One man rides his chariot to a new city. Another retreats to sunny, southern climes in search of healing from battle wounds. A new, younger crop of men is brought in to fight for victory. And just like that, the craven coliseum-goers who’d cheered these men through battle lose their hair shirts over the assumed imminent fall of Rome.
The chariot rider and battle weary are Sires Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, of course, and these men are the Golden State Warriors, past and present. Defeat in the Battle of Spring forced their squadron to devise new strategies in preparation for the next, casting uncertainty across the kingdom.
Is the kingdom on the edge of collapse? Will it rise once again?
One of the few Warriors to escape the Battle of Spring without injury says the dubiousness of naysayers is an elixir for the squadron, a tonic to help the Golden State men return the kingdom to its ruling glory.
Sire Draymond Green, one of the three squadron leaders, said recently before the town square:
I’ve heard people say we’re not gonna [reclaim victory]. That’s crazy to me. I mean, that’s just, like, that’s total disrespect, but no different than the disrespect we’ve all been getting for years.
Never one to demure from controversy, Sire Green then thanked the naysayers for helping the Warriors to attain their initial greatness.
“You got me where I am today,” he said. “I look forward to where [you] take me again.”
The Golden State squadron won three Battles of Spring over a five-year span. After their fall at the 2019 Battle of Spring, the Warriors are considered underdogs. But Sire Green relishes the challenge and revealed that Golden State’s two other squadron leaders are of the same mind:
It’s been a while since we been the underdog. But it brings that underdog chip back, and I miss that chip. I’m pretty sure [Sire Stephen Curry] missed that chip, and some of the stuff [Sire Klay Thompson] been texting me this summer, I’m positive he misses the chip.
So, the chip is back. Will it be enough to help the Warriors reclaim the throne in 2020? Their battle begins on Oct. 24.
