Warriors’ emerging dynasty

Over the last four NBA seasons, the same two teams figured in the Finals with the Golden State Warriors bagging three championships and the Cleveland Cavaliers, one. It took Golden State six games to wrap up the 2015 trophy, five in 2017 and four last season while the Cavs went the distance in ascending the throne in 2016. The indication is it’s gotten easier the last two years for Golden State to win and more difficult for any challenger to dethrone the Warriors.

It’s no coincidence that in the last two years since Kevin Durant’s arrival, the Warriors have been in a class of their own. Golden State was so dominant in last season’s Finals that LeBron James gave up on his hometown team and took his sneakers to the West for a chance to revive the struggling Los Angeles Lakers. Cleveland was swept in the Last Dance while the Lakers didn’t even make it to the playoffs, finishing No. 11 in the Western Conference where the top eight teams advanced.

With the NBA’s 73rd season opening today (morning, Manila time), Golden State coach Steve Kerr has fortified his frontline with the acquisition of DeMarcus Cousins only the 6-11 center is still recovering from a tear in the tendon of his left Achilles heel. Cousins, who was on the US gold medal teams at the 2014 FIBA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, played in only 48 games with New Orleans last season before going down. He averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists to stamp his mark as a quality player capable of making an impact on any squad. 

The Warriors got rid of troublemaker Zaza Pachulia and fan fave JaVale McGee and also lost Omri Casspi and David West. But they’re still formidable with Steph Curry, Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Igoudala and Shaun Livingston as the returning nucleus. Lindy’s Pro Basketball Yearbook called the Warriors “a team of their times” and said, “if they’re not the prohibitive favorites to win the league title again, well, nobody ever will be.”

Street and Smith’s had the same prediction, picking the Warriors to beat the Boston Celtics in five in the Finals. “They’re going to win – again – and it’s going to make no difference that LeBron is in L. A. and Kawhi’s in Toronto or that the Celtics’ Gordon Hayward is healthy or that the Rockets are still fighting mad with revenge on their minds after blowing that 3-2 lead against Kerr’s team in the Western Conference Finals,” said Street and Smith’s. The numbers are the basis for the forecast with Golden State’s 80.8 percent winning clip over the last four regular seasons under Kerr, 75.9 percent winning rate in the last four playoffs and topping the league in scoring, assists and field goal percentage in the last four years.

Cleveland’s failure to win even once in the last Finals brought LeBron to L. A., never mind the hometown angle he used to justify his departure from Miami to return to the Cavs. The Lakers underwent a major personnel overhaul to brighten things up for LeBron and coach Luke Walton welcomed McGee, Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson to the pack. But from the looks of things, LeBron will be hard-pressed to make it nine Finals in a row. LeBron, 33, is at the peak of his career but now that he’s entering his 16th season, the Chosen One could use a lot more help from his back-up unit. Lakers president Magic Johnson has invested in the future with youngsters like Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball but while L. A. may break back into the playoffs, the Tinseltown team won’t go far.

LeBron’s exit from Cleveland has left the East door open for Boston to establish control. Hayward is slowly regaining his form, playing in three pre-season games but it won’t be easy after undergoing two surgeries for a broken tibia and a dislocated ankle. He played only a game last season so the rust will show in the early going for sure. Celtics coach Brad Stevens’ basketball mind is special and it showed when the team fell a win short of advancing to the Finals last season. Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier will carry the Boston load and when Hayward is back in the pink, the Celtics will be even deeper.

This season promises a lot of excitement with eight coaches new on the job, first round draft pick 7-1 Deandre Ayton of Phoenix conjuring visions of a young David Robinson, at least 100 international players and a slew of veterans switching teams like Tony Parker from San Antonio to Charlotte, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green from San Antonio to Toronto, DeMar DeRozan from Toronto to San Antonio, Dwight Howard from Brooklyn to Washington, Melo Anthony from Oklahoma City to Houston via Atlanta, Isaiah Thomas from the Lakers to Denver, Brook Lopez from the Lakers to Milwaukee, Vince Carter from Sacramento to Atlanta, Marco Belinelli from Philadelphia to San Antonio, Jabari Parker from Milwaukee to Chicago, DeAndre Jordan from the Clippers to Dallas, Dennis Shroder from Atlanta to Oklahoma City and Channing Frye from the Lakers to Cleveland.