of the NBA draft and knows every player that went before him. All three players play with a huge chip on their shoulders, and their experience as NBUI players fuels their success and is also responsible for the synergy of the team. Add to the mix two guys (Bogut and Livingston) who suffered gruesome, career altering injuries that turned them from promising young athletes to damaged goods, and you have the makings of a NBUI team. Is it any surprises then, when you look at the brief history of this young team, they always seem to respond when the chips are down, and everyone is doubting them? It’s as if that is their comfort zone, that is what they are used to, and used to responding to.
Last year, they responded twice when down 1-2 to the Grizz and the Cavs. This year they responded when down 1-3 to the Thunder, while everyone was burying them (both literally and figuratively). They also responded with the greatest regular season when Doc Rivers opened his big trap and said they got lucky (BTW, an added twist to all this is Tyron Lue saying in his last presser that, “Everything I do is Doc Rivers-driven,” Lue said. “He taught me everything as far as being a coach, giving me my first chance to coach.”) During the regular season, whenever the Warriors played a very good team and everyone thought it would be a close, exciting game (including the Cavs and Spurs on the road) they usually won, and won convincingly. In other words, this team, more than any great NBA team in recent memory, loves being doubted, questioned and left for dead. It’s in their DNA. They simply don’t enjoy prosperity, which is a good thing because most teams, after squandering a 3-1 lead the way the Warriors have, would not be a good bet in a do or die game 7 (even at home). But, the Warriors are a different animal, and, in a strange way, have the Cavs right where they want them. That’s why I believe this team of underdogs will summon whatever strength they have for 48 minutes, and like the Starks on Sunday, win against the bigger, stronger, faster and fresher opponent. After all, this is what Doc Rivers said was the difference between them winning and losing: luck. And now that luck has frowned upon them, in the form of Green’s suspension, Bogut’s injury, Iggy’s back issues, and the NBA gods (i.e., Scott Foster and Crew), they must not only defeat and overcome the indomitable (not to mention sneering and preening) James, but luck itself. If there was ever a team to accomplish such a task, it is this one; the NBIU Warriors.
Great Stuff BB.
What in the f%ck did I just read today? 
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