Can the Warriors Beat their Worst Enemy?

I turned on the TV, hopeful for another Warriors blowout. Playing a sub-par opponent that’s been spiraling out of control, at home in Oracle, and looking to increase their lead as the #1 seed in the Western Conference.

All signs pointed to a Warriors win by 30.

But then, their worst enemy stepped into the light.

Not a player in a Cavs jersey wearing #23. Not a player in a Thunder jersey wearing #0. No, the Warriors' very worst enemy, their arch-nemesis this past season, was wearing a Warriors jersey.

It was themselves. It was themselves falling into the pit of Complacency.

And in this particular game, in which the Warriors should have won by a large margin, Complacency stepped forward, crushed the Warriors in its mighty hand, and the Dubs ended up losing by 15.

Complacency is only natural. The core of this team, outside of KD, has been together for 4 years now. 4 years where they've been collecting championships, MVP awards, and All-Star appearances. At times in that span, they were merely cruising along in smooth waters as the rest of the league floundered in a storm that the Warriors created.

With so much coming so easily since the arrival of Durant, Complacency had now settled in.

As a middle school core teacher, I’m with the same group of kids for hours each day, urging them to overcome their sleepiness and focus on the day’s work. And sometimes I’m quite successful. But over the course of a 10-month school year, as I’m sure we all remember, a similar foe starts to creep up on us.

Students start slacking off. Homework gets turned in late. Class discussions turn into a yawning exhibition.

Complacency hits my students just as hard. The temptation to just settle down, think you’re good, and take away any sense of focus or engagement you used to have.

It can hit 12-year-olds, and it can hit 20-somethings. Doesn’t matter if you’re struggling to get C’s in middle school or the best athletes in the world--the desire to just lay back and watch always comes.

You could tell Steve Kerr, who I respect a lot as a great teacher himself, was trying his best to keep his students, I mean team, engaged. In a game against the Suns, he had the players run all of the timeouts.

Throughout the game, you could see Draymond or Andre take the clipboard and map out the next play. You could see David West spurring the team on.

And it worked. The Warriors won that game. Against a sub-par opponent. At home.

A game they’ve, in the past, blown, but this time, the master teacher Steve Kerr used a different approach to keep them focused.

That’s what it’ll take this year.

Sometimes I need a crazy group activity to get my students back on track. Sometimes it’s as simple as just starting the day with a quick song.

But coming fresh off 3 championships in 4 years, with the same core returning, there is no doubt that the Warriors’ worst enemy will rear its ugly head early and often this season.

It’ll be up the players, and their teacher, to defeat it before it’s too late.