Struggling Warriors are the poster kids for Raiders’ Jon Gruden

By Art Spander

SAN FRANCISCO — They have become the poster kids. For another sport.

Whenever Jon Gruden wants to make a comparison of all the ills that have beset his Raiders football team, as he did the other night, he refers to the Warriors basketball team.

Not that in anything beyond misery there are any true comparisons between an NBA franchise that was on top of the sporting world and, for one reason or another has tumbled to the bottom, and an NFL team still trying to get out of its own way.

The Raiders have been overwhelmed by injuries, needing to rely on new players. ”The Warriors,” said Gruden, “have been going through the same processes.”

What the Raiders went through Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum was a 42-21 pummeling by the Tennessee Titans. Then a few miles and a few hours away, at Chase Center, the Warriors were defeated 110-102 on Monday night by another team from Tennessee, the Grizzlies.

Tough times. Maybe everywhere, except in the 49er camp. Tom Brady, of all people, was booed at home. Who cares about what a man or team did last season or over the many seasons? What have you done lately?

And why have you done it?

“It’s just the nature of sports,” said Steve Kerr, the Warriors' coach. “People expect that if you’ve won, you’re going to win forever. It doesn’t work that way. A team tries to do its best, set realistic goals and tries to avoid the expectations and outside noise.”

Which, of course, is impossible.

That noise, the ranting on TV and radio, the grumbling of the fans, the complaints of a tormented coach, is what sports is all about. Always has been what sports were about.

Even limited success, then, should be cherished. Washington won the World Series. After years in the wilderness that should be enough, but it won’t. More, more, more.          

What the Patriots are dealing with, what the Raiders are dealing with, what the Warriors are dealing with, what the New York Giants — who Monday night lost their ninth in a row — are dealing with is losing.

Look what the Warriors had. And what they have. For five seasons, they were playing for championships. This season, they’re playing to get better so maybe someday in the future, with the big guys back, again they’ll be playing for championships.

“We faced an unprecedented situation,” reminded Kerr, who rarely reviews the damage. “Losing two All-Stars (the now departed Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson) to season-ending injuries within two games of the NBA finals. Something that’s never happened before.

“Then this season starts and whatever, it was, three, four games, Steph (Curry) goes down with a broken hand, and your team is decimated by injury. It changed the outlook of the entire season.”

From being a contender to being ignored.

A year ago, the Warriors were never off TV. Now they’re never on, at least on the national networks. Already two Warriors games have been pulled from prime time. 

One day you’re famous, the next you’re virtually nonexistent. Like the line about a tree falling in the forest, does an NBA game count if nobody knows it was played?

Tickets are expensive, especially in new arenas like Chase. As Kerr pointed out, expectations are big, even when that’s unrealistic. After the loss to a bad Memphis team Monday night, the Warriors are 5-20, the worst record in the league.

Will a fan base accustomed to winning and having purchased season tickets that run into the thousands be willing to support a lot of kids still learning pro basketball? It’s sort of like going to a Broadway show and getting a cast of backups.

Kerr has implied it was acceptable. Until Monday night.

“This was a disappointing game,” said Kerr. “I thought the energy was pretty good early, but the execution was really poor. Often it was carelessness... We have such great fans, and they are dying to cheer for us. We’ve had games here this year where the fans have loved the effort. Tonight, I didn’t think we responded well enough.”

At least there were no boos.