CLEVELAND–The current Golden State Warriors squad may not be considered the best team in NBA history, but there’s still plenty of time for that to change.
However, since those Bill Russell-led Boston Celtics teams most of us have only read about, it’s hard to remember a more dominant team than these Warriors. In other words, in direct reference to Golden State’s recent competition, the current Warriors just might be the modern era’s best.
Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird’s Celtics almost always had to beat each other. Michael Jordan’s Bulls went 6-0 in six Finals, but five of the six series went at least six games, and in a few cases could have easily gone seven. In my mind, that’s why we revere Jordan and the Bulls so much. We probably all knew they were going to win, yet there was almost always drama and a pause for thought: “Can Michael do it again?”
The only drama left for these Warriors is whether Kevin Durant gets his second-straight Finals MVP or Steph Curry gets his first. And the only competition left for “most dominant team” is the Shaq-Kobe Lakers of the early 2000s, the last club to win three straight.
A third title in four years – academic now – will grant the Warriors dynasty status in this era. And while they join the ’82-85 Lakers, ’84-87 Celtics and LeBron’s Heat and Cavs teams as the only clubs since 1969 to get reach four straight Finals, the Warriors will be the only one to win three titles in the span.
• I’ve always found it interesting when fans throw out the tired idea of teams tanking a game (like tomorrow’s Game 4 for instance) “because they want to win the title at home.”
While it’s clearly more fun for the team’s fanbase to see it unfold on their home floor, as it did last year for the Warriors, I’ve always had the impression the players prefer to win on the road. The immediate celebration is more personal – just teammates and family – and they’re going to get the big public adoration a few days later anyway, at the parade.
Think of the Cavs in 2016, breaking through in Game 7 in Oakland and detouring through Vegas on the way back to Cleveland.
• Steve Nash is not a daily presence with the Warriors, but he is a consultant for the team and was spotted in a sweatsuit and sneakers, leaving the floor just as the media was ushered in for the end of practice the day before Game 1.
It got me thinking – even with the physical issues Kerr has had to endure since his retirement as a player – about the potential of impromptu pickup games after practice or even glorified games of horse. With coach, consultant, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors employ four of the very best shooters in NBA history.
• Kerr has five rings from his playing days, and he’s about to add a third as a coach, but his most prominent role these days may be as the go-to quote for all things Donald Trump.
Every time the U.S. President causes a stir, particularly regarding anything to do with professional athletes like the Philadelphia Eagles skipping their Super Bowl White House visit this week, reporters flock to Kerr for his take (which tends to dominate the first half of his allotted daily time with the media.)
As good as he has been “in” sports, he’s clearly not one who subscribes to the notion that anyone should “stick to” it.
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