OAKLAND, Calif. -- The quest for vindication begins for the Golden State Warriors.
Coming off 140 victories in two seasons, with one title in their pocket, the Warriors find themselves still with something to prove. They have been dragged through the mud, and so initiates the journey to clear their name.
If history is our guide, we can expect the Warriors to glory in this position. They won 73 games last season largely to silence doubters of their 2015 NBA championship. Stephen Curry, the face of the franchise, pressed the nitro button because not enough respect was given to his first MVP award. The roster is full of players who have been counted out, written off, overlooked and ridiculed.
They enter this 82-game campaign having heard all the slights, and shots, and snickers.
And now it is time to respond.
"It is redemption," guard Klay Thompson said. "We know what's at stake."
Redemption is indeed necessary. It has been open season on the Warriors for four months. Fueled by two seasons of the Warriors swaggin' on the NBA, fans outside the Bay Area have taken delight in their heartbreak.
They are routinely taunted by the faithful of teams that didn't even beat them, but revel in what Cleveland pulled off. In most road games, they are sure to be smothered with venom and disrespect.
Shame.
Shame.
Blowing a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals smeared their reputation. Luring former MVP Kevin Durant from Oklahoma City has indicted their character and toughness in the minds of many.
They have been sacrificed on the altar of LeBron, as the NBA fraternity has lined up to celebrate their demise. Former NBA greats are already discrediting their anticipated success, if not betting against.
They have been mercilessly mocked and meme'd. They have been fodder for sports talk hosts, the percussion on which social media comedians pursue rim shots.
"If any of our players are on social media," Coach Steve Kerr joked about the fallout from blowing a 3-1 lead, "they have a long miserable life ahead of them."
All the key figures on these Warriors have some face to save:
• Curry for not living up to his hype. Being hobbled by a knee injury didn't give him a pass, not after being voted MVP unanimously put him in an exclusive stratosphere of NBA greatness. He was outplayed by Kyrie Irving, outshined by LeBron James.
• Draymond Green for his recklessness on and off the court. His unquestionable value and spectacular Game 7 in the Finals didn't give him a pass. His collection of controversial flagrant fouls, followed by an offseason arrest and a phallic Snapchat mishap, has branded him a menace. He is the millennials' Dennis Rodman, his infamy a bigger draw than his production.
• Kerr for placing his faith in uncanny places at the most inopportune of times, and the hindsight-induced realization that the Warriors' best ball was played under Luke Walton. Fighting through debilitating pain because of a mishap from back surgery didn't give him a pass. He placed the outcome of the NBA Finals in the hands of Festus Ezeli and Anderson Varejao.
• Durant for violating the unwritten code of yesteryear and joining a team of All-Stars. Being a coveted free agent flexing his might as an NBA star didn't give him a pass, not after Oklahoma City had Golden State on the ropes in the Western Conference finals. He is now the poster child of what is being dubbed a newer, softer era.
• Thompson has less to redeem than the rest, being one of the primary reasons the Warriors even made it to the Finals. His reputation got a boost from his video game-esque Game 6 performance in the Western Conference finals. But he missed his chance to save the day in the Finals. When the Warriors went ice cold down the stretch of the historic Game 7, he disappeared again.
• Even the 15th guy on the roster, center JaVale McGee, has a chip on his shoulder. He has been esteemed as the NBA dunce, made legendary by his lowlights and bloopers.
If we have learned anything about these Warriors, it's that they like to leave no doubt. They err on the side of emphatic. That's why they are in this spot, because the arrogance in their dominance made their demise even sweeter for their detractors.
They could tone it down. There is a chance they have been humbled by their experience on the business end of history. We could see a San Antonio Spurs-ian style of muted dominance from the Warriors.
But their owner is unabashed. Their coach is uber competitive. Their best players have chips on their shoulders. They have the most talented team in the league. They have been ridiculed for months.
Yeah. Vengeance starts now.
Sports on 10/25/2016