[Leftcoast]

Draymond's punch was a big deal -  How big depends a lot on how the season goes from here.  

So far the happy-path scenario is playing out.  Poole signed his extension, the Dub administration has stayed transparent, Draymond apologized in a genuine and self-aware press conference, and Poole has not fanned the flames.  With the season getting underway there is hope the Warriors can get off to a fast start. Winning is a great deoderant and I happen to think the Warriors are going to do a lot of that out the gate.

If you want to take the other side you might point to the following:

1)  This punch didn't come from nowhere.  Clearly Green and Poole aren't singing Kumbaya together and their beef points to ill will between the old guard and the rising stars.  Not surprising when contracts, playing time, and media attention are all pulling at that same seam.

2)  Yes, dust-ups happen all the time in the NBA but this one was different.  It wasn't just two players jawing off publicaly with the altercation preceded by squaring up, taking a couple swings, and pushing while their teammates pull them apart.  Draymond flew across the room and went for the head with a hay-maker.  Not normal.

3)  The video leak amplifies everything - there's now dramatic images out there that everyone has seen, including family, friends, hangers-on, and alumni at Michigan and Michigan St basketball.  The pressure on Poole to respond and react must be immense in the macho world of professional sports.  So far Poole has played this well but let's see what happens next time tempers flare, perhaps during a losing streak when Draymond thinks Kevin Dur ... uh Poole ... should have passed the ball.

As I said earlier so far everyone is playing this well but I find the last few days of with talking-heads saying t"here's nothing to see here" to be misleading.  It is worth noting that the last time a dust-up like this went public the Warriors lost a perennial all-star and presumed member of the NBA's All-Time top 10.  To say there's no risk this time is to ignore that it could still go both ways.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nb...180691002/

[Leftcoast]

Draymond's punch was a big deal -  How big depends a lot on how the season goes from here.  

So far the happy-path scenario is playing out.  Poole signed his extension, the Dub administration has stayed transparent, Draymond apologized in a genuine and self-aware press conference, and Poole has not fanned the flames.  With the season getting underway there is hope the Warriors can get off to a fast start. Winning is a great deoderant and I happen to think the Warriors are going to do a lot of that out the gate.

If you want to take the other side you might point to the following:

1)  This punch didn't come from nowhere.  Clearly Green and Poole aren't singing Kumbaya together and their beef points to ill will between the old guard and the rising stars.  Not surprising when contracts, playing time, and media attention are all pulling at that same seam.

2)  Yes, dust-ups happen all the time in the NBA but this one was different.  It wasn't just two players jawing off publicaly with the altercation preceded by squaring up, taking a couple swings, and pushing while their teammates pull them apart.  Draymond flew across the room and went for the head with a hay-maker.  Not normal.

3)  The video leak amplifies everything - there's now dramatic images out there that everyone has seen, including family, friends, hangers-on, and alumni at Michigan and Michigan St basketball.  The pressure on Poole to respond and react must be immense in the macho world of professional sports.  So far Poole has played this well but let's see what happens next time tempers flare, perhaps during a losing streak when Draymond thinks Kevin Dur ... uh Poole ... should have passed the ball.

As I said earlier so far everyone is playing this well but I find the last few days of with talking-heads saying t"here's nothing to see here" to be misleading.  It is worth noting that the last time a dust-up like this went public the Warriors lost a perennial all-star and presumed member of the NBA's All-Time top 10.  To say there's no risk this time is to ignore that it could still go both ways.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nb...180691002/