The Golden State Warriors dominated the NBA finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers from start to finish, consolidating their status as one of the best teams in history. However, it is not necessary to fear years of boredom or a ruined league. A comment by SPOX editor Ole Frerks.
The two teams expected to be there before the season faced each other in the finals. The team that was the better team in the finals last year was even better this year – that too was to be expected. Golden State was deeper, more explosive, more disciplined, simply better than the Cavs. That’s why the Warriors – as expected – became champion again.
Nevertheless, the talk that everything was clear from the outset, the playoffs boring and the NBA ruined, because the warriors are unbeatable anyway, exaggerated and out of place. The warriors would certainly like to dominate the NBA for years and thus “ruin” it. If you just look at the finals, you could easily imagine that it would go on for a few more years, maybe even longer if Golden State were to get their hands on Anthony Davis one day.
But if you look at the whole season in general and the Western Conference Finals in detail, you see a different picture. The Warriors are more talented than any other team, perhaps ever, but their success is not guaranteed either and sometimes hangs by a thread. Yeah, the finals were anticlimactic after the Cavaliers gave up game one. The difference in quality was simply too great.
But a series before showed the Rockets that there could also be means against this over team, and brought the Dubs to the brink of defeat. If they hadn’t put 27 (twenty-seven!) threes in a row next to them in game 7, maybe nobody is talking about yawning boredom anymore.
The example of the Rockets could and should inspire many teams to come up with a new plan this summer. Several superstars are either trade candidates or free agents, not least the man who just failed in the finals to take on the dubs almost on his own.
The future of LeBron James is uncertain and so is the rest of the NBA – there were rarely so many question marks before the start of an offseason. For this reason, various players are already trying to “recruit” each other via Twitter and the like. A lot should happen, that much is clear.
“That’s what everyone wants to find out: How do I bring together a group of players with the talent and basketball IQ to keep up with Golden State? That’s what it’s all about for those who want to take up this challenge,” said LeBron himself during the finals. For many, the answer to this question starts with the still best player in the world, but it does not necessarily end with him.
With teams like the Celtics or Sixers, teams are ready to make real demands as early as next season, and the Rockets will also be looking for new ways to make the next attempt even more successful. Who knows how the Kawhi situation with the Spurs will resolve and whether San Antonio might be a real contender again next season. In any case, there will be other teams that want to offer the dubs a new challenge.
Last but not least, the warriors are struggling with their own challenges. It is no coincidence that several Warriors, including coach Steve Kerr, have repeatedly described this season as the “toughest” so far. The team had problems concentrating all year round and even in the playoffs, and at times lost their joy of playing.
The age of players like Andre Iguodala showed up during the season, the bank was extremely inconsistent, due to bad signings like Nick Young or the misunderstanding of Omri Casspi, and the fact that almost half of the Warriors squad consists of Big Men, although their best lineups have no real center.
Also internally, as veteran David West indicated shortly after the end of Game 4: “You have no idea what was going on here. Some people would be shocked.” Shaun Livingston added that Kerr was needed this season not only as a coach but also as a psychiatrist, counselor and father figure.
All in all, the structure in Golden State seemed more fragile than last year, especially since Kevin Durant did not always seem satisfied. He, too, has long been speculated whether he will sooner or later look for his “own” team again, as the fans in the Bay Area will never love him as much as Klay, Draymond and above all Steph.
These are problems that many NBA dynasties have come to know sooner or later – fatigue, ageing, “Disease of Me”, as Pat Riley called it back in the 1980s at the Lakers. Some teams are broken at the ego like the ShaKobe Lakers, others remained relevant until they were stopped by age, injury or illness, like the Celtics and Lakers of the 80s and early 90s, respectively.
These teams, just like the 90s Bulls and the current Warriors, have meanwhile been told that their dominance would be bad for the league and boring. However, viewer numbers and ratings have usually reflected the opposite. Many people are explicitly involved with such dominant teams because they want to see if and how the warriors or before them the Lakers, Celtics or Bulls can perhaps be beaten. Because sooner or later this happens to every dynasty.
The warriors can enjoy their moment. For the time being, they are at the top of the basketball world and should slowly but surely be counted among the best teams in NBA history – three titles in four years are massive and this achievement should also be recognized, whether you find this team “unfair” or not. Those warriors will be remembered.
However, nobody should make the mistake of taking all this for granted. That won’t do the warriors or the rest of the NBA justice. The next attempt to overthrow the dubs will begin on July 1.
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