Warriors remain playoff perfect with sweep of Jazz
Halfway there. Eight-and-oh. Another sweep.
The Golden State Warriors have made so much history in recent years that sometimes we forget the historic nature of what we’re watching.
With a 121-95 win in Game 4 against the Utah Jazz, the Warriors completed their second consecutive sweep in the playoffs and advanced into the Western Conference finals for the third straight year. They have never before been 8-0 in franchise playoff history.
The Warriors dispatched the Jazz – a tougher out than the scoreboard would indicate – in four games. Now they get another five to seven days to put their feet up, ice their sore bodies and watch Houston and San Antonio battle each other for the right to be their next potential victim.
“It’s a little bit more rest than we usually have,” said Steph Curry after the sweep. “Other than that, it just continues the good vibes around the team.”
It appears that the Warriors are on a collision course with Cleveland for the third straight year. That, too, would be historic. Never have the same two teams met in the finals for three consecutive years.
Did the Warriors feel any special urgency because their arch-rivals had already swept their first two series?
“No, we want to get rid of our thing because we want to win the series and get it over with,” forward Draymond Green said a few hours before the game. “We don’t want to let stuff drag on. But we don’t want to be 8-0 in the playoffs because Cleveland is 8-0.” Curry echoed Green. “That doesn’t matter right now for us,” he said. “One of those Texas teams is going to be waiting for us. We have to control our own process and journey.”
Believe them if you want. But it has seemed, since Game 7 of the Finals at Oracle in June, when Cleveland finished an epic comeback to knock off Golden State, that the Cavs and Warriors are destined for a rematch. It certainly seems even more that way now.
Monday’s effort didn’t require a Superman performance by Kevin Durant or Curry. It was a collective effort: Curry had 30 points, Durant had 18, Klay Thompson rebounded from his poor shooting night on Saturday with 21 points. And Green was again fabulous, recording a triple-double: 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. JaVale McGee added 12 points and Shaun Livingston was plus-28 when he was on the floor.
“It’s more than the talent they have as a group,” said Jazz coach Quin Snyder. “It’s they all believe in each other and are willing to sacrifice. The unselfishness and the care they have for one another. That’s what you want to emulate.”
It’s a culture, and if you don’t believe it you only have to look at the head coaching seat. Mike Brown has been a cool, calm leader while leading his team to six straight playoff wins. Yes, the Warriors are immensely talented but don’t underestimate the difficulty of what Brown is doing. Head coach Steve Kerr, who is out indefinitely because of ongoing pain from back surgery nearly two years ago, is beloved and his absence could be a distraction for a less focused, accountable team.
“The way coach Kerr has handled his staff from the day he showed up on the job, he promoted certain culture and identity,” Curry said. “Mike’s done a great job of continuing that train. He has a different personality, but the communication and togetherness of the coaching staff, it shows in coach Kerr’s absence. [Brown] has done a great job of pushing the right buttons and putting us in a good position to win games.”
Brown has been the perfect man for the role, low-ego, detail-oriented and liked by the players. He talks to Kerr often: he did Monday morning before shootaround, then again on the bus ride to the game. “He goes over a lot of things, he gave his input,” Brown said. “Basically, the message was let’s try to keep winning the possession game of not turning it over. Then, defensively, let’s be locked in and try to limit the mistakes. If we can do that, he said all year we can outscore teams if we do those two things.”
The Warriors left Utah on Monday night, leaving behind a crowd they quieted, a nightlife they didn’t need, a young team that found out first-hand what a playoff machine looks like.
They will have Tuesday off, and -- just like two weeks ago -- spend a couple of days leisurely watching their next opponent battle while they work on their games at their own pace. Maybe these quick series will come back to bite them if they find themselves in a dogfight. But for now, it’s the rewards of dominance. This is what history looks like.