A team that had all the weapons, all the answers and all the bravado of a championship contender three weeks ago suddenly looked very mortal last night.
The Golden State Warriors, physically banged up and perhaps a bit emotionally drained, squandered a fourth-quarter lead last night to the Boston Celtics and lost by double digits on their home floor.
Now before we send out the emergency vehicles to rescue the Warriors fan base from doing harm to themselves, let's be reminded they have playeda brutal schedule of late, returning from a lengthy road trip and facing one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Celtics are good. They're quite good, in fact.
And we know the schedule won't be anywhere near as brutal for the Warriors once the postseason rolls around. I think I can speak for all of us when I say how much we look forward to the inexplicable three-day gaps between games in first round matchups during the NBA postseason.
But this Warriors team is - in no way, shape or form - ready for a title run.
They were flat in the fourth quarter, outscored 27-12 in the final frame. The Warriors looked lethargic, played without flair and appeared desperately to need the energy and direction of Kevin Durant, who is nowhere near even ready to consider a return from the knee injury that knocked him out of action indefinitely.
The purpose of this blog is twofold.
One, and most importantly to me, is that I'm glad the Celtics are relevant again. In fact, they're more than simply relevant. They're a force to be reckoned with in the homestretch and beyond.
Lastly, I'd like to sit here and tell the Warrior faithful that there's no reason to panic. The task at hand is quite simple going forward,protect the top seed in the West, get Durant healthy and without a rush, and take care of business during a playoff schedule that will likely be not as draining as the current slate of games.
I'd like to sit here and say that.
But right now, at this moment, I'm not going to do that.
You should be worried.