The Golden State Warriors are the prohibitive favorites to win the 2018 NBA Championship and all indications are that they know it. The team hasn’t been locked in every single night, presumably because they realize the regular season doesn’t hold the same weight for a team on their level, but the Warriors seemingly took things to a different level on Monday evening.
Head coach Steve Kerr appears to have turned over play-calling duties to the players for a home game against the Phoenix Suns.
Steve Kerr is letting the players coach each other tonight and Sam Mitchell is having NONE of it pic.twitter.com/xBgk20j7K5
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) February 13, 2018
As you can hear, former Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, acting as a studio analyst for NBA TV, did not enjoy this decision by Kerr, but he also (rightly) predicted that many would enjoy this move. It didn’t stop in the early going, either, with players taking turns and Draymond Green seemingly taking a leading role.
Draymond not even waiting for the clipboard anymore, he's confidently strolling out with it now pic.twitter.com/c4sQS1PEUJ
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 13, 2018
The Warriors entered the game as more than 15-point favorites to topple the struggling Suns and, even with an ugly first quarter performance that included 16 points and six assists from Elfrid Payton, Golden State managed to take a lead into the second frame before taking full control.
The specifics aren’t necessarily all that important, though, as this should simply be enjoyed (or scrutinized, in Mitchell’s case) for what it is. The Warriors are playing a different game than everyone else at the moment and, even if the Suns might be bothered by this, Golden State can operate in any fashion that it wants to, as long as the final result of the 2018 campaign ends up being what most predict it to be.
