His press conference was so odd. They asked him about game 7 coming up and that’s when he said it’s not life and death just basketball
Then someone asked him if he had any advice for his younger teammates about how to approach a game 7 and he said “none at all”
someone with perception could speculate that there had been heat in the locker-room after the game 6 blowout, perhaps someone, like Paul, had a strong opinion about some adjustments and Monty cut that person down and reminded them who the coach was, and that they should all just follow directions.
then, when publicly asked for their input, that person might say to the media, "it's not life and death" and offer "no opinion" on what his teammates should do
a perceptive person might speculate that was part of the friction that led to the "day of the dead" on sunday
the last time Paul left a team on bad terms (Houston) was when he questioned D'Antoni's focus on Harden isolations (which cost them their best shot at a title that season). i hadn't liked Paul before then, but i liked him as soon as i heard about that and i totally agreed with him
as i said. people will show you their character in time.
i'll add, that some people can't help but show you how smart they are, because it's hard to contain. Unfortunately, smart people are often disliked when their opinions, regardless of how logical they are, conflict with our personal emotions
emotions rule.
for example, politics are all about emotions, not intelligence
and so are sports