Golden State Warriors Win NBA Championship

The Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavalier 4-0 in the 2018 NBA Finals.  We knew going into the season this was the probable outcome.  This is a great team and they deserved the title.  Watching them play is fun.  They have so many weapons it is hard to ever count them out even when down 10 or 15 points.  Now that they've won three championships in four years there is sure to be some Warriors fatigue.  But don't hate.  This team has great players who play great basketball not only on offense but also on defense.  Look at the Cavs' stats from the Finals and you'll see a team that was completely shut down sans arguably the second greatest player ever.    

  If it weren't for LeBron we'd be talking about Kevin Durant in a different light.  He is a great scorer and so good he even shines on a team of stars.  Stephen Curry is an amazing talent and shooter, the likes of which we really must give his due because we will talk about his shots and shooting for ages to come.  Klay Thompson is another great shooter who has a good all around game that is perfect for this team.  The villain of course is Draymond Green.  Dislike him if you will - I do quite often but he is another perfect fit for this team whose stats will never tell the true value of his play.  In theory coaching a team like this is easy but if you pay attention at all to history and what players and coaches will tell you it can't be further from the truth.  Steve Kerr must also get his due for the team's success.  

  We obviously didn't get a competitive series but we saw great play by a superior team.  We knew the Cavs weren't good enough and they got rolled.  Sure J.R. Smith doomed them from the outset but the good teams find ways to win and when Golden State got a second chance in that overtime the Warriors took no prisoners and ran away with the win.  I'm not sure three of four championships make this team a dynasty but I know by just watching them they are studs and I won't argue if people want to call it that.  Congratulations to the Warriors, a great team with great players.     

2018 NBA All-Star Game

Just a quick blurb about last night's NBA All-Star Game.  As some know I'm a fan of all-star games.  This year the two top vote getters got to choose their teams via a draft of players chosen to the game.  While I definitely prefer having conference vs. conference this wasn't a bad deal.  Some intrigue as you get see some players play with each other when you might never get to otherwise as well as teammates playing against each other.  Also the NBA upped the winnings for players on the winning team to $100K while losers get $25K.  Each team chose a charity to play for and the winning team's charity got $350K while the losing team's received $150K.  The game itself was good especially compared to last years track meet that had nothing resembling defense.  There was real defense this year which while keeping the score down, as one announcer said, also made for better offensive plays as players had to work for baskets.  I'm not saying this was comparable to the NBA playoffs or a regular season game for that matter - it was just an improvement and very watchable basketball.  In the end Team LeBron beat Team Steph with a defensive stand no less on the last play 148-145.  Kudos to the NBA, commissioner Adam Silver, and  the player's union for working together and trying to make the all-star game an enjoyable event again.  

Kyrie Irving Traded to Boston Celtics

It finally happened and boy it didn’t disappoint.  Kyrie Irving was traded and headed to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Net’s 2018 unprotected first-round pick.  I really like this trade and I think this is a win-win for both teams.  And this happens just as it looked like Cleveland was struggling coming up with a decent trade.      

Cleveland gets better by replacing Irving with Thomas while adding Crowder.  Thomas isn’t better than Irving but is a capable substitute while Crowder brings good defense and much needed depth.  I can’t say what Zizic brings to the table except for a cool name.  I think this team could be better than last season’s assuming everyone gels in Cleveland’s system.  For the future Cleveland would have a top 5 pick to help infuse the team with some young talent.  If Thomas plays well and Cleveland wants to retain him they can look at re-signing him once his contract is over at the end of the season.  It also means that if LeBron James leaves in free agency, something I don’t think will happen, they’ll have the Nets’ pick, can let Thomas go, find a new home for whatever holdovers are still on contract and start from scratch.  In theory they have all their bases covered. 

Boston gets a 25 year-old stud of a point guard for at least two years.  Irving may not be there past two years but if he is he can definitely be the cornerstone for years to come.  Combined with Gordon Hayward, Al Horford and some of the other young pieces they have to include the #3 pick in this year’s draft, Jayson Tatum, Boston should compete for years to come.  As with any trade you must worry about how players will gel but I’d expect this to be a good team.  If Irving does leave you still get two years of his top caliber play and Boston has stock piled other first-round picks which should help them reload or can be used to trade for top talent. 

Paul George Traded to Oklahoma City Thunder

Paul George was traded this weekend to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.  What a steal for the Thunder.  While it is doubtful George resigns with the Thunder, they didn’t really give up anything.  I like Oladipo but was surprised that he couldn’t average more than 15.9 points per game in an offense that lost Kevin Durant.  This was a perfect opportunity for him to step up and it didn’t happen.  Sabonis was a rookie last year who didn’t put up very good numbers (5.9 PPG/3.6 RPG 39% FG%) but is still young at 20 years old.  The Indiana Pacers were in a horrible spot and it was getting worse by the day.  Still, you had to think there was a better trade out there somewhere.  Hopefully Oladipo and Sabonis thrive in Indiana and it is a moot point. 

What does OKC get out of the deal?  Three things.  They show Russell Westbrook, a free agent after this season, they are working to make the team more competitive.  They have a better chance of resigning Paul George where they had a very slim chance of landing him in 2018 free agency before the trade.  And the Thunder mustbe viewed as the possible number two team in the Western Conference.  The Spurs have not done anything to get better, Houston did Chris Paul but Clippers are not expected to be as good next year.  You have to think a team with basically just Russel Westbrook that won 47 teams last year has a shot with George.  Are they are a threat to the Warriors?  No.  But if they could make it to the Conference Finals this would be a huge win.  A lot of basketball games between now and then and then they have to hope they can keep one or two of their superstars.  Still this was a very good trade for the Thunder.