NBA: There’s no end to the Golden (State) Era
The NBA might have to get used to this.
Stephen Curry is under contract for basically the rest of his prime. Kevin Durant says he isn’t going anywhere. Steve Kerr has more than proven himself as one of the game’s best coaches. Free agents will line up for the chance to move west even if that means taking some pay cuts. There’s even a new arena coming in a year or so for the Golden State Warriors to call home.
It’s their league now, without question.
For the third time in four years, the Warriors are champions of the NBA world. They’ve gone back-to-back, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-85 on Friday night to finish off a sweep of the NBA final in the fourth consecutive meeting between those clubs.
“You don’t want to cheat the moment,” Curry said, the victory champagne still drying on his clothes and skin, wanting no part of any talk about dynasties or anything like that. “So we’ll have plenty of time over the summer to talk about what next year’s going to look like and what it’s going to take for us to get back to this stage next year.”
Houston probably isn’t going away and remember, the Rockets gave the Warriors all they wanted this season. Had Chris Paul not gotten hurt, who knows if the Warriors even win that Game 7 in Houston and take the West title. The East might be a wild race, with Toronto, Philadelphia and Boston probably all likely to enter the year thinking they have NBA final potential — as will any team that has James on its roster next fall.
This much is clear: Golden State has no designs on giving up its throne.
“I’ve just got to keep getting better,” said Warriors star Kevin Durant, now a two-time champion and two-time NBA final MVP. “I think I’ve got a lot more to go. So I’m just trying to prove to myself that I could just stay in it for the long haul, and hopefully I continue to have some success. Just keep growing as a player. That’s my only concern.”
Ask the 29 other NBA teams their reaction to that statement and they would likely say some form of “whelp.”
“They move at such a pace, and they have five guys on the floor that can dribble, pass and shoot,” Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said Friday night, a few minutes after the season ended and a few minutes into the Warriors’ celebration down the hall.
“They can make plays. So if you make a mistake, they’re going to make you pay. That’s the beauty of their team.”