NBA Finals Recap - Are The Warriors The Best Team In The History Of The NBA?
SteemSports Presenter: @writingamigo
SteemSports Editor: Nolan Jacobson, @theprophet0, STEEM Witness & PeerPlays Witness.
The best playoffs run ever: The Golden State Warriors had close to perfect 16-1 record in this year's playoffs. They beat Cavaliers 4-1 and inscribed their names into the history of basketball.
The real MVP: Kevin Duran is the real MVP. I hated his decision to join GSW during the off-season but let's be honest, KD never played better in his career. I am pretty certain that without KD, GSW would have lost to the Cavaliers once again.
Cavs in 2018? The Clevland Cavaliers showed that they are capable of fighting 12 galliots from Oakland, but they lacked some talent this year. I wish that Bogut was not injured as he could have dominated the paint pretty well. Yup, if the Cavs want to have a shot next year, they have to acquire a dominant center this summer.
The finals could have been so much more dramatic, the Cleveland Cavaliers failed to cope with the pressure this year and miserably lost the first two games. After that, the Cavs showed that they could fight against all odds, but it was not enough this year. One does not simply come back from 0-3 against Kevin Durant and Stephan Curry.
First Quarter
I've been rooting for drama this year, and I had some hopes that the Cavaliers could find a way to beat the Warriors in game 5. Lebron James listened to my prayers and started the first quarter like a beast who was pushed to the wall. He shot some threes, drove to the basket, and controlled the pace of the game. On top of that, Kyrie Irving was playing at his best level, and that could only mean trouble to GSW. Sadly, Kevin Love picked up 2 faults in no time and had to sit through the first quarter. Gladly, Tristan Thompson remembered why he is the starter of ex-champions and aggressively dominated the paint from the beginning of the match.
On the other side, the Warriors made first two shots behind the arc, and it seemed that they were feeling the rhythm early in the game. However, GSW missed their next 5 three-pointers and just couldn't keep up with the Cavaliers. It was 3 of Zaza's offensive rebounds that kept GSW close early in the first quarter, which ended 37-33 in the Cavs favor.
Second Quarter
If you have any doubts about GSW deserving this trophy, you are crazy... but I suggest watching the second quarter of game 5 to change your mind. The Cavaliers could not do a thing against the Golden State Warriors' perfect offense and aggressive defense. Cavs lost a stretch of 7 minutes 28-4 and found themselves trailing by 16 thanks to Durant's monstrous performance.
That's where I have to remind you all one moment early in the second quarter when Lebron posterized Durant. It was pretty clear that Durant also made a fault, but it slipped through the eyes of the officials. It would have been a third fault for Durant, meaning that he would have had to sit through the remaining of the second quarter, in which he initiated a 28-4 run on his own, on the bench. Yup, those little details can change the course of the entire series. P.S. The officials did a great job in general. So did Kevin Durant.
Third Quarter
The Cavaliers came into the third quarter trailing "only" by 11 points thanks to J.R. Smith's incredible triples before the half time. J.R. Smith was not backing down in the third quarter as well as he hit some hard shots and helped the Cavaliers stay in the game. Kyrie Irving took the game to his hands as well and helped his team to narrow the GSW's lead to 4 points. However, the Warriors kept themselves together and bounced back. I must take my hat off to Andrea Iguodala, who went back to 2015 when he became a final's MVP and started dominated the Cavaliers on both ends of the court once again. He scored 20 points in the game, including two power dunks, and was an x-factor of this final game.
Also, McCaw, a no-name rookie, made some brave moves when the Warriors needed him the most and stunned the Cavaliers. Of course, it is too early to predict a bright future for McCaw, but I would not be surprised to see him evolving into a star one day. That kid would have enough confidence to ask Mike Tyson's wife for a date in front of Mike.
Fourth Quarter
One of the main reasons why the Cavaliers could not throw that extra punch in the four quarter to win the game was because Lebron James got exhausted. The poor guy had to play 46 minutes, and it was clear that he had no energy by the end of the match. Lebron failed to defend on various occasions (against Iguodala's dunks and McCaw's offensive rebound), which could have determined the winner. Don't get me wrong; I am not blaming Lebron for this loss (he finished with 41/8/13, for God's sake). I am just saying that the Cavaliers needed one more star player to have a shot at the series. I mean, every main guy played a decent game 5 (J.R. Smith made 7/8 three-pointers) except Kevin Love and the Cavaliers still lost.
As usual, Kevin Durant took the matters into his hand in the final quarter and responded to every Cavaliers' attempt to get back into the game with a jump shot or a dunk. On top of that, Stephan Curry finished the game close to a triple-double with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. When GSW plays like that, we must face reality - there is no team in the NBA who could beat them, well, not today at least.
Are The Golden State Warriors The Greatest Team Ever In Basketball's History?
This is one of the debates that basketball fans all over the world won't find a consensus for years. When Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors this season, it was clear that they will win the title, but no one expected them to do it in such fashion. They recorded a 15-0 run in playoffs and played the game as a team rather than egoistic individuals. That said, I have doubt that the Warriors could beat Abdul Jabbar's Lakers, Jordan's Bulls, Kobe's and Shaq's Lakers. Call me old-fashioned, but I still believe that a dominant center like Shaq or Abdul-Jabbar would tarnish GSW. Of course, this team is among the greatest ever teams in NBA. But do you think that it is the greatest ever? I guess we will never find out and it does not matter that much at the moment. I just want to congratulate GSW with a stunning performance and wish us all a beautiful season next year (hopefully, with more drama this time).
Hi there, great post. Im my opinion, gs is not the best team in this histroy and actually not even close. It mostly due to today's game doesnt allow alot of touching. Think about if you are allow to hand check curry, can he get the shot so easily and if you are allowed to play durant physically, can he play 40+minutes and still hit the clutch shot?
True, basketball is a different game compared to 20 years ago and GSW would stand no chance against Shaq or Abdul-Jabbar if refs would allow at least a little bit of contact.
Yes by no mean i am looking down golden state warriors but when you are old enough, you see the different between games. But at the same time, we need to appreciate warriors is a very good team, not to take anything away from them.
I don't think so. There's no chance they are as good as some of those Jordan Bull's teams. Cleveland is going to have major issues... I don't think Lebron is going to hang around. Have a great day man! Resteemed from Texas!
I feel that Lebron will want to have at least one more shot at the trophy with Cavs, we will see. And yeah, Jordan Bulls is a better team in my eyes as well. At least at this moment. We will see what GSW can do in a couple of years
You might be right about Lebron. I would like to see him stay, just for Cleveland's benefit. KD needs a "Pippen" to make that team one of the best. LOL!
Well my best team ever is Chicago Bulls in Jordan era. GWS is not their yet, since they need to win much more championship, to be considered greatest ever.
You have a very professional writing style, your article is nice to read. Do you work in journalism?
Thanks @jojovdm! I am working with a couple of sports magazines at the moment. I am only starting my career, but I guess I can say that I am some sort of a journalist haha
Question with answer very easy: NO
indeed...GS is great team.....
Not yet! They have to win more championships.
Remember Chicago Bulls won 2 - three consecutive championship with Michael Jordan, total 6.
And don't forget the Lakers and Celtics records.
It's too early to tell for Golden State Warriors, though they are the super team at this time with the young players.
Cheers,
@Yehey
https://QUE.com - I will follow ALL who follow me. I think that's fair.
I totally agree with you as it's a little bit too early to say, but since all the team members are so young, I'd see the total team stats to be consistently increasing over the next 5 years and not going down, unless some key players transfer somewhere else
The game has really evolved over the last two decades in terms of physicality and play style. So, it's hard to compare this team to teams of the distant past. However, using metrics, they have achieved the highest elo of all teams ever, which signifies that they are something special indeed.
I stopped watching sports looong ago.... and the longer i have gone without watching; the longer i realize how pointless they are
#cordCutter
I could not agree with you guys more. I was young during the Jordan era (have vague memories of it), but grew up watching the Kobe era and it amazes me how watered down the NBA has become today. Think about it, a high percentage of the time you watch an NBA game today it is either a blowout or meaningless. Everyone knew who would be in the finals this year and the season was pointless. I know I sound like I have a half glass empty attitude, but it all comes down to all stars coming together, taking pay cuts, and basically taking the easy road. This is the new philosophy for winning in the NBA. Sure its smart from the players perspective, but we as the fans lose interest during the regular season and teams don't even have a fighting chance. What KD did this year was an all time low in my eyes and if he resigns with the Warriors, get ready for another cake walk to the championship.