cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/57380534

The Warriors have been doing really well since the Jimmy trade. They’re 9-2. That’s very, very good.

Here’s the thing: in that stretch of games, they faced exactly 0 (zero) actual contenders. By actual contenders, I mean OKC, the Nuggets, Boston, and Cleveland. The closest things to a contender they faced were the Mavs, the Knicks, and the Bucks, but the Bucks didn’t have Giannis, they went 1-1 against the Mavs without AD and they’re cooked regardless, and well the Knicks were actually good and got blown out. That is to say, I’m unconvinced.

You see people talking about how Steph’s been unleashed by Jimmy, which might be fair — he has been playing really well, regardless of whether that can be attributed to Jimmy or not — but misses the point, at least in part. Has he been playing well against fuckass OKC? Because, quite frankly, if they can’t beat Shai, it doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t matter.

Steph needs another ring, Jimmy needs a ring. Anything outside of a championship is a failure for this season. Time is running out, and I just don’t see this team performing at a high enough level to get there. I say this with a pained chest, of course, but they just aren’t good enough.

I know, I know, shocker. Nobody’s really walking around saying that the Warriors have a shot at the big-one, so it’s not like I’m providing revolutionary analysis here, but it does frustrate me to watch this.

I’d also like to talk about NBA nicknames. I’ve always thought nicknames are one of the coolest aspect of NBA fandom; the joker, king James, chef Curry… These are iconic. They make watching the games that much more fun. Recently, the NBA has underwent a bit of a nickname renaissance, so to speak, seemingly on the back of “The Anomaly,” referring to Jayson Tatum. It’s not a bad nickname, as far as nicknames go, but it doesn’t fit at all. It’s a brilliant example of undeserved glazing, if anything. However, people have taken it in stride and started developing nicknames for other, sometimes mostly irrelevant NBA players.

My favourite ones so far are “The Trolley Problem” for Santi Aldama, and “The Ad Hominem Fallacy” for Jalen Green. I’ve tried looking it up, but I have no idea why Jalen got stuck with that, which makes it even funnier. They’re so ridiculous, like Santi’s, but mostly they’re comprehensible. The idea is that Aldama presents a moral dilemma to the defender. Not bad, not bad… But I think that the sheer absurdity of a nickname as incomprehensible, nigh undecipherable, as Jalen Green’s pushes it over the top of great into legendary status.

I saw a comment on a TikTok where the nickname “The Butcher” for Draymond Green was advanced. It pointed out how the Warriors have a chef, a butcher, and a butler. That’s just perfect.