Golden State Warrior Win NBA Championship

The Golden State Warriors won their second NBA championship in two yeas winning the NBA Finals four games to one over the Cleveland Cavaliers.  First and foremost this shouldn’t have been a surprise.  The Warriors are stacked.  They have four star players with good depth.  Even in the game they lost I wasn’t concerned.  They had one horrible quarter defensively but they did score 33 in that same quarter.  And this was with Curry, Thompson and especially Draymond Green not shooting at their normal high standards during the series.  It is fun watching them when they are clicking.  This is a team for the ages with Kevin Durant added to the mix.  I’m not sure what team could challenge them in the future aside from a LeBron led team.     

Series MVP Kevin Durant deserves all the accolades he is getting. Cleveland had no answer for him – 35 PPG, 8 RPG, 5 APG, 1 SPG, 1 BPG, 55%/47%/92%.  That is a crazy stat line playing against an excellent Cleveland Cavaliers team and he played good defense.  We knew he was special and probably the number two guy behind LeBron but there is no doubt now.  Amazing how we knew he was great but was still able to put an exclamation point on it with this series. 

Cleveland has to be disappointed even if they believe they weren’t the better team.  Sans a late game meltdown in game three who knows?  Maybe that, coupled with a game four win, would have put more pressure on Golden State and given them an opportunity to steal the series.  As is they aren’t as good.  I personally think they need to move Kevin Love and get more scoring.  Love hasn’t played a good Finals yet and while I like him, they can do better.  Moving him wouldn’t be easy with his big contract but you never know what might happen.  LeBron once again showed the world how great he is and Kyrie shined for most of the series.  They just really have nothing else to offer.  J.R. Smith was absent at times, Tristan Thompson wasn’t a factor, and the bench was lackluster at best.  We’ll see if this offseason they can give themselves a better shot at beating a stacked Warriors team who isn’t going anywhere. 

Warriors Thump Cavs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals

Golden State beat up on Cleveland pretty good in game one of the 2017 NBA Finals.  Two points.  This shouldn't have been unexpected.  Golden State was a great team prior to winning the Kevin Durant sweepstakes so a thumping of the Cavaliers was definitely not out of the question.  That said Cleveland is still a great team with the best player on the planet on their side.  GS didn't turn over the ball at a record setting level and Kevin Durant feasted on the Cleveland defense while Clay Thompson and Draymond Green couldn't score to save their life.  If you're Golden State you have to think those guys will skew closer to their norms which should help even if they do have more turnovers moving forward.  The Cavs can't continue to turn the ball over and must get better contributions from Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson who were both nearly invisible out there (sans rebounding from Love). Love must score and score efficiently and play better defense while Thompson must be a force on the boards and on defense.  I still think this can be a good series.  Most of the games from last year's Finals weren't close yet it went seven games.  I do think Durant is the difference maker here and I just don't know how Cleveland can win the series without playing near perfect ball from here on out.  That is why the play the games, right?  You just never know.  I'm hoping for a seven game series but thinking six with the Warriors getting some revenge on the current champs.

Hawks fall to Wizards in the First Round

The Atlanta Hawks were eliminated in six games by the Washington Wizards in the first round of the NBA playoffs.  This wasn’t a surprise.  The Wizards are clearly a better team and John Wall has elevated himself into the discussion of “best point guard in the NBA”.  Still it was good to see Dennis Schroder step up with a huge series averaging 24.7 pts and 7.7 assists.  Paul Millsap also had a big series putting up 24.3 ppg , 9.3 rpg and 4.3 assists per game.  After that though there just wasn’t enough help.  Taurean Prince had a small coming out party.  With the need for wing scoring on this team he would be a great help moving forward if he can continue to develop.  Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kent Bazemore didn’t shoot well and Dwight Howard wasn’t a factor. 

I’ve said it before.  This team doesn’t have a real identity nor does it have that go to guy.  This was Schroder’s first time putting up big points consistently and Millsap is normally an 18 PPG guy.  Millsap is also a free agent after this year (he won’t pick up his player option).  Atlanta rolled the dice by not trading him during the season.  Even keeping him has its issues as a max or near max contract would not allow the Hawks to make other changes that may be necessary to actually get better.  I do like Schroder but there just isn’t that much else on this team unless a few players take some big leaps forward.  To be honest this run the Hawks have had, 10 straight playoff performances, is probably over.  We’ll see how the offseason plays out but it feels like they’ll be fighting just to get an eight seed next year.

Trail Blazers Swept by Warriors

The Portland Trail Blazers were swept by the Golden State Warrior 4-0 in the first round.  After sprinting to an eighth seed in the Western Conference at the end of the season this was to be expected.  Golden State is loaded with more weapons than is fair.   As a team they shot 40% from three and are good on the defensive end of the court making every opponent work for all 48 minutes.  Portland had no answers shooting only 39% overall and 32% from three.  While both C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard both had a good series (though their shooting was off) they are still a two man team.  Jusuf Nurkic was a good addition to the team but he was hurt and only available for 17 minutes in the series.  Not that he would have made a difference.  The Trail Blazers were an eight seed for a reason. 

Last offseason big contracts were handed out with the expectation of players taking their play to the next level.  That didn’t happen in the case of Allen Crabbe or Evan Turner whom they traded for.  They make $19M and $17M respectively which is way too much for a combined 19.7 points per game.   This team has two stars and some nice pieces but they need more from their front court.  Nurkic should be a solid piece moving forward but they need to get more dynamic elsewhere.  They aren’t good enough to compete with the better teams in the Western Conference.  Their first priority will probably be getting under the luxury tax threshold which doesn’t necessarily align with the team getting better.  They bet some of these young players would be better this year and lost.

Hawks vs Wizards and Trail Blazers vs Warriors NBA First Round Playoffs

Dwight Howard

Atlanta had a decent enough season (43-39) to get the fifth seed in the NBA's Eastern Conference playoffs but I can't say I really know who this team is.  They'll play the Washington Wizards in the first round who are a much better team.  And more than anything they know who they are.  I'd be surprised if Atlanta wins this series but who knows.  The Hawks will need the entire team to play at a high level every game.  That is not something that has happened consistently this year.  They still don't have that go to player to score when they need it.  I'd love to say I know how this game will go but I just can't get a good read on this series.  I am definitely leaning towards Washington though and think they'll probably take the series in six games.  I hope I'm wrong but Atlanta will have to play much better for something like that to happen.

C.J. McCollum

Portland really came on late in the season and grabbed the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs.  The addition of Jusuf Nurkic at the trading deadline was a big part of the reason Portland raced into the playoffs.  It is currently unknown if he'll actually be able to play after breaking a leg near the end of the season.  This is a big blow.  The team still have stud Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum but this team need a miracle to win multiple games and playing short handed isn't going to help that happen.  I think Portland can win a game but Golden State is so, so talented that a sweep is a definite possibility.  I just have to believe their great play at the end of season can continue and they are able to steal a win or two.  I just can't make myself believe they can win this series.