“If you have any idea, please let me know. I have no clue why our team is like this.”



— Steve Kerr, talking about the first quarter of Game 6



The Warriors staved off elimination and fans could be forgiven for merely wanting to bask in the glow of victory and relax in the relief of survival. Yes, the Warriors went on to outscore the Rockets 64-25 in the second half. Yes, Klay Thompson channeled the supernatural. This was indeed a blowout and nobody could, based on the box score, divine anything all that wrong with the defending champs.



And yet, if you start thinking about the first quarter, it can be difficult to stop thinking about the first quarter. For as impressive as the Warriors’ second-half slaughter was, it doesn’t approach the beginning’s level of, well, mystery. That second-half explosion is just what happens at Oracle Arena, the ordinary extraordinary if you will. It’s why billionaires show up and...