A sequel fans should savor
Warriors vs. Cavaliers, part III could be the best of all.
The first two rounds of the NBA playoffs had exciting moments, plenty of drama and provided a good amount of entertainment. • By the time the conference finals rolled around, every game was a reminder of the inevitable.
Since last July, we’ve known what was coming. • The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers were going to play for the title again.
For the third straight season, the best two teams in the league are going head to head. The Warriors won the first series, the Cavs the rematch.
And all signs point to this year’s Finals — which began Thursday night in Oakland — being as good as it gets.
The Warriors are the team everyone loves to hate.
The second Kevin Durant signed on the dotted line and became public enemy No. 1 in Oklahoma City, Golden State became the NBA playground bully.
The Warriors added one of the league’s top players to a team that has cruised through the regular season and playoffs the past two years.
They would have been good without Durant. Heck, they would have probably still been a playoff favorite without Durant.
The Warriors are basically an AllStar team. Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green would be top players on any team and they are all on the same one.
On the other side, it’s LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
James has played in the past six straight NBA Finals (for two different teams.) He and the Cavs came back from a 3-1 deficit to win last year’s Finals.
The past two years of the championship series between these two teams provided viewers with phenomenal basketball.
And even though there was little suspense leading up to this point, the potential for drama in the Finals is high.
What we learned in the playoffs this year is that right now, there isn’t another team in the same conversation as the Warriors and the Cavaliers.
The Spurs might have been if not for the losses of Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard in the postseason.
But even with those two players, they likely wouldn’t have been able to get past the Warriors.
The Celtics earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference but didn’t stand a chance when the Cavs turned up in the playoffs.
The Rockets are a piece or two away from being a championshipcaliber team.
James Harden turned in an MVPcaliber year and Mike D’Antoni orchestrated a terrific turnaround that put the Rockets on the map. Role players like Lou Williams and Eric Gordon were hits.
Aside from a horrific finish, the season went well and made the Rockets a team to watch.
Utah made a big leap and improved but needs another large
leap to contend in the West. In the East, Washington was solid and impressed in the postseason. The Wizards could be a team to watch.
There are intriguing free agents on the market this summer. The rumors are already floating about who will end up where. Chris Paul in San Antonio? That would be interesting.
And Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is not afraid to go after the best of the best.
Taj Gibson, Kyle Korver, P.J. Tucker, J.J. Reddick, Andre Iguodala, Gordon Hayward, Durant and so many more will be the subject of free-agency talks this summer.
Teams will make moves and things will change.
Right now, two teams easily stand above the rest.
A few are on the cusp but need to make major improvements to compete.
Otherwise, we will all sit and wait for Golden State vs. Cleveland, Round 4 next season.