The Golden State Warriors went from leading their first-round series comfortably to becoming massive choke artists. Knowing that they tried to acquire Lauri Markkanen last summer, the Utah Jazz can't help but laugh at the Warriors for their current situation.
Golden State was up 3-1 on Houston, but the Rockets have regained the momentum, and now the series is going back to Houston. The Warriors are in serious danger and not just because Houston has been on a roll.
The Rockets' obvious size advantage has helped them come back. Alperen Sengun is one of the NBA's biggest stars, so the Warriors already knew he would be a matchup problem, but Steven Adams' presence has also been a problem.
Adams' size has been something the Warriors can't fight around. They don't have the traditional big men to counter him, and even if they go bigger, the Rockets can easily take advantage of them. Adams has exposed a problem for the Warriors, and because they've had games to counter this and come up with nothing, it's hard not to bet against Golden State in Game 7.
Times like those really make the Warriors' failure to acquire Markkanen look even worse in hindsight.
Markkanen could have combatted this problem
Would Markkanen have been able to prevent Adams from dominating on the boards as much as he has? Well, no, but at least he would have been a big body to throw down low. Markkanen may not have been able to stop Adams from doing his thing on the court, but his presence could have made the Warriors more dynamic.
Markkanen is a stretch big capable of creating his own shot. His near seven-foot frame would have been tough for the Rockets to adjust, as it may have dragged Adams out of the post in a way none of the other Warriors bigs can. It would have made the Warriors harder to stop too as Markkanen's speciality is also exploiting matchups as a stretch big.
For anyone who remembers, the Jazz demanded pretty much every asset from Golden State for Markkanen because they knew the Warriors were desperate. The package potentially included Brandin Podziemski, who has proven the Jazz were right to like him, and Jonathan Kuminga, who the Warriors aren't even playing, and of course, draft assets.
The Jazz had nothing to lose by keeping Markkanen, as they were tanking anyway, but the Warriors had everything to gain by acquiring him. Now, the Warriors' season is on the cusp of falling apart. This wouldn't have happened had the Warriors given in to Ainge's demands.
It may have been an overpay, but they couldn't have expected anything less from Ainge. More importantly, it could have kept Golden State at the top. Not only did failing to get Markkanen get Golden State in this position in the playoffs, but doing so put them at a lower seed than they would have had they started the season with The Finnisher on the roster.