Oops, That Trash Talk Backfired

Before Game 5 of the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies playoff series, Steph Curry was asked about the Warriors’ game plan for the matchup.

Curry’s response was short and sweet: “Whoop that trick.”

The Warriors did not, in fact, whoop that trick. They lost 134-95 in a game that was somehow more of a blowout than a 39-point defeat would suggest.

The Grizzlies had some fun with Curry, playing “Whoop That Trick” at full volume during a timeout. To their credit, Curry and teammate Draymond Green loved it.

Golden State still leads the series 3-2. It’s very possible they win Game 6 at home and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

But if things head to Game 7, we might see some pretty nervous Golden Stateians.

In that scenario, would Curry’s trash talk top some of these other instances when keeping it real went wrong?

Tracy McGrady Believes Series Is Over When In Fact, It Was Not

For quite some time, the first round of the NBA playoffs consisted of best-of-five series. A team just had to win three games before the other team won three games and they’d advance to the next round.

That rule changed for the 2003 playoffs. Now, just like the other rounds, the first round is a best-of-seven series. You have to win FOUR games before the other team wins four.

Nobody seemed to tell Tracy McGrady this. After his Orlando Magic — who were the 8th seed — went up 3-1 on the Detroit Pistons in the 2003 playoffs, McGrady had some fun words for the media:

“It feels good to get into the second round.”

You see, McGrady had never made it out of the first round of the playoffs before. And now that his Magic had won three games, he believed he had overcome this obstacle.

Or maybe he was just being cocky, I don’t know.

Either way, the series was not over. The Detroit Pistons had a lanky man named Tayshaun Prince defend McGrady for Game 5, and then Game 6, and then Game 7.

The Pistons won all those games by an average of 20 points. And McGrady never made it out of the first round until the very tail end of his career, when he was largely relegated to a bench role.

The lesson here: Always be aware of your surroundings.

Kevin Garnett Gets Obliterated by Michael Jordan

Kevin Garnett has never shied away from trash-talking. This is a man who has called other players trash while on the bench in dress clothes. A man who made fun of another player having alopecia. A man who wasn’t afraid of Michael Jordan.

That non-fear of Jordan did not go well for Garnett. He recalled a time when he was a rookie and his Minnesota Timberwolves were squaring off against the Chicago Bulls.

Garnett was having a good game. And he let Jordan know about it, mouthing off and celebrating wildly and publicly.

Garnett’s teammate J.R. Rider wisely tried to get Garnett to calm down. But the taller man did not listen to the shorter man.

Jordan then proceeded to dismantle the Timberwolves, making shot after shot as the Bulls cruised to victory.

My favorite part of this story is that every time Jordan sees Garnett nowadays, he literally PALMS Garnett’s head (Garnett is nearly seven feet tall and does not have a small head) and asks if Garnett remembers the time Jordan dropped 40 points on him in three quarters.

And then, a man following Jordan around will take out his phone and pull up video from game, simply to make Garnett re-live his ill-fated trash talking. Amazing.

Kevin Durant Settles the Score with a Fan

When he was just a wee 22-year-old lad, Kevin Durant was playing in some exhibition games in New York City. The NBA was in the midst of a lockout, and these players had to do something to stay in shape.

In Durant’s case, that something was getting fans to shut the heck up.

After the Durantula missed a couple of shots, a fan started heckling him. He yelled “Baby LeBron” in Durant’s direction. A short while later, Durant missed a free throw and the fan yelled “Russell Westbrook” — this was before Westbrook and Durant seemed to genuinely dislike each other.

Durant seemed a bit confused at first, but then realized he’s one of the greatest scorers ever. So, he made a three-pointer in the waning seconds to tie up the game, then found the fan in the stands and smiled at him.

In overtime, Durant’s team pulled away for the victory. The fan probably walked into the ocean in embarrassment. Or maybe just went home, it’s unclear.

Finally, please enjoy this article from wikiHow on trash talking. It’s wonderful.

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