Nobody picked Golden State
Golden State is a win away from barging into the NBA Finals this season and if coach Steve Kerr leads the Warriors over Houston as he’s expected to, it’ll be the first appearance in the title playoffs for the Oakland franchise in 40 years.
Over the last 20 years, Golden State has qualified in only four playoffs, including the last three. But now, the Bay City is conjuring visions of reliving the glory of the 1974-75, campaign when Rick Barry, Clifford Ray, Jamaal Wilkes, Derrek Dickey, Jeff Mullins and Phil Smith took the Warriors to the top.
Before this season began, experts overlooked Golden State in predicting which teams would advance to the Finals. Sports
Illustrated called it San Antonio over Chicago.
Basketball Preview and Fantasy Guide said Oklahoma City would beat Cleveland, 4-1. Slam Magazine picked Cleveland over San Antonio. And Lindy’s Pro Basketball editors chose the Bulls to go all the way. In my own pre-season forecast, I said a team from the East would capture the title without naming the finalists.
As it turned out, injuries played a key role in eliminating a lot of favorites. The Thunder, handicapped by Kevin Durant’s loss, tied New Orleans for eighth place in the Western Conference but was struck out in the tiebreak. Chicago beat Milwaukee in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs then took it on the chin from Cleveland in six games in the second round. Defending champion San Antonio didn’t go beyond the first round, losing to the Los Angeles Clippers in seven, one of two playoff series that have gone the distance. The Clippers also went the full route in bowing to Houston in the second round.
Only four teams are left standing with Cleveland and Golden State both a win away from arranging a duel in the Finals. Atlanta and Houston are on their death throes. The Cavs and Warriors were unbeaten in the first round as Cleveland blanked Boston and Golden State swept New Orleans. Then, they encountered similar rough sailing in the second round. The Cavs went down 0-1 and 1-2 to Chicago before winning the last three games, two on the road, including a 94-73 rout in the clincher on the road. Golden State trailed 1-2 against Memphis but bounced back to win three in a row, including two on the road. The Warriors are now 3-0 up on Houston and will end the Rockets’ hopes with another win this morning (Manila time).
It’s too bad that teams aren’t able to play at full strength in the playoffs because of injuries. Atlanta’s Kyle Korver is gone for the rest of the playoffs and joins Cleveland’s Kevin Love at the sidelines. Kyrie Irving is doubtful if and when the Cavs advance to the Finals. Even LeBron James is hurting.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver is considering a few tweaks in the playoff qualifying rules, perhaps to take effect in 2016-17. He’s thinking of just gathering the top 16 teams with the best records and elevating them to the playoffs regardless of conference or division standings. That’s because this season, Brooklyn made it to the playoffs as the eighth team in the Eastern Conference with a 38-44 record while Oklahoma City failed to advance in the Western Conference despite a 45-37 mark. Phoenix even had a better record than Brooklyn at 39-43.
Another anomaly was Portland gaining the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference by virtue of topping the Northwest Division with a 51-31 mark and Memphis taking the No. 5 spot despite a superior 55-27 record. Under the current rules, a division leader is guaranteed at least a top four slot.
One change that Silver succeeded to push for this season was reinstating the 2-2-1-1-1 format for the Finals, ending the 2-3-2 system that appeared to give the team without the homecourt advantage a huge edge by hosting the middle three games. While the reinstated format will mean extended travel hours, it will re-establish the homecourt advantage for the deserving team.
In this year’s playoffs, Golden State has a 6-1 record at home and 5-1 record on the road. The Warriors have lost only twice, both to Memphis, once at home and once on the road. Cleveland has compiled a 5-1 record at home and a 6-1 record on the road. The Cavs have lost only twice, both to Chicago, once at home and once on the road. Atlanta enjoys the homecourt advantage in the Cleveland series but the Cavs won the first two games on the road. If and when Golden State and Cleveland face off in the Finals, the Warriors will enjoy the homecourt edge. Golden State posted a 67-15 record in the regular season compared to Cleveland’s 53-29.
Kerr will be matched up against another rookie coach David Blatt who took over the Cavs helm from Mike Brown. Last season, the Cavs were 33-49 without James. When the King moved back to Cleveland, Miami was suddenly lost in the woods. The Heat had made it to four straight Finals with James and this season, coach Erik Spoelstra struggled with injuries and the King’s exit, leaving Miami out of the playoffs. The Warriors were a creditable 51-31 under Mark Jackson last season but fortunes have gone from good to better as the Splash Brothers Steph Curry and Klay Thompson hit their stride with Kerr masterfully handling the rudder.
It’s a little known fact that Curry’s father Dell played against Northern Cement of the Philippines at the 1985 FIBA World Clubs Championships in Spain. Northern Cement was coached by Ron Jacobs and its players were Samboy Lim, Allan Caidic, Hector Calma, Franz Pumaren, Elmer Reyes, Tonichi Yturri, Alfie Almario, Jun Tan, Chip Engelland, Dennis Still, Jeff Moore and Yves Dignadice. Dell’s teammates included David Robinson, Larry Krystkowiak and future PBA import Keith Morrison. The US beat Northern Cement, 81-73, in the tournament where the Philippines finished seventh of 10. Dell’s son Steph was born three years later in 1988 and now, is the NBA’s MVP about to lead Golden State to the Finals.