Power rankings system devised and compiled weekly by Stemshul. “Expert” analysis by paradroid.
The Warriors did it! This didn’t look much like a championship team in the second half of the year (after a 29-7 start they went 24-22 the rest of the way, including an abysmal 7-15 stretch), but Golden State managed to win their 4th title in 8 years. I think it’s fair to call this a dynasty,. You could nitpick and say that they didn’t even make the playoffs the last couple of years, but that was due mostly to injuries to their big three, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and (especially) Klay Thompson. Four titles and six Finals appearances in eight years by the same top three players and the same head coach (Steve Kerr) qualifies in my book. It wasn’t easy, as Boston struck first on the road in Game 1 to take away home-court advantage, but Curry answered the bell in a key Game 4 victory in Boston to even up the series 2-2, and the Warriors never looked back, winning the next two to take the series in 6 games.
Curry was just ridiculous in that Game 4 road victory, scoring 43 points on 14-26 shooting, including 7-14 from three (many of which were the high degree of difficulty sort, AKA the Curry Special). Andrew Wiggins was a revelation, playing great defense on Jayson Tatum (13 points on 6-18 shooting in the series clinching Game 6) and chipping in with timely scoring and shockingly good rebounding (18.3 PPG and 8.3 RPG). Thompson and Green were a little up and down, but played well when they needed to. And Kerr out-maneuvered his counterpart Ime Udoka tactically, consistently making the right adjustments. To be fair, if Khris Middleton doesn’t get hurt, Milwaukee probably beats the Celtics, who barely scraped by Miami after surviving Giannis and the Middleton-less Bucks…well, Giannis mostly, with a little help from Jrue Holliday. Although I firmly believe Golden State handles the Heat with ease, I’m not so sure they could handle the full-strength defending champs. But they got the Celtics and they got it done.
How about next year? It’s going to be tough, with Boston coming back, the Bucks still in the mix, a possible resurgence from the injury plagued Nuggets, Phoenix might figure out what the hell happened to them in the playoffs, and don’t forget the young and hungry Pistons! Ok, just kidding on the last one, we’re still a couple of years away from all that, even assuming everything goes well. I do think the Grizzlies pose a big threat out west, because although Boston got a bit lucky with the Bucks, so did Golden State when Ja Morant got hurt mid-series. They may be the ones to beat in the Western Conference next year, not the Warriors. But for now, the Warriors should celebrate, because this time they won the title in the face of doubt instead of seeming inevitable the way they did the last three titles. I think what it came down to is that Stephen Curry was probably the best player in the entire playoffs, and certainly in the Finals. He earned the Finals MVP and reminded everybody that even at age 34, the best shooter of all-time might still be the best player in the league.
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