While LeBron James can rattle off iconic quotes, Father Time so far is undefeated. In a season where he, along with Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, redefines the aging process, others are showing the effects of their age. Those effects might be the downfall of a once-storied dynasty. Perhaps à propos then, that is these 3 legends that try to break the norm while the Golden State Warriors dynasty comes apart at the seams. However, if you ask, NBA legend and 2x Champ Isiah Thomas, their fate was a rather obvious one.

“Eventually, father time catches everybody. When you look at their Big 3 and the run that they’ve had, how long they’ve played together and how long they’ve been together, you know, pushing this ball up the hill…Fatigue sets in.”

But it isn’t an immediate decline in physical output that signals that exhaustion. “It doesn’t necessarily show up physically. It shows up mentally. The mental fatigue. the concentration, the turnovers you start having. The shot that used to go in – now is just a little short. The play you used to make defensively, you don’t get there quick enough. I see it coming but I don’t get there quick enough.” 

That is the case that Zeke sees with the current-day Golden State team. “The players are in great shape, they look the same, they warm up the same. But, what you can’t measure is the mental fatigue and the lack of concentration that goes on…Brain fall happens, and that’s what we’re watching now with the Golden State Warriors.”

It has been a tremendous fall for the once-mighty Warriors. With both Klay Thompson and Draymond Green hindering the process in different ways, could Zeke’s words of wisdom be true?

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Isiah Thomas provided the perfect reason for the Warriors’ downfall

Even though the Warriors remain physically fit, enjoying a relatively injury-free start to the year, their record would dictate otherwise. However, with no physical decline visible, most would assume that it’s their inability to execute, chemistry issues, or lack of role players.

But the answer might have been right in front all along. As the Detroit Pistons legend alludes to, the team’s bout with Father Time is showing its effects. However, rather than the physical, it is the mental side that has seen a downfall.

That could explain the disappearance of Klay’s jumper. But, perhaps more importantly, it could provide light into Draymond and his altercations. In his last 26 games played, Green has faced 4 ejections, 3 this season alone. But, rather than the growing case of “soft” ejections, his have been the suspension-worthy kind.

Could it be the direct result of declining mental strength? The league believes so too, with the suspension coming hand-in-hand with mental help for Dray. Let’s hope for the sake of the Warriors and the rest of the league that the move allows the team and, especially, the 2x DPOY to turn a new leaf.

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