Joe Lacob, who’s hardly ever a body-language wallflower, can be positively gymnastic when he’s sitting in his courtside seats at Chase Center during a classic Warriors rally and victory. Fist shaking, body moving up and down, like a whole routine all by himself.

But not on Thursday night, even when his team floundered through a rough first two quarters against the Clippers with playoff positioning very much on the line. And not even while the Warriors stormed back from the 11-point first-half deficit with a 42-16 stomping in the third quarter on their way to a buoyant 115-91 victory for their fourth win in a row.

乔·拉科布 (Joe Lacob) 简直从来王人太会用肢体话语展示感奋，但在一场经典的骁雄的告成中，当他坐在大通中心的场边座位上时，他不错积极地拳头泛动，身段高下舞动，像是一个东谈主招是搬非的套路。

但在周四晚上，他的球队在前两节对阵快船队的比赛中笨重前行，季后赛定位也岌岌可危。以致当骁雄队在第三节以 42-16 的比分从上半场过期 11 分的情况下逆转回来时，他们以 115-91 的大比分取得了连续第四场告成。

Amazingly, after many struggling months, the Warriors are now in sole possession of the Western Conference’s fifth playoff seed. Maybe even more amazingly, Lacob, sitting next to his son, Kirk, mostly just stayed in place, serenely absorbing everything as mayhem happened all around him.

Turns out, there’s a reason for this. He knew the landslide was coming. He felt it.

“In the first half, I was sitting with Kirk and some guests and I said, ‘I think we’re going to win this game,'” the Warriors owner told me a few minutes after the game. “We were shooting it terribly; we got some bad whistles. But just … I just felt like we were going to get hot in this game. And I’m not sure what’s going on with the Clippers.”

令东谈主讶异的是，经过几个月的苦苦抵御，骁雄队当前独占西部第五种子。也许更令东谈主讶异的是，拉科布坐在他男儿柯克身边，大部分技艺王人呆在原地，沉着地接管周围发生的一切零乱。

事实解释，这是有原因的。他知谈球队滑坡行将驾临。他嗅觉到了。

“上半场，我和柯克以及一些宾客坐在沿路，我说，‘我认为咱们会赢得这场比赛，’”骁雄队雇主在赛后几分钟告诉我。“咱们打得很灾祸；咱们听到了一些不好的哨声。然则仅仅......我仅仅合计咱们会在这场比赛中变得炙手可热。而且我不细目快船队发生了什么。”

The slow start with a big second-half comeback has been a trend for the Warriors lately — they’ve rallied from double-digit deficits in each of their last three victories, mostly triggered by some old-school defensive aggression.

“It’s grit,” Lacob said with a big smile. “That’s the best word to describe it.”

Steve Kerr and Draymond Green have used that word, too, in the last few days. You certainly couldn’t have used it to describe much about the Warriors’ season until the last week or so, but it’s stamped all over their recent efforts. And with Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins both out, the Warriors have needed it.

下半场大逆转和慢热开局一直是骁雄队最近的趋势——他们在畴昔三场告成中每场王人从两位数的过期中反超，这主如若由一些老派的防护骚扰激勉的。

“这是勇气，”拉科布笑着说。“这是最佳的描摹词。”

畴昔几天，史蒂夫科尔和德雷蒙德格林也用过这个词。直到上周掌握，你信服不成用它来神色骁雄队的本赛季，但它在他们最近的发愤中得到了印证。跟着斯蒂芬库里和安德鲁威金斯双双受伤，骁雄队需要它。

Curry could be back in a game or two. Wiggins is still out indefinitely with a family issue. Gary Payton II, acquired in a trade-deadline deal for James Wiseman (who was re-routed to Detroit), might be back right before the playoffs. Maybe Andre Iguodala, too. And now the Warriors actually look like a team that, when they’re reasonably healthy, should be quite dangerous in the West playoffs.

So this was a good time to check in with Lacob about nudging three games over .500 (33-30) for the first time this season, about trading Wiseman even though Lacob remains a huge fan of the 2020 No. 2 pick, about the controversy surrounding what Portland did and didn’t tell the Warriors about Payton’s health before the trade and about the end of the Warriors’ Two-Timeline Plan (even if that wasn’t a stated franchise plan).

Here’s our conversation:

库里可能会在一两场比赛中复出。威金斯仍因家庭问题无穷期休战。在来去截止日历来去詹姆斯怀斯曼（他被来去到底特律），加里佩顿二世可能会在季后赛前回来。也许安德烈伊戈达拉亦然。当前骁雄队实质上是一支残兵球队，当他们非常健康时，在西部季后赛中应该猛烈常危机的。

因此，这是与拉科布盘考本赛季这三件事的好时机，对于来去怀斯曼，尽管拉科布仍然是 2020 年榜眼的诚恳粉丝，对于围绕着波特兰在来去前作念了什么和莫得告诉骁雄队讨论佩顿的健康气象以及骁雄队的两个技艺线磋商的达成的争议。

这是咱们的对话：

What are you thinking about your team, now suddenly in fifth place in the West? Are you feeling good about things?

Feeling better. Feeling better. We’ve got one more to go here tomorrow night (against the Pelicans), very important, which would be very nice to win and then go on the road.

But we’re definitely gaining tremendous confidence in the locker room. With Curry coming back and hopefully Wiggins soon, Gary Payton later and Andre (Iguodala), he’s going to be — the whole (Iguodala signing) was for the playoffs. … we’ve got a lot of reinforcements coming. So I feel pretty good right now.

你若何看待你的球队，当前一霎在西部名依次五？你对事情嗅觉细腻吗？

嗅觉好多了。嗅觉好多了。未来晚上（对阵鹈鹕队）咱们还有一个契机去融会名次，这相等要紧，如果能赢球然后赓续客场比赛，那将辱骂常好的。

但咱们信服在更衣室里取得了重大的信心。跟着库里的归来，但愿威金斯很快回来，加里佩顿和安德烈（伊戈达拉）签约王人是为了季后赛。......咱们有许多救兵来了。是以我当前嗅觉很好。

That second half felt like it was a message sent to the rest of the league. You’re doing this to teams that were ahead of you not long ago and doing it without Curry and Wiggins.

I give it to our coaching staff. A great compliment tonight. They played Jonathan Kuminga a heckuva lot, 20 years old, on one of the greatest players in the world, Kawhi Leonard, and he held him in check. I mean, he was great, offensively it turned out in the end, too. But more importantly, defensively I thought he was critical.

后半段嗅觉就像是向定约其他球队发出的信息。你正在对不久前逾越于你的球队这么作念，况兼在莫得库里和威金斯的情况下这么作念。

我把它交给咱们的西席组。今晚一个伟大的赞叹。他们用20 岁的库明加来对抗寰宇上最伟大的球员之一伦纳德，他达成住了他。我的意旨道理是，他很棒，终末解释在紧要端亦然如斯。但更要紧的是，在防护端我认为他很抉剔。

Let’s talk about another young player. How hard was it for you to trade James Wiseman?

Very hard. Very hard. You know, we might very well regret that one, longer term or even intermediate term.

But as much as I love the guy, I can’t overrule what our basketball ops and our coaches and our players felt was the right thing to do. So it’s a consensus thing. We’re ‘we’, we’re not ‘me’. And we’re going to do what the best thing is and we felt it would improve our team short term and kind of went for it for Gary.

再说说另一位年青球员。来去詹姆斯怀斯曼对你来说有多难？

很难。很难。你知谈，皇冠体育网咱们很可能会后悔很久。

但尽管我很爱这个东谈主，但我不成否决咱们的篮球运营东谈主员、咱们的西席和咱们的球员认为应该作念的事情。是以这是一个共鸣。咱们是“咱们”，咱们不是“我”。咱们将作念最佳的事情，咱们认为这会在短期内改善咱们的团队，况兼为当前而发愤。

Did it take convincing for you to agree to it?

Uhh, yeah. I think so. Because I think James is a really good young player and we’re not going to get many opportunities to draft a young guy like that again. And he really didn’t … let’s be honest, he didn’t really have a chance; it’s partially his fault, partially bad luck, partially our fault for not playing him enough.

But we’re not getting an opportunity to get a big talent like that with size very often. I mean, it was a very hard decision for the organization, to be quite honest.

你甘心这需要劝服吗？

嗯，是的。我思是这么。因为我认为怀斯曼是一个相等优秀的年青球员，咱们不会再有许多契机选到这么的年青东谈主了。他竟然莫得……敦厚说，他竟然莫得契机；部分是他的错，部分是运谈不好，部分是咱们莫得充分成就他。

然则咱们频繁莫得契机得到像这么的大东谈主才。我的意旨道理是，敦厚说，这对球队来说是一个相等笨重的决定。

Are you watching his box scores in Detroit now?

Sure I am.

Was the ability to get Payton the only reason you traded Wiseman?

No. I don’t think (when) we started out we thought he’d be available, to be honest. He was expensive last year, that contract, we couldn’t really afford it. But given what we did with Wiseman, we took some money off the books.

Our biggest weakness, you could argue, has been perimeter defense. So we felt it was a good move to make.

One thing about (Payton) that I did like a lot, assuming he’s healthy and when he’s healthy, he knows how to play with our team. And the coaches know how to coach him. So he’s going to come in right away, there’s no, like … all these guys make these trades with 22 games to go, and I’m not going to name names, but it’s hard to integrate somebody who hasn’t been on your team. That guy’s been on our team. That’s a big advantage.

你当前在看他在底特律的统计数据吗？

我虽然看。

得到佩顿是你来去怀斯曼的独一原因吗？

不，敦厚说，我不认为咱们开动时不错得到他。他前年很贵，那份公约，咱们竟然续不起。但探究到咱们对怀斯曼所作念的事情，咱们从账簿上扣除了一些钱。

你可能会争狡辩，咱们最大的瑕疵是外线防护。是以咱们合计这是一个很好的举措。

我相等可爱（佩顿）的一件事，假定他是健康的，当他健康时，他知谈如何与咱们的球队沿路比赛。西席们知谈如何提醒他。是以他会迅速融入，莫得，就像......悉数这些东谈主王人在 22 场比赛中进行这些来去，我不会说出名字，但很难整合一个莫得加入你球队的东谈主. 阿谁东谈主一直在咱们队里。这是一个很大的上风。

I know it’s going through the league process now (after the Warriors filed a complaint against the Trail Blazers), but when Payton failed your physical, how mad were you?

Very. … I think we all were. We were shocked. Because, you know, on the one hand, he was playing (for the Trail Blazers), which would indicate he was healthy. But when you ask someone … they only have minutes to make these trades at the trade deadline. It’s kind of an honor code here. Forget what’s in the records, which you see later.

I think we felt that they were disingenuous.

我知谈它当前正在经验定约的历程（在骁雄队对开辟者队提倡投诉之后），然则当佩顿莫得通过你的体检时，你有多不满？

相等。……我思咱们王人是。咱们很恐惧。因为，你知谈，一方面，他（为开辟者队）打球，这标明他很健康。然则当你问某东谈主时……他们只须几分钟的技艺在来去截止日历前进行这些来去。这是一种荣誉守则。健忘纪录中的content，稍后您会看到。

我思咱们合计他们是无理的。

皇冠hg86a

Did you think about canceling the trade?

We didn’t know. Oh, you mean after (the trade was agreed to)? Well, we took all weekend (to officially go through with the trade), so I guess we took some time to consider it.

Where are you fiscally after getting off the Wiseman contract for next season? Is that enough to alleviate a lot of the luxury-tax issue that’s coming next summer? You did take back Payton’s money, so it’s not a total erasure. Is that tax bomb still coming?

Of course. We have a big luxury-tax problem. But we’re in it to win it. It worked last year, so I kind of feel like it worked (and) it was worth it.

And this year, I thought we had a great team in terms of depth of talent. Up to this point, we haven’t really played to that level for a variety of reasons, injuries among them. But I think it all depends on what happens the rest of the year. We’ll evaluate this summer and see what we need to do next year. I really don’t know the answers at this point.

您是否探究过取消来去？

咱们不知谈。哦，你是说（来去被甘心）之后？好吧，咱们花了悉数这个词周末（考究完成来去），是以我思咱们花了一些技艺来探究它。

下个赛季与怀斯曼的公约撤消后，你的财务气象如何？这足以缓解来岁夏天行将到来的蹧跶税问题吗？你如实拿回了佩顿的钱，是以这不是弥漫抹除。蹧跶税还会来吗？

虽然。咱们有一个很大的蹧跶税问题。但咱们参与其中是为了赢得冠军。它前年有用，是以我合计它有用（况兼）值得。

本年，我认为咱们在东谈主才深度方面领有一开销色的球队。到当前为止，由于各式原因，包括伤病在内，咱们还莫得简直进展到阿谁水平。但我认为这弥漫取决于本年剩下的技艺会发生什么。咱们将在本年夏天进行评估皇冠投注网，望望咱们来岁需要作念什么。我当前竟然不知谈谜底。