Shortly after the Houston Rockets secured their 10th straight win on Wednesday, March 27 in Oklahoma City, injured forward Tari Eason took to Instagram and posted a video of himself.
As Eason proclaimed: “Warriors, come out to play!” (It’s a line that originated in a 1979 film, appropriately titled The Warriors.)
At the time, Houston was just one game back of Golden State in the race for the final Western Conference play-in tournament berth.
Since then, however, Golden State (42-34) is 4-0, and the Rockets (38-38) are 1-3. That includes Thursday’s blowout by the Warriors in Houston, which pushed the home team to the brink of postseason elimination with only six games left to play in the 2023-24 season.
Eason watched from the sidelines in a T-shirt with text of “Warriors, come out to play” across the front.
It looked like harmless fun, but Golden State’s players may have read more into it. Multiple players yelled Eason’s line heading into the visitor’s locker room, according to reporters at Toyota Center, and veteran guard Klay Thompson said this postgame:
That’s pretty lame, especially if you’re not even playing. It’s one thing if you’re playing and you’re out there competing and you can back it up. But if you’re just going to be trolling from the sidelines… like, bro, what are we doing?
With Eason (left tibia surgery) expected to return healthy for the 2024-25 season in the fall, it could provide yet another storyline for whenever the Warriors and Rockets resume their rivalry.
Klay Thompson on Tari Eason's shirt: "That's pretty lame, especially if you're not even playing. It's one thing if you're playing and you're out there competing and you can back it up, but if you're just going to be trolling from the sidelines, like, bro, what are we doing?"
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) April 5, 2024
Warriors came down the hall after the game yelling “Warriors come out to play”
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) April 5, 2024
Tiny bit of postgame chatter with Tari Eason, who came to the game in a “Warrriors come out to play” shirt pic.twitter.com/wwtMsx8NdC
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 5, 2024
