Raptors and Bucks battle to be second to Warriors
LOS ANGELES – The NBA Eastern Conference finals have evolved into something really good, with an overtime epic, tension and drama, a spirited revival and Drake … yes, Drake. But is it going to matter? While the Bucks and Raptors throw fire at each other in a series now destined to go at least six games, it could be that what they’re battling so hard for is merely the right to be served up as fodder for the Warriors.
Having clinched the Western finals in four games, the Warriors have the luxury of kicking back, resting their weary legs, mending their injuries and getting themselves primed for a tilt at a third consecutive title.
Both the Bucks and the Raptors had a better regular-season record, which means that whoever the Warriors face, they won’t have home-court advantage. They’ll just have virtually every other advantage you can think of, especially if Kevin Durant comes back fresh from his calf strain.
Las Vegas is taking no chances: VegasInsider.com lists the Warriors at 4-9 for the title, while FiveThirtyEight.com rates their chances at 63%. Vegas actually thinks the Warriors are more likely to win the title next year (9-5) than either of the Eastern participants are to dethrone them this year — the Bucks are at 5-2 and Toronto 10-1.
It has been far from a stroll, but the growing perception is that with the Finals approaching, the Warriors’ toughest work has already been done. For a start, the Western Conference is far more stacked than the East, making for more challenging games in the regular season due to the weighted schedule.
In the opening round of the playoffs, the eighth-seeded Clippers showed little fear and plenty of tenacity in going down 4-2, a series that ignited Durant’s anger, which he promptly used as fuel for an absurdly productive scoring run.
Perhaps the toughest challenge of all came in the conference semifinals against the Rockets, a matchup that materialized when it did because of Houston’s carelessness in slipping to a No. 4 seed. In the eyes of many, if Golden State was going to lose, it was then.
As has happened so frequently during this ongoing dynasty, Steve Kerr and Company have found ways to respond to difficulty. Looking back on three titles in four years, it’s easy to forget there were many things that could have gone wrong during that period, or not happened at all, but the Warriors found a way to overcome them.
What would have happened if Chris Paul hadn’t gotten injured in last year’s conference finals?
What if Stephen Curry’s ankle problems hadn’t led to a cheap contract that made the assembly of a super team possible?
What if Durant had decided to take his talents elsewhere in free agency?
Dynasties don’t last forever, it just feels that way while they’re happening. And it kind of breeds the idea that they’d be able to handle whatever obstacle is next.
Whether the Warriors’ dominance is good for the league is a question certain to divide opinion, and a question for another time.
Good, bad or indifferent, Golden State’s aura of unstoppable dominance is both present and real.
Milwaukee and Toronto are giving us a treat, the kind of series that makes you wonder what to do with yourself on the off days. Per television ratings, it isn’t getting the attention it deserves, which is no reflection at all on the quality of the entertainment.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Khris Middleton, Marc Gasol and yes, even you, Drake, are putting in fine work.
Just like there can only be one winner in that series, there can only be one in the Finals, and the Warriors’ name is already half-etched on the trophy.