The City Is Alive

On Thursday night in Cleveland, during Game 6 of the NBA Finals, I saw something I’ve never seen before: Steph Curry … furious.

I mean, I’ve seen him get mad before. But when he got called for that sixth foul, that was, by far, the angriest I’ve ever seen him.

Things had been boiling up prior to that point. Like five or 10 minutes before he got kicked out, when he went for the strip on Kyrie, he definitely got angry about that call. And rightfully so.

You have to understand, Steph never gets that mad. Never. It was a new one for me to see him get so heated. Steph getting kicked out, getting ejected, throwing his mouthpiece? When it’s this humble guy, the MVP, our leader? You don’t even know how much it motivates us.

You know what, though? I’m going to give you all some inside info. After the game, Steph wasn’t upset. He might have said one or two words, but then he got on his phone — he talks with his kids after the game, or his wife — and he moved on.

And it was the same for the rest of us.

Game 6 is history. It’s over. On to Game 7.

We understand what we have to do. We understand the position we’re in.

It’s exactly like the OKC series. After that game when we went down 3–1, we could’ve gotten rattled. But everyone in the locker room just had this look, like, You know what? We got this.

It’s the same thing now. In the locker room after Game 6, Draymond just kept repeating, “We’re gonna be alright.”

Move on.

And on nights like Thursday, family really helps you to do that.

After road games, we always rent out a restaurant. So on Thursday night the team rented out Morton’s steak house. (I didn’t have steak. We go there all the time. I’m tired of steak. I had the chicken.)

We had all our family and friends there. And once you see your family and friends around you, it kind of makes you come back to earth. It makes you forget about all the bad things that just happened. And it allows you to feel at peace, because those people know all the things to say to make you feel better.

For me it was my mom, my brother, my dad and my two best friends. They all understand that after the game, you don’t talk about the game — especially if you lose, you don’t really want to talk about it. You try to move forward, and try to talk about just … life.

And, no, I didn’t have any trouble sleeping on Thursday night.

The next morning, we flew back home to Oakland. How that plane ride went down says a lot about our team. We’re a complex group of guys. We all have an understanding that when you get on the plane after a game, you don’t dwell on the game. You’ll never see everybody looking down, everybody sad.

No.

As soon as we get on that plane, we’re gonna joke with each other.

As long as we’re laughing? We’re gonna be alright.  

As long as we play our game? We’re gonna be alright.

So on our flight home, guys were just chillin’. We weren’t talking about the game. In fact, you know what half the team was doing?

Homework. I’m serious.

Andre Iguodala is still in school, so he was doing his homework on the trip home. Andre reads a lot of books. He’s a smart guy.  

And James Michael McAdoo is still trying to get his degree, so he was doing some schoolwork online. The man is focused. Him and Harrison Barnes are literally doing their homework online on the way home for Game 7.

Look, we know what’s up. We know what’s in front of us

We’re playing against a great team, with one of the best players in the world. So we understand the situation. And we’ve got a coach who is a winner. He’s been around winners, so he’s a great leader. And for him, it’s all about the moment.

You can’t ask for a better position to be in. When you’re a little kid, what do you dream about? You sit around at the park daydreaming about a Game 7.

Now we’re really living it. Game 7. NBA Finals. At home. In Oracle.

Oracle is great every night. But for Game 7 of the NBA Finals, it’s gonna be crazy. I can’t wait to feed off that atmosphere.

And we’re not going to let you guys down. You deserve this — the city of Oakland, the whole Bay Area, you all deserve this.

I got two predictions for you for Sunday.

Number 1: All our guys are gonna leave their guts out on the court.

Number 2: Steph’s gonna go off on Sunday.  

I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes out and scores 50.

With all the things the media’s been saying about him, and everything on Twitter, I know he’s going to respond.

I know it.

And then all the other guys are going to fall into place. That’s how it works for us.

Anytime anything happens with Steph — be it emotionally, or him getting hurt in the Houston series, or him getting ejected on Thursday night — that motivates us to take it to another level. So look out on Sunday.

Oh, and one last thing. Everyone has been talking about me tweeting out that baby bottle emoji after Game 4. What was that all about?

Well, there could be lots of reasons why I happened to tweet out that specific emoji, you know?

I mean, I just found out that I have a little niece on the way. My sister, it’s her first time being pregnant, and my niece is going to be born in a couple months.

So that could be one of the reasons for it.

It’s a baby bottle. She’s having a baby. So, you know, it could be that …

Could be.