(Trying something new here, this recap is in reverse. You should mostly read it for Mark Jackson’s extended anecdote on asking for a foul against LA)

Game Ending

Disaster strikes. Up by one, 17 seconds left, Monta seemingly pulls up for a contested jumper. Near the corner, an open Klay Thopmson holds his hands out for the ball. At the last second, airborne Ellis flings a pass to Thompson.

Except, Klay isn’t really open. Devin Harris has been playing off the Warriors rookie, looking to jump any Ellis dish. Harris bats the ball towards Gordon Hayward, who races down the court. A questionable foul is called when Rush seemingly swats Hayward’s shot.

Monta Ellis has played respectably, but the Jazz had him figured out in the way Dorell Wright’s been figured by multiple squads. Ellis had success driving and dishing against other teams, nabbing 8 assists per game in this young season. Utah was ready for it.

On the final play, Ellis grinds the clock down from nine seconds to nothing. Monta has beaten buzzers when GSW trailed by one, but tonight illustrated the downside of such a tactic. The try badly bricks. David Lee tips Monta’s miss but the score un-beats that buzzer.

While I would rather Ellis shoot sooner in that situation, I don’t think it matters much probability-wise. If Ellis hit with say, five seconds left, then Utah would have a rejoinder. If Monta shoots early: Does the benefit of a tip-in chance vastly outweigh the risk of the opposing team winning with their own buzzer beater? I doubt it.

4th quarter

Derrick Favors goes to work, he even tosses in a fadeaway. Not only does he lean while walking, he does so while leaping, often tilting forward in the air as though trying an interrupted belly flop. He sparks Utah with a few boards, buckets.

I am not sure why Klay Thompson is playing in the fourth stanza, and the press row mutters as much. My doubts feel validated when Thompson and Ellis run a fastbreak. Monta points upwards, signaling for an open alley-oop. Klay inexplicably eschews the oop in favor of a meek chest pass. It results in a mistimed jump, and a miss. With a little over one minute left, Thompson gets called for a charge. He’s played 22 minutes, scoring two points.

Brandon Rush plays a blessed contrast to Klay’s game. Brandon has been a key element in keeping GSW in this one, due to timely corner treys.

3rd Quarter

Al Jefferson gets Udoh on a pump fake, turning Ekpe completely around. The fake is so slow that Udoh can challenge after a 360 degree turn. I’m convinced that Jefferson would have been a star in the 90’s, but his game is too slow to help a modern team. Though Jefferson puts up good individual numbers, he’s also the spoon in that offense’s garbage disposal. Off an inbounds play, the Warriors incur a delay of game penalty. Irony, here: The act of setting up a technical free throw on the other end of the court is a delay in itself. Why is the NBA so wedded to the idea of free throws as rewards? Wouldn’t it make more sense to just spot the Jazz two points?

Monta and Robinson are ferocious in transition. Ellis makes a beautiful fastbreak pass to the latter.

Utah is flailing amid a GSW zone attack. I want to ascribe this defensive success to the zone, but how can I know for sure? Utah starts Raja Bell. They could just stink against any strategy. On the upside, per Utah: Kanter can certainly grab boards. He can’t finish or stop himself from traveling, but he can vacuum a carom for sure.

Game Time/1st Quarter

The Warriors quickly fall behind sprightly Utah. This GSW offense is stagnant, Dorell Wright still looks off. He’s had trouble pulling the trigger on open shots, but he overcorrects the mistake with two contested ducks.

Jeremy Tyler gets some early burn, but is quickly relegated to the bench after two quick fouls. I’ve noticed and noted that Tyler leaps at odd times. Even on the bench, Jeremy gets up too soon to congratulate a subbed-out Ellis. JT has to sit down, get up again when Monta finally trudges to the chairs. Nate Robinson thrills the crowd, which feels more fueled by the novelty of shortness than anything else.

Well it does, until Nate gets one of the most spectacular rebounds I’ve ever seen. The ball caroms off-rim, arcing into the night. Nate jet packs high above two big men, cocks his arm back, and bats the ball to a teammate in an emphatic volleyball spike. It’s very Crouching Tiger.

A Warriors player later pulls off another staggering, successful play.  This time, it’s a ridiculous Kwame layup, where Brown maintains a very laissez faire control of the ball on the extended move. It’s as though Brown’s skin beats like a heart, constantly knocking the rock from his palm. A wholly different kind of novelty-factor makes the crowd cheer success here.

Coach Presser: 6PM

The Mark Jackson presser is delayed. To kill time, Jim Barnett holds court on how basketball shoes have changed over the years (He played in Chucks, later Adidas shells). Everyone is wondering after what might save Stephen Curry, who appears cursed to perpetual ankle injuries. Jackson enters, warmly greeting Barnett on the way to the podium. The room is silent, save for a throbbing buzz from that which powers the electronic equipment. I ask if Monta is effectively the point guard now:

“Charles Jenkins is starting at the point, and Nate Robinson comes in behind him. We also have Ish Smith. There are times when we will run our offense through Monta…I’m asking him to do a whole heck of a lot right now, and I don’t think it’s fair for me to ask him to also run this team on a full time basis.”

I find this interesting because Ellis has been racking up the assists of late. Why not call him a PG? Does Monta prefer to be a wing player? Having been a PG himself, does Jackson have a specific criteria for such a designation. Later, the coach unwinds a long story of how he literally asked for a received technical foul in last night’s game.

“The whistle blew, the team was in the huddle, and to look at my team stare as if somebody just got shot, in total shock that I picked up a technical foul. I had to go and explain to them exactly what just took place. Twenty thousand people are sitting there, or whatever amount of people knowing I’m the pastor of a church, wondering, why did I get a tech, what did I just do. But they were working so hard on the floor, and I thought they were 50-50 calls, things that didn’t go our way, and I could not leave them out by themselves. I had to do it. And as a coach, you gotta let your guys know, not just by saying, but by showing it. We’re in this thing together.”

So what exactly did you say to get it?

“Please give me a tech.”

(Laughter)

“It was actually my second attempt at it. The first referee did not give it to me. He encouraged me to run on the floor.”

(Laughter, drowned out by my girlish, trilling cackle)

“I..couldn’t do that, so I went to another one, at some point and asked him. Fortunately he obliged.”

Did you get technicals as a player?

“No. I can’t even remember. If I got a tech, it may have been, you know, you pushed me, so a double technical type…I learned, at the end of the day, coaches have a hard job, players have a hard job, referees have a hard job, Rodney King, “Why can’t we all just get along?”

What was the second official’s reaction?

“He was shocked, he thought I was playing. Probably the third time when I said it he said, ‘You REALLY want a tech.’ I say, ‘Yes. Please give me a tech.” He looked at me one more time, as if to say, ‘You sure?’

(Pause)

‘Blow the whistle, man…PLEASE’

“Pretty comical, but..it had to be done….There’s some people who would probably say, ‘We need a coach who’s going to cuss somebody out.’ Well, I’m not that guy. I’m not going to be that guy.”

Shootaround: 5:30 PM
I tweet, “Derrick Favors is a terrifying Shootaround physical presence,” which probably understates an opinion that nobody should care about. While “knuckle-dragging” is a pejorative term to describe the idiotic, NBA scouts would salivate if ever they found a literal knuckle-dragger. Wingspan matters in this league. Favors is not quite dragging knuckles, but his arms descend down to the lip of his shorts. He also leans forward slightly, as though the weight of those appendages compels him to. While a similar wingspan makes Ekpe Udoh look gangly, Favors is too muscular to appear gawky. Another observation: Enes Kanter has my dad’s leg muscle definition. Context: My dad isn’t exactly Lance Armstrong.

Arrival: 5: 08 PM
I enter Oracle. In the media room, Curry’s ankle is the Groundhog Day topic. Reporters are weary of tracking its headstrong ways.