The team *used* to never give up. And it didn’t in the home opener comeback led by Bubble Murray revisited—infused by the youthful spring of the Forward it never developed, always needed (guised by MPJ’s size I guess), & never cared enough about (guised by AG’s presence I guess). Jokic was telling something true the other night; there was no intention to convey anything false. And of course his hurt at what was being told—not to him individually, but to his collective—was genuine; rightly so. But the team did give up tonight. Immediately after the conveyance of those words/the idea should have precluded its possibility. Gordon didn’t stick around for it. Adelman didn’t even change his facial expression about it. Jamal and Nikola tried, I guess, without forcing the issue Jamal led on two nights prior. But their inability with the other pieces to be a team and a hustler like Brazil, as a collective, showed through tonight. Whether it practically had through the preceding 4 quarters excepting the final one of the last game, or not. And it did last playoffs as soon as it knew AG wasn’t full. Whether it practically had already in consecutive years, by failing to play the hand it was dealt those two & three years prior, the way it would’ve learned it had to (winning in 6, not risking 7 for reasons beyond one series), or not. At this point, I’d not be surprised if Nikola, Jamal, and Aaron all just know the game too well, and understand they’re going to be the heel in it, with the exceptions of permitted nights like Saturday, unless they risk overextending and thereby physically ensuring their run really is done and buried. I fear the funeral really was Game 2 against Minnesota. We just didn’t know it at the time. As much hope as Brazil (and I believe Whitmore could) finally brings, I fear, thanks to rotations, politics, and age, it may just be too little too late. What a life it was. Would’ve been nice & more helpful to know when it was happening rather than after the fact. But maybe that’s just not within the rules of how the game is played. What a sad feeling this latest game leaves. It’s hard to describe how deep it goes.