Next Man Up.

Now that the MRI on Steph Curry's right knee has revealed a Grade 1 sprain of the MCL, combined with an NBA hand grenade going off right in the middle of the Los Angeles Clippers huddle, I think it's safe to say the playoff landscape looks entirely different now than it did less than a week ago.

And I'll admit, immediately after watching Curry's knees buckle in a pool of sweat at the end of the first half on Sunday, I saw the Warriors entire season flash before my eyes. I sat there staring at the walls, dejected, let out about a half dozen "fucks" while thinking I just watched it all go straight down the crapper. 73-9. The MVP. The records. All of it. For nothing more than a blue and gold consolation ribbon. I felt the disappointment of investing an entire season into Golden State Warriors basketball, feeling like a world beater in my living room only to watch it unceremoniously collapse right in front of me.

For a split second, I felt cheated.

The worst feeling in all of sports. When you know that team (your team) was good enough to win it all, but didn't win it all based on some unfortunate circumstance, a fluke. Whether it be an injury to a key player, or some unqualified dick head officiating crew being paid under the table to bend you over the kitchen counter (go ask Sacramento).

Sacramento Kings Get Fucked. Hard.

I sat there thinking about all those whiny little pussies on social media sites like Facebook, playing online games of "well, if...", also known as "woulda, coulda, shoulda". You know that one where the sorry twat sits there at his computer with his thumb buried up his ass, contemplating whether or not a frog with wings would slam his balls on the rocks every time he jumped in the pond.

Yeah, that one. A miserable existence (makes me want to shower just thinking about it).

And then it happened.

A slight glimmer of hope. Something to hold onto. Next man up.

The Golden State Warriors came out in the second half, and without Curry, laid a pace on the Houston Rockets that quite honestly, I hadn't seen from this team since late February/ early March. All stars like Draymond Green and Klay Thompson started playing basketball like someone shoved a hot poker up their ass. Now, for Green maybe that's not hard to do, but for Klay, it's important to mention because Klay Thompson has always been a guy who, when engaged, can be a downright scary player (go ask Sacramento).

Klay Thompson's Record Breaking 37 Point 3rd Quarter

Now I know what some of you are thinking, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy there, homer. They played the #8 seed Houston Rockets. Not exactly the most enthusiastic group of players ever assembled." And to be fair, the Rockets did seem disinterested. At the same time, can you blame them? The Warriors didn't just beat Houston minus the 2 time MVP, they ran them right off the floor!

Think about that. That's some demoralizing shit right there.

You got James Harden, a one man wrecking crew who doesn't play a lick of defense, expecting talented players like Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Corey Brewer, etc. to follow his lead. I mean how the hell do you not play inspired basketball after being down 2 games to 1, the opposing team's best player goes down in a heap, you're coming off a thrilling game 3 victory and not only that, you got some big 7 foot power forward out there lookin' like Maximus from "Gladiator".

Houston Rockets 7 foot Gladiator.

No. Quite frankly I'm not.

Running out some "every man for himself" brand of basketball versus the defending champions who epitomize an "all for one, one for all" team style of play. The hell did you think was gonna happen? To the point where a cagey vet like Jason Terry can guarantee all the victories he wants, when guys don't trust each other on the basketball court, those guarantees mean as much as me guaranteeing I could bat lead off and start in center field for the Oakland A's tomorrow night.

Jason Terry And The Most Chicken Shit "Guarantee" Of All Time

What the Warriors have that the Rockets don't have are character guys like Shawn Livingston, Andre Igoudala, Leandro Barbosa, etc. Experienced vets with a quiet confidence, players whose entire existence in the NBA is built around anticipating their next, "next man up" opportunity. Guys who meet adversity not by fading into the shadows but rising up out of them.

Could the '95-'96 Chicago Bulls overcome the loss of Michael Jordan? If only for a few weeks? Did the '95-'96 Bulls have anyone like Draymond Green? A captain jack, the guy who could walk up to an emotional Michael Jordan, and without even knowing the extent of his knee injury put his hand on MJ's back and say something like, "Hold your head up. It'll be alright. Get the fuck out of here. We got you." And actually mean it?

Draymond Green "Born Leader".

What if Jordan went down. Who would pick him up?

Scottie Pippen? The guy who once quit on his teammates and threw a preschool level temper tantrum because Phil Jackson didn't draw him up the game winning shot at the end of a playoff game against the Knicks? You mean that Scottie Pippen?

What about Ron Harper? No disrespect to Ron Harper but that guy never took over an entire game in his life.

Anyone?

Dennis Rodman?

Is Rodman gonna walk in the Bulls locker room at halftime, get in a player's face simply because he believes in him? Maybe move some furniture and challenge that one guy in the corner who appears concerned, challenge him to rise up and play like a man?

Because lets be honest, as great as Rodman was, I'm not sure he ever earned that kind of trust among his teammates. After all, what more could he do besides rebound? Give max effort? Carve some shit in his hair? Rodman was a born leader? This is a guy who played every single basketball game on the brink of self destruction. A ticking time bomb, a single frustration away from blowing a fuse and kicking a cameraman in the balls, or head butting an official and getting suspended for 2 games. Don't get me wrong I loved Dennis Rodman's passion but his brand of quality leadership is becoming "besties" with the President of North Korea, for Christ's sake.

Bottom line. I don't know if the '95-'96 Bulls had that, "Next man up."

I know the Warriors have it.