GSW holds serve
The Golden State Warriors are on the cusp of rewriting basketball history again. They are first team in NBA history to go 14-0 in the playoffs. But we know that none of that will matter if they don’t win it all.
They were on a similar situation last year when they became the first team to win 73 regular season games.
But like they say, “it don’t mean a thing without the ring..”
DURANT. After an embarrassing Finals loss last year by blowing a 3-1 lead, the Dubs went on to get another marquee player in Kevin Durant and so far, it looks like they made the right moves.
Durant has been spectacular in the Finals so far. After a monster performance in game 1 he followed that up with 33 pts, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks in game 2.
More importantly, Durant’s value to this team will go beyond filling up those stat sheets.
If and when the Cavaliers will be able to find their footing in this series, Steph Curry and the rest of the Warriors will be haunted by that harrowing memory of last year’s Finals.
Kevin Durant will not. He will be out there , shooting the ball, doing his thing. His leadership and poise will be crucial should this series become competitive.
Plus he might be itching for some payback for the 2012 Finals loss to Lebron James and the Miami Heat. That’s a lot of extra motivation.
CAVS. Cavaliers fans should not be disheartened. They have been in this similar situation last year.
What GSW did was merely to hold serve. They did their end of the bargain by winning two games at home. Now, the series shifts to Cleveland for the next two and they just have to #defendtheland as they are wont to say.
Remember that they are the defending champions with the best player on the solar system.
And if there’s a team that is capable of slaying this juggernaut of a Warriors team, it’s them. This is the only team to come back from a 1-3 Finals deficit against a 73-9 team last year.
Of course, to do this they have to play better and the rest of the key players have to help carry the load.
Tristan Thompson is still a non-factor. After vowing to turn the shaded area into a wrestlemania zone in the second game, all he had to show for all his bravado was a paltry output of 8 points and 4 rebounds. Hell, 6’ 3” Steph Curry had 4 more rebounds than Thompson.
And what about JR Smith? He’s been a key player for the Cavs all season but in game 2 he had zero points. He took only 4 attempted attempts, missing all of them.
James started strong and was unstoppable in the first half while driving to the hoop. But he appeared winded in the third quarter and was a non-factor in the fourth and finished with 29 points.
He’s been playing almost 40 minutes per game all season long and there’s a possibility he might be wearing himself out especially if his other teammates continue to play miserably and don’t contribute.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my lovely kumare Janet Gorne who’s celebrating her birthday and wedding anniversary with hubby Ditdit. Cheers!