Definitely. It hurts now but I think we all exceeded our expectations from the start of the season. If anyone had asked any of us if we would be happy with making the finals at the start of the season with a new coach and an unsettled lineup I think we would have all said yes.
Unfortunately the nature of expectations is that they change when the team starts to experience success and so for better or for worse most fans will be flagellating them for a choke (which really it was) and they will be judged on the last 3 games of the season which were all losses. Nobody will remember the good things they did to get to this point. So hopefully they use that disappointment as fuel for next season.
We have to give Golden State credit. I really don't think they were the better team but they played better and they had more urgency to come back after losing the first game, and to even up the series 2-2 which was the turning point. That was all Steph in Game 4. He's a special player, ATG and future HOF. That's what Tatum and Brown should be aspiring to be more like. Mentally GS were much more composed than we were. We just get thrown off our game too easily, whether it's by referees, or falling behind, or missing shots. The team has gotten better at managing those lapses but they reverted to their hesitant selves after Game 4 which I think shook them. They're just not mentally ready yet.
I will say I'm not sure if Tatum's shoulder is bothering him. He hasn't really been the same since he got that stinger in the Miami series. But no excuses.
Ime and Brad need to figure if they want to double down on this team or make changes. Everyone will want to make changes, because we lost. The questions about the Jays being able to play together will all come back. The bench will come up for some flack because it was definitely a weak point tonight. We needed someone to lead tonight and put a stop to the panic after GS went on that 20-0 run in the 1st qtr - 2nd qtr but nobody was able to step up to stop the bleeding. In fact that was the period where we turned the ball over more and missed shots at the rim and got killed in transition. It will be interesting to see what Brad does in the offseason.
