It’s time to hate the Warriors. They want it.

First, two things, neither of which are original thoughts:

1. I understand why the Warriors feel grouchy and a little defensive after the summer they just had. They played one of the best seasons in the history of the NBA, then slayed mighty dragons to win a title, and yet they still had everyone from Facebook Uncles to Doc Rivers (who, to be fair, might moonlight as a Facebook Uncle) calling them lucky.

2. Plenty of people have hated this Warriors team for a while now.

For the rest of us, last year’s Warriors were the rare lovable overlord -- dominant, staffed with all manner of appealing personalities, and, most crucially, new enough to the spotlight that people hadn’t grown tired of them.

I think -- and I say this as someone who’s watched the mentions of a popular sports Twitter account fill with talk of “entitlement” and nasty remarks about Stephen Curry’s daughter -- people are tired of the Warriors now. And it seems the Warriors kinda love that.

Andrew Bogut went on an Australian podcast to tell everyone they could kiss the ring he had fitted for his middle finger.

At practice Tuesday, Bay Area reporters got bored and lobbed the team some, “What about the doubters?” questions knowing the Warriors would stir. And stir they did! Curry delivered several sarcasm-drenched sentences to pin to your bulletin board:

Draymond Green dropped a diagnosis on the haters, and sealed it with a sexist flourish:

(Full Ethan Strauss article here.)

The Warriors want this. They know their limelight’s starting to glare. They see people anticipating a heel turn, so they’re steering into the skid. Whatever fueled their championship run, the machine has been refurbished to run on hate. Feed the trolls at your own risk.

SB Nation video archives: How the Warriors became NBA champions (2015)