The entire article is great, and I highly recommend it, but this story at the end might be my favorite bit in it. Draymond (and whoever was part of the contingent) chose to spend an off day watching Celebrini’s son play in a hockey game almost an hour outside of Chicago. Speaks volumes about the relationships Celebrini builds with the players.
“On an off day in Chicago, Green rounds up a contingent to make the 40-mile drive west to Geneva, Ill. The Madison Capitals of the USHL, the top junior league for USA Hockey, are visiting the Chicago Steel at Fox Valley Ice Arena. The Steel has one of the best prospects in hockey and a favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. His name is Macklin Celebrini.
Mack, as he is called, scores a goal and assists on another. But another play stands out more to Green.
“A guy comes to (Mack) and checks him. Boom!” Green said, standing in front of his locker weeks later. “Like, out of nowhere, he blindsided him. Ref doesn’t blow the whistle. (Mack) turns around and sees the guy, goes up to him and checks him. The guy stumbles but he doesn’t fall.”
Green pauses. Waits a couple of seconds to build the suspense. Then Green emphatically slams his right elbow into his left hand.
“BOW! Dude fell and he went to the penalty box,” Green recalled. “He was like, ‘Oh, you not gon’ fall? Bow! You gon’ fall.’ And I loved it.”
He gets it from his father.
The intensity is part of the package of Celebrini and part of why he commands respect from players who don’t so easily dole it out. So is the relative genius. So is his relentless pursuit of answers. So is the connectivity he develops with players. It all combines to produce a central figure who is nearly as important for the Warriors’ championship pursuit as the players.”
by taygads
5 Comments
“Thompson is beloved for marching to the beat of an unreleased Travis Scott instrumental in his head.”
What does this mean
Paywall 🙁
His son being the prospective #1 pick in the NHL draft is wild
I gave him a lot of grief after Chelsea left…but these last two years have been really good how everyone is healthy come playoff time. Kudos!
It is a great article. This might have been my favorite bit:
> On the same night that Thompson returned from his 941-day absence — a milestone for Celebrini’s rehab process — Green felt tightness in his left calf in pregame warmups. He stopped his routine short, went into Celebrini’s office and gave him a heads up.
> “All right, we’re going to get an MRI on your back,” Celebrini said.
> ‘No, but Rick, my calf is tight,” Green insisted.
> “Yeah,” Celebrini said. “Let’s just MRI your back.”
> Celebrini was right. The MRI revealed a disc injury in Green’s lower back. A nerve problem was causing weakness in his left calf.
“He knew right away,” Green said. “He’s blown my mind.”
And then this part is important–r/nba should see it too:
> With the Warriors down 3-1 in the series, Durant made his return in Game 5 of the finals, a month after the initial injury. But after just 12 minutes of action, he tore his right Achilles early in the second quarter.
> Immediately, the uproar centered on the Warriors forcing Durant to play and him sustaining a worse injury as a result.
> “What I remember is (Rick) gives us all the information, but we’re trying to win a championship,” said Thompson, who missed Game 3 with an ankle injury before returning to action and ultimately tearing his ACL in Game 6. “Me and Kevin were such competitors. We’re not going to sideline-watch when we know we can go out there and help. He gave us the OK. Nothing on him. That was all us. It’s just part of the nature of the beast. Sometimes you get hurt. Sometimes you don’t.”
> All of the parties involved contend the decision was Durant’s to return. Durant received consultation from the Warriors, and even doctors outside the organization weighed in. He was cleared to play on both fronts.
> “Rick did his due diligence,” Kerr said. “We had multiple opinions, including one coming from Kevin’s own doctor. Everyone agreed that he was cleared to play.”
> “Nobody pushed (Kevin),” Myers said. “And whether it was our doctors or external doctors, nobody was saying the Achilles was at risk. Even outside of our office, that wasn’t being questioned.”