Embrace the Inevitable: Warriors Will Win Their 4th Championship
Are there doubts that the Warriors are going to win the championship?
At this point, anybody who has been paying attention to basketball for the past few years knows this is — barring the whimsy of the basketball gods — but a foregone conclusion.
Yes, the predictability of Warriors’ greatness seems boring at this point. It is more amusing to think of how they will fail as a team. It is more enjoyable to root for an underdog, which, let’s face it, is pretty much all the other teams in the league not named Golden State Warriors.
But if one were to forget all of the above, it is but natural and logical to expect that the Warriors will win the championship.
Consider: They are good at basketball.
At 44–19, they seem to not be performing to their usual outstanding standards. And yet, they still rank first in the tougher Western Conference. This team is the season leader in points per game (118.6), assists per game (29.1), blocks per game (6.5), and field goal percentage (48.9).
Consider: They have two of the top players in the league in future Hall-of-Famers Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.
Curry is a back-to-back MVP who still somehow manages to be underrated though he is having a statistically great year. Durant is a regular season MVP, back-to-back Finals MVP, and All-Star MVP whose performance is always magnificent. And the performance of the two cannot be beat, as Curry ranks second and Durant third in the offensive rating behind BJ Johnson.
Yes, the Warriors have these guys…playing together:
Curry and Durant are at the height of their powers. How can anyone doubt that the Warriors will not make it, especially when they are both locked in?
Consider: They have one of the best defensive players in the league in Draymond Green.
Lest we forget, Green was NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Though his performance has been less than stellar this season, he has proven time and time again that he is more than capable of turning things up defensively. He can match up pretty much against anybody in the league.
Consider: They have Klay Thompson.
Thompson, along with Curry and Durant, is one of the ten greatest 3-pt shooters in NBA history. He customarily has out-of-body experiences that have resulted in a 37-point quarter and setting the record for most made threes (14) in a game. Oh, as if that were not enough, he is also a lockdown defender.
Now, there are naysayers who point to the lackluster play of the Warriors compared to the previous seasons. This is a fair point, but they are undermining the fact that this is not the Warriors’ first rodeo.
Consider: They have been to four straight Finals.
While it is fun to talk about regular season performances, the post-season is a different season altogether. It is the big stage where poise matters as much as athletic prowess. The Warriors are battle-tested and are less likely to be susceptible to the deer-in-the-headlights syndrome.
It is fair to worry about the Warriors’ 16th ranked defense or Steph Curry’s 38.9% shooting after the All-Star Break. It is also fair to have trust that Steve Kerr — who has a 309–82 win-loss record as Warriors head coach — may be taking the Spurs’ approach prior to the Finals.
Just look at how these Warriors fare against the 2006–2007 Spurs (who were the 3rd seed) thus far:
The Dubs may not be playing at the same level as they did during their 73–9 campaign, but the Spurs have shown that regular season ranking ultimately does not matter. What matters is being the best team in the post-season.
Though it is more interesting to ponder the unknowns of life and sports, it is also more fun to live in the moment. Enjoy watching the excellence of Curry, Durant, Green, and Thompson as they continue to wreak havoc in the league while you can. Enjoy watching this Warriors team as they win their 4th championship in 5 years.
