A few weeks ago, to start the Warriors tear through the western conference, the warriors played the Pelicans. They had a good first 2 games, but when the 3rd game came on, the warriors and pelicans looked as if they switched places. The warriors were shooting a measly 36% at half, where as the Pelicans came out hot and shot the lights out, they had a field goal percentage of nearly 52%. Although the warriors only trailed by 11 at  half time, they were playing as if they were losing by 40, maybe even more.

The warriors big 3, Draymond Green, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson were not playing too particularly terrible, but it takes a team to win an NBA playoff game. The second unit of the warriors, consisting of Iguidala, Livingston, Barbosa and Speights looked absolutely terrible. Even with the help of their star Steph Curry, they were unable to do anything. They missed countless numbers of easy shots, even layups and tip ins were not going in for the unlucky Warriors. Even worse tho, they turned the ball over every chance they got. By the end of the first half, the Pelicans had 17 fast break points, one of the reasons their shooting percentage is sky high. All in all, it was a rough first half for the Dubs.

The third quarter was not much better for them either, the Pelicans came out on a 10-0 run, which complements their 21-0 run in the beginning of the game. This run puts the Warriors down 23 and this looks like it is going to be a blowout, something the Warriors fans have not seen in quite some time.

This might have just been some early game jitters though, Steph curry took a well needed rest, he had played 31 minutes in 3 quarters. As soon as he stepped back onto the floor the splash brothers do what the do best. They hit an unholy amount of shots, contested 3s, acrobatic layups, everything. They inched their way back, now, it was late in the 4th quarter, only 4 minutes left, and the Warriors were only down 8. They kept fighting and soon it was a deficit 4, with only 21 seconds left. That is when Steph Curry showed us why he was the MVP. He took the ball up the floor, passed it around, somehow ended up in the corner and hit a game-tying, and-one, 3 pointer to give his team some CPR and go into overtime.

In overtime, the warriors heated up, coming out to an early lead. The pelicans kept fighting but the combination of the splash bros and Draymond Green was too much. The Warriors put the pelicans away 123-119, making this the biggest deficit a team has ever come back from in NBA history. The Warriors were able to pull off the sweep and they now play the Rockets in the conference finals.

Steph Curry, after the game, said "They kicked our butts, but we fought back and showed that hard work and determination really pays off"

Two-9 Comes Through With Stellar Mixtape

In February of this year, the rap game was “F4RVR” changed when the Atlanta based rap group Two-9 released a mixtape that will go down in history as one of the undergrounds most favored. Two 9 is a rap group that has been born and raised in Atlanta, although they go along the traditional “trap rap” from Atlanta, their new mixtape shows just how versatile they really are. This rap group was discovered in 2009, and in that time they have released 11 mixtapes, and the newest, and best, in my opinion will make that 12 mixtapes in 5 years. Those numbers alone should show that when you put 4 different superstars together, you get consistent mixtapes, and they blow you away every time.

On this mixtape, before my ears were burned off from the fire that came out of my headphones, I heard the different aspects Two 9 brings to the rap game. On their first song, “Gather Round”, they show you a softer beat; they introduce you to the mixtape. They start off talking and laughing and this shows you how much they really enjoy what they do. They start rapping and the first person you hear is Curtis Williams, he is one of the founders of Two 9, along with KEY!, who is featured in the song but is not actually in Two 9. Curtis reels you into the song with his incredibly captivating flow; he twists words and phrases, bringing you in with each line. This song really struck my attention though because of how different it is. It shows us that Two 9 doesn’t only do hardcore rap, where your face is blasted off with the baseline. They welcome us into this adventure with a soft, calming beat and exquisite lyricism over it. Once you get through the first song, you go right into my personal favorite, Did It. This song is more along the lines of their “trap rap” but you still have the feeling of 90’s with the lyricism. Jace talks about how he has been living on the streets and needed to “hustle” to get off of them. He tells us about his purchase of a Lamborghini and how good it felt. This is probably why the song is called ”Did It”, it is a story about how they were able to do it. They came up off the streets of Atlanta and were able to make themselves well off enough to buy a Lamborghini.

Two 9 also started to feature other artists on this mixtape which they have not done in the past, other than KEY!. In this mixtape they bring in mainstream names, like Wiz Khalifa, Metro Boomin and Ty Dolla $ign, these are definitely not my favorite artists, but they bring a good style of versatility and diversity to the tracks. The advertisement from these very well-known artists also helps Two 9 get their name out there.

Although the mixtape was groundbreaking in my book, there were still some flaws along with it. The only time you hear the group talk and seems to have fun is when “Gather Round” comes on in the beginning. This is good for those who like to listen to music straight through with no interruption, but you don’t get the sense that they enjoy themselves as much as they should. Also there are some songs that really disappointed me; “Never See Me Again” is one of them. This song is one of my least favorite songs they have ever made. The flow is off rhythm with the beat and the beat itself is sub-par. This song really disappointed me; however I was quickly uplifted when “World Go Crazy” came up next. This song goes back to their roots, a good beat, unreal lyricism and catchy lines.

This mixtape, although it has some flaws, I would personally say it is one of the better mixtapes I have ever heard. The good balance out the bad and then some. Overall, I would rate this mixtape a ⅘, it has a lot of strong qualities, but also some bad ones, this mixtape isn’t perfect, but it is definitely great.