Don Nelson's final run with Golden State - similar to the rise and (eventual) dissolution/reconfiguration of the Tea Party?
2006-07: Golden State harnesses ambient chaotic energy on roster; united behind leader whose ultimate motivations are unclear, tear through opening round of payoffs, unseating old-money opponent grown stagnant. The future looks bright.
2007-08: Wins abound in greater number than anyone thought possible. Disparate energies do not tear team apart; in fact, they are stronger than ever. The establishment, however, realizes that notice has been served and they campaign with a ferocity recently not seen in a regular season; the Warriors miss the playoffs, barely.
2008-09: There go the wheels. Will this enigmatic leadership be able to save this talented group of madmen from themselves? Will anyone be able to capture the initial burst that almost set the establishment on its ear? [note: I think this is where the country is at right now, post-2010 election]
2009-10: The answer is no.
2010-11: The old chaos is there but in a new frame. It looks like basketball as usual, but the fire seethes underneath. Have they been subsumed? Are they the next wave of the establishment? Is it a new face of the movement? Positions have been clarified - somewhat - and they look like a real team. But, deep within their collective blue-and-gold heart of darkness, what lurks? The NBA, and America, watch with terrified eyes. Somewhere, Don Nelson laughs, sips from a can of Miller Lite and takes a pull on his cigar, and watches the waves roll in off the beaches of Oahu.
