Still More Warriors

It is April 30th, and we are still being amazed by the Warriors amazing playoff run. Last nite was an emotional and improbable victory at home against a no.1 seeded Dallas team that came out firing on all cylinders with an aim of re-taking the flow of the entire series. The W's missed free throws, got little from Ellis and Harrington, and managed to find the inner grit to vault past the favored Mavericks in the last minutes of the game. Baron Davis's spectacular half-court shot to end the first half is on youtube and is at the top of the page.

One thing that comes out of all this is what is the purpose of all this? The Warriors on an exciting playoff run will not end the war in Iraq nor bring back to life the people killed on the Virginia Tech campus. In fact the world of professional sports is very illusory, what hindus might term maya or Buddhist's samsara(many thanks to Robert Frager for explaining the difference to me once). So what have I personally gotten and noticed about this phenomenon?

One thing is that it has been easy to approach the Warriors with a strong sense of Zen-like non-attachment. Stoicism. No expectations. I guess it is easy to see the world through the way the world encourages you to see it. The rich get richer. Those in control stay in control. Losers lose. Somehow when sometithing like this happens we realize that for all the mind's certainty about things, it is still a magical world where anything can happen. Last nite I had expected defeat. Last nite the Warriors were warriors, impeccable, with unbending intent, through their actions moving the basketball gods in a way that they charted their own destiny. Baron Davis hitting that half-court shot to tie the game. Baron Davis making the steal and lay-up to end the third quarter. Barnes launching that three in the last minute with total confidence that would illude many "stars". Mickale Pietrus giving the team an unexpected boost both offensively and defensively.

So last nite, as I did when the series openned with an unexpected victory in Dallas, I found myself emotional, fragile, caring about the result, up and down, and on a real roller coaster. It was fantastic to see Davis almost will his team to victory, and it was moving to see the wild cards such as Pietrus and Barnes pull almost miraculous things out of thin air to secure the victory. It was so fun to be passionate about something as opposed to being right about something. As don Juan instructed Casteneda, a warrior must balance control(non-attachment) with abandon(passion)! Warriors, thank you, thank you!

Below I am including a clip from Friday nite's victory in Oakland, Jason Richarson with a fantastic up and under finger-roll: