A tradition in late May unlike any other: The Warriors are advancing to the NBA Finals,
Golden State bamboozled the Spurs 129-115 on Monday, becoming the first team to sweep all three opponents on their way to the NBA Finals. A perfect 12-0 record. It’s the team’s third straight trip to the championship, an unbelievable accomplishment reserved for the likes of Michael Jordan’s Bulls, Larry Bird’s Celtics and Magic Johnson’s Lakers. This Warriors have business to finish in June, but they’re already historic.
Both Steph Curry and Kevin Durant were stone cold exterminators, ending San Antonio’s season in relatively painless fashion. Curry scored 13 first quarter points and finished with 36. Durant played one of his most efficient games as a Warrior (29 points on 10-for-13 shooting). With all the talk about LeBron James, KD’s magnificent postseason has completely flown under the radar. If and when Golden State is the favorite in Las Vegas heading into the Finals, it’s because of Durant.
This is without mentioning Draymond Green eating LaMarcus Aldridge’s lunch for three straight games. Like Curry and Durant, Green (16 points, 8 assists, 8 rebounds) is having his best postseason in the last three seasons. He’s being left wide open from behind the arc and continues to deliver. And, mainly, he’ll enter June without any flagrant points meaning a suspension should be entirely out of the question.
This is without mentioning all the other facets of this team. Andre Iguodala scored the Warriors’ first 7 points of the first quarter. Patrick McCaw started and made an impact. Let’s repeat this one final time: The bench is better in 2017. JaVale McGee and David West are two entirely different chess pieces that could give Cleveland trouble. Shaun Livingston is capable of winning the backup matchup against Deron Williams. Golden State will walk into June with Strength in Numbers as lethal as it has ever been.
After trailing by as many as 22, the Spurs cut the lead to 10 in the third quarter, partially catching the Warriors napping a bit. But as soon as they did, Golden State ratcheted up their intensity, Durant hit timely buckets and the lead was back to 18 by the time the Warriors walked off the court at the end of the quarter.
In what might’ve been Manu Ginobili’s last NBA game, the Argentinian star scored 15 points, receiving a rousing ovation and ‘Manu’ chants as he walked off the court. Kawhi Leonard missed all three games after re-injuring his ankle in a collision with Zaza Pachulia. For that fact, the Spurs can’t be deemed an unworthy opponent for the Warriors next season, but the currently constructed roster is going to have a tough time beating Golden State four times in a seven game series.
Turnovers will be an angle the media obsesses about during the 10 day layover until the Finals begin on June 1. The Warriors committed 17 on Monday, two nights after committing 21. At times, Curry was careless with the ball and posted 6 himself. If there’s one area that gets the Warriors in trouble, it’s the fancy passing. It absolutely drives Steve Kerr nuts.
Speaking of Kerr, that’s about the only question mark the Warriors have heading into the trilogy with Cleveland. Mike Brown went 10-0 filling for Kerr and seems capable of guiding this team to a title. Brown was fired by the Cavaliers twice during his career — no doubt he’d want a crack at getting the ultimate last laugh.
The other question mark is Klay Thompson. He made just 3 of his 13 shots on Monday and enters the NBA Finals averaging 14.8 points per game while shooting under 40 percent from the field. The Warriors can probably survive a duel with the Cavs if Thompson isn’t his best, but they’d rather not find out.
Enjoy this week off, Warriors fans. Because the storm is coming June 1 at Oracle Arena.