Golden State beat the Clippers a hundred and twenty-four to a hundred and twelve, without Stephen Curry or Draymond Green, who were rested. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored 37. The first Warriors rookie to do that since Curry’s 42 on his debut in 2010. I read it in the kitchen of the club bar, between two crates of tokens.
And then there’s what he said afterwards. His teammates wanted him to reach 40 points, he gave in, and he regretted it, because he likes “ethical basketball”. That boy has a group pushing him. I think that’s very good, mind you.
Group pressure, at our place, I know it well. When someone is going nicely, everybody piles more on. A volunteer runs the raffle well once, and the following Saturday she has the raffle, the till and the thermos for the Saturday youth session. Nobody asks her. She gets pushed towards the 40, just like him. She gave in too, and she has never apologised for it. She was right.
His two 30-point games match what all the franchise’s rookies managed over five years. Five years, for us, is how long it took to find someone to take over the minibus. It starts, by the way.
And I think about Curry and Green, resting that night. I’m not jealous, I’m a club president: me, resting, I wouldn’t know how. On a Saturday night, if I sit down, the chairs don’t put themselves away.
Thirty-seven points without chasing them is not bad. My mother would say the sentence is missing some defence.
Right. They play the Suns tomorrow. Me, I’ve still got the key to hand back.
It’s true, we checked: BeBasket.
