Oh, wait — Steph Curry might very well play basketball on Saturday?
There goes a theme I was working on, blown to smithereens: No more “Pelican Intrigue.”
It sounds like a Grisham novel. Or an indie band. Pelican Intrigue.
I had Pelican Intrigue, big-time, watching a few of their playoff wins over Portland.
The New Orleans Pelicans, the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, dismantled Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers in a sweep that spoke to a rising cohesion in coach Alvin Gentry’s bunch, spoke to a coming force in young Anthony Davis’ sensational NBA career, spoke to a rekindled veteran winner in Rajon (Playoff) Rondo, and spoke to the growing nature of the must-see versatility of guard Jrue Holiday. That’s not even to mention the major contributions of Nikola (Who Remembered He Was a Pelican?) Mirotic, a big who rained in 3s from every spot on the court.
If you heard our show, you knew I had a playoff crush on the Pelicans. Young talent. Old talent. Winning attitudes. Heads-up basketball, everywhere you looked.
And as the Warriors played a mostly meaningless series against a fading San Antonio team, it was easy to start thinking that the Warriors season — remember the late-season bumbles, the late-season malaise, the late-season losses? — might meet an untimely end, up against the SS Pelican Intrigue.
Then I watched Steve Kerr at practice today say that Stephen Curry went 100 percent in a contact practice.
Then I thought about Curry on the court on Saturday.
Then I thought about the Warriors finally playing with a healthy Steph, a healthy Kevin Durant, a healthy Draymond Green, a healthy Klay Thompson, and the Warriors’ version of Playoff Rondo — a healthy Andre Iguodala. Together. At once.
And then I realized that the Warriors will handle New Orleans, maybe as quickly as five games.
It’s too easy to forget that the 2017-18 Warriors are trying to become only the fifth team in NBA history to reach four consecutive NBA Finals. The others are legendary, and for a reason: the 1960s Boston Celtics (twice), the 1982-85 Lakers, the 1984-87 Celtics and the 2011-14 Miami Heat.
(Wait. Let’s be honest. The 2011-14 Heat just don’t quite fit on that list, do they? Seem too … fabricated? Or am I guilty of exalting my childhood and the 1980s? Wouldn’t be the first time. I miss the 1980s every day. Where is today’s Billy Idol, anyway?)
At any rate, the Warriors are now engaged in the task they’ve wanted to engage in all along. The January games against the Kings? No. The February games against the Lakers? No. Any of the previous 82 regular season games? No.
Heck, even the Spurs series had trouble stirring the Warriors’ souls.
But this matchup will. The Warriors now have the true kindling for their championship fire. Motivation will be mighty.
Steph is likely all the way back. The Pelicans will be their toughest Western Conference foe since the 2016 Western Conference Finals against a Kevin Durant-led Oklahoma City Thunder team.
The Pelicans will have trouble matching up with Durant. Holiday will have trouble getting loose against Klay Thompson. Anthony Davis may score a lot, but Alvin Gentry’s group will see the Warriors have too much firepower and too much fuel, a gassed-up tank of aspiration.
Looks like we may need to start working on the next Jock Blog: Rocket Intrigue, anyone?
