4) #Nightlife
Throughout the season, a myriad of hoops pundits proclaimed that if there existed a team in the Western Conference that was built to give the Warriors problems, it was the Jazz. Obviously, there’s still a sizable gap between the two clubs, but there’s at least a perceivable method to the madness there.
But on the eve of their second-round series with the Jazz, were the Warriors concerned with such things?
Nah. Instead of showing their opponents at least a modicum of respect, Warriors forwards Matt Barnes and Andre Iguodala opted to throw shade at Salt Lake City and the state of Utah. Specifically, the nightlife thereof.
Said Barnes —
"“There’s no nightlife in Utah. Obviously, as players, you want to be able to have a little bit of a nightlife, but the main focus is winning games. Me personally, I want to get out there because I want to beat the Clippers. That’s my former team, and my kids are out there. But as far as nightlife, there’s no comparison to nightlife in Utah and L.A.”"
OK, so comparing Salt Lake to Los Angeles is one thing, but Iguodala went a step further in his appraisal of things. His conclusion: Utah is so boring that it lulls you to sleep and you can’t even focus on the task at hand —
"“The problem with Utah is that you’re just sitting there and your mind is, like, dead, because in L.A., you still got energy for the game. Because you’re in L.A., you’re like, ‘Man, this is just the vibe in L.A.’ but in Utah, it can kind of lull you to sleep. And then you’ve slept too long or I’m bored out of my mind and now you got to try to pump yourself up for the game. You know you’re in the playoffs and you’re supposed to be pumped anyway, but the vibe is just like, ‘Man, let’s just get out of here.”"
Classy.
Next: Rings For D-Will and Korver