This team went 12-0 on their road to the NBA Finals, the first time that has ever happened. In basketball. Ever. Not the Showtime Lakers. Not Larry Bird’s Celtics. Not any team LeBron James has ever been on. For perspective, a year ago those daunting 73-win Warriors went 12-5 in the Western Conference. This amount of winning should not be happening so easily.
This team has both the greatest shooter of all-time and a 6-foot-11 MVP playing at their absolute highest levels. Kevin Durant has never gotten looks this open (10-for-13 in Monday night’s sweep over the Spurs). Rarely, if ever, has Steph Curry shot the ball more consistently than during these playoffs.
This team is blowing out every opponent minus their brilliant head coach on the sidelines. Mike Brown and JaVale McGee were punchlines around the league earlier this decade. Now they’re both going to play integral parts in deciding who hoists a Larry O’Brien trophy.
I’m not trying to diminish what the Golden State Warriors have already achieved in 2016-17. Not taking a day off since October has put them in a position to win a second championship in three seasons. They had a bunch of gelling to do throughout the season. Curry was the one who sacrificed more than anyone.
Finally, a 94 game preseason is over.
“They deserve a lot more credit than ‘they are talented and are supposed to win,’” Gregg Popovich told reporters in San Antonio. “That is disrespectful of them.”
Maybe it’s disrespectful, Pop, but you’re one of the few who isn’t grasping reality. The Warriors aren’t playing basketball in the same league as 28 other NBA teams. This has become English Premier League soccer, except Golden State and Cleveland are the only teams in the top division.
Sure, the process along the way matters. And, as they say, anything can happen in sports. Right? Wrong. Who in the Western Conference is taking down the Warriors next season or in 2019, or in 2020? The Clippers? Lol. Good one. The Jazz? Gordon Hayward would be the fifth best player on the Warriors — and maybe not even above Andre Iguodala in terms of overall play. The Spurs could add Kyle Lowry, a healthy Kawhi Leonard, and it might push a game or two their direction. It would take something catastrophic to change the dominant path these beastly Golden State Sweepers are on.
The preseason comparison is nothing but a compliment to Bob Myers, Kerr and the rest of the Warriors teammates who recruited Durant — with their playing style and their personalities. They have assembled such an impeccable roster, such intricate strategies, that the only worthy opponent who could realistically beat them four times in seven games is the Cleveland Cavaliers. Judging by the Warriors’ lack of a celebration after sweeping San Antonio on their home court Monday night, they agree.
The night in San Antonio will partially be remembered for what could be Manu Ginobili’s last game — and a reminder to the Warriors that championship windows are rarely open for longer than a few seasons. The Spurs have been the NBA’s exception, and they’ve made just two NBA Finals appearances in the last 10 years. Draymond Green grasps that.
“Obviously every year you don’t win a championship, contrary to popular belief,” Green said to Doris Burke after being handed the Western Conference Finals trophy. “It just doesn’t happen that way. The Cavs were a great team. They were able to come out on top. But that’s not going to stop us from coming back next year.”
This 94-game preseason is exactly why the Warriors signed Durant. As long as he’s in the Bay Area playing at this high of level, KD’s the true safety net that fosters a mostly stress free path to a championship. He automatically takes pressure off of Curry against the Cavs. Getting Durant was always all about countering LeBron and nothing else.
Because of their unprecedented torching of the Western Conference, there are new challenges the Warriors are now presented with. Come June 1, the Warriors will have played just 12 basketball games in 49 days. Is that impacting someone like Klay Thompson, the only real question mark on the floor right now? Nine days of rest await before Game 1. We all know only so much basketball practice can help. Thompson’s production could swing the Finals — one way or the other.
Speaking of Durant, this will be his first NBA Finals appearance since 2012. He was a young pup then, merely 23-years-old. Meanwhile, this will LeBron’s seventh straight time taking center stage in June. Is that the ultimate X-factor? How will KD respond to the bright lights? Can he go tit-for-tat with LeBron in close fourth quarter games? He very likely can, but it’s been awhile since he’s played a basketball game in June.
The question everyone is wondering: Can the Cavs stop the Warriors?
“I don’t think they can,” ESPN analyst Tim Legler said. “I don’t think anyone has enough answers defensively. Basically you are penciling in 120 points a night. That’s a tall task.”
Hot takes are going to be pouring in over the next week. It’s officially prediction time. There will be plenty from prognosticators all around, including everything from a Warriors sweep to LeBron winning again in Game 7 at Oracle Arena.
It’s also officially time for the real games to begin. The Warriors have clowned the entire NBA with how good they are for the last nine months. It’s time to see how they perform against a formidable foe.