A Cautionary Tale For The Golden State Warriors

By Court Zierk @courtzierk on December 21, 2014

In 1993, the Seattle Supersonics were coming off of three straight playoff appearances, and appeared to be steadily building on the successes of each of their previous seasons.

They had a young core of incredibly talented and athletic players in Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and Kendall Gill. They had a nice blend of savvy veterans at critically important positions, Nate McMillan, Detlef Schrempf, Sam Perkins, Ricky Pierce. They appeared to be poised to make a run at their second championship in franchise history, and the expectations entering that season were at an all-time high.

They responded to those elevated expectations and roared out of the gate, winning 18 of their first 20 games. There were widely considered the best team in the NBA and appeared to be on a crash course with the Houston Rockets for supremacy in the Western Conference. They finished the season a scorching 63-19, and secured an overall No. 1 seed for the playoffs. They were the darlings of the NBA and seemed to be poised for a storybook ending.

But this story didn’t have a happy ending. The SuperSonics were ousted in the first round by the Denver Nuggets, marking the first time an eight seed had ever defeated a one seed. This remains one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history to this day.

So what went wrong? This was a team littered with experienced and savvy veterans, both capable and accustomed to handling the hype that accompanies success, but was apparently unable to cope with the pressure of increased expectations. Whether they took the Nuggets lightly, or they simply played poorly when it mattered most, the bottom line was the Sonics laid an egg at the worst possible moment. It remains one of the biggest abject failures in NBA history, and should serve as a cautionary tale for a modern team that has remarkable similarities.

The Golden State Warriors started the week riding a 16-game winning streak, and sporting a sparkling 21-2 record. Despite history being overwhelmingly against them, I have already heard people begin to draw comparisons to the 95-96 Bulls, and question whether this team was capable of surpassing their regular-season record.

I caution this comparison and consider it a dubious one at best, but I also feel like the Warriors’ early-season success could end up being their undoing, at least in terms of their ability to make a sustained playoff run, as it was for the Sonics before them.

Team Composition

The team composition for the 93-94 Sonics and this year’s Warriors is uncannily similar. The Sonics had three of their best players in their youthful prime. Kemp was 24, Payton was 25 and Gill was 25 as well. The ‘14-’15 Warriors have four of their best players also in their primes. Harrison Barnes is 22, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are both 24, and Steph Curry is 26.

The Sonics had critically important veterans that added an element of experience and leadership to their team. McMillan was 29, Schrempf was 31, Perkins was 32 and Pierce was 34. The Warriors have a similarly important mix of veteran players on their roster. Shaun Livingston is 29, Andrew Bogut is 30, Andre Iguodala is 31 and Leandro Barbosa is 32.

Playoff Experience

Entering the ‘93-’94 season, the Sonics had made three straight playoff appearances with that same core of players intact, advancing one round further in each of those years, ending with a loss in the Conference Finals to the Phoenix Suns the year before. This was one of the reasons many people expected that season to be the one that they finally got over the hump and capitalized on their incredibly talented roster. Not to mention it was that year that Michael Jordan had announced his first retirement, which would end the Bulls’ run of three straight NBA titles.

The ‘14-’15 Warriors are coming off of two straight playoff appearances. While they haven’t followed the trend that the Sonics set entirely in terms of gradual advancement in the playoffs, they have gained a vast amount of important experience for their core group of players. This is an important reason that many people feel they are prepared to contend for a championship this season.

Style of Play

Both the ‘93-’94 Sonics and this year’s Warriors play an eerily similar brand of basketball. The Sonics finished second in terms of offensive rating that season (111.1), and third in overall defensive rating (101.5). They emphasized a mixture of fast-paced, high-flying offense and lock-down, gritty defense that made them one of the most difficult matchups for any team at that time.

The Warriors are currently ninth in offensive rating (108.8), but most people feel that will increase as the season wears on, and they are first in overall defensive rating (98.6). They also emphasize a blend of fast-paced offense and shut-down defense that makes them the most difficult matchup of any current team.

End Result

Obviously that has yet to be determined for the Warriors, but they would be wise to pay heed to the cautionary tale that the Sonics have laid out before them. After a season of utter dominance, running through the league with relative ease, the Sonics began to fall apart at the seams.

Pierce and Payton had to be separated at halftime of Game 2 of the playoffs over a perceived lack of ball distribution, a fight that reportedly resulted in Payton threatening to shoot Pierce. The two had to be again separated after the fifth and final game as well. Shawn Kemp notoriously missed team meetings and was late to practices consistently. After jumping out to a commanding 2-0 series lead against the Nuggets, the Sonics appeared to begin looking to the next series, forgetting they still had one more game to win.  It sure felt like the increased attention was getting into the heads of the Sonics, who didn’t know how to respond.

I am not saying I think the Warriors will fall into the same trap. I don’t think they have the inherently different and clashing personalities the Sonics did. But, there are moments when I watch Curry and Thompson showboat after knocking down a three-pointer, or throwing down a contested dunk, where I wonder if they could be susceptible to a similar fate. They have certainly received an increased level of attention this season, and the “Splash Brothers” hype has been taken to a new level.

Maybe jumping out to a historically good start isn’t the best thing for this team after all. I am fairly certain they will begin to come back down to earth a bit; they aren’t as good as their record says they are. And when they do, I hope they can withstand the adversity and use it to their advantage during their inevitable playoff run.

Perhaps head coach Steve Kerr should set the stage by periodically playing clips of the Sonics’ Game 5 loss to the Nuggets, so Dikembe Mutombo’s famous post-game reaction can resonate with their team, and galvanize their championship dreams. It certainly couldn’t hurt.

Court Zierk is a Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @CourtZierk, “Like” him on Facebook or add him on Google.