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Agree, the Lakers were a handful last night. Bad turnovers ruined any hope of a Laker comeback and win, but come playoffs unless all the star players for the Warriors are healthy, it will be tough for them.
One thing they did do better on last night than the past two games was boxing out. Allowing opponents to grab offensive rebounds has seriously hurt the Warriors all season. That and they can turn the ball over too many times. Personally I can live with them committing 12 turnovers a night. Whenever Golden State gets more turnovers than that, I get frustrated by the sloppiness.
It's either full strength at playoff time or bust for the Warriors. They won't beat Houston if they aren't at full strength.
Here is a quote from Klay Thompson-
"Every time the Bulls came to town, that was the ticket of the year. Now it's when the Warriors come to town, that's the must-see game. And we don't take that for granted; that's such a cool position to be in. We rarely play in front of a crowd that's not sold out. That's so special. It's hard to really grasp that as a player. So I think it's close. I still think we're not on their level yet, but that's what we aspire to be of the 2000s. We aspire to be that dynasty that will be in the minds of NBA fans forever."
This kind of talk is why I'd love to see Houston win the next couple of rings.
GS think they are in the running to be a "dynasty" when they can't even win back2back, and can't even win a ring from 3-1 up.
And GS have never been even remotely close to the 90s Bulls in popularity.
I would actually like to see the Warriors become a dynastic team. They've been so much fun to watch, even before they became dominant. Been with them since I first heard of them in 2009. This was the year Stephen Curry was drafted. I literally first heard of the Warriors right as they were drafting Steph.
Due to the fact that their first attempt at repeating fell short, that is one of the multiple reasons why I would like to see Golden State repeat. Another reason is David West might retire after this season. If he does, winning another ring for him would be the perfect farewell for him. Obviously the road to winning the championship this year is a lot tougher for the Warriors than it was last year.
All this being said, I think the Warriors can only be considered a dynasty should they succeed in repeating this year. Three titles in four years is impressive, but let's keep in mind that the Bulls won six titles in eight years. To me, the Warriors will be dominant for the next six years. After that, their dynasty ends, as their stars will be past their primes by then.
Golden State doesn't really think they are a dynastic team yet. They still have some ways to go before we can consider them being in a dynasty. Another thing to note is Golden State only failed to repeat because Stephen Curry got injured in the first game of the playoffs, and was inconsistent the rest of the way as a result of the injuries he suffered. Combine that with Draymond Green getting suspended for Game 5 because he couldn't keep his act together. As important as Green is to the team because of his defense, he does some childish things that make me want to tell him to grow up.
Once the Warriors are no longer dominant, there are some other teams that I hope will get a dynasty of their own. Hopefully either Minnesota or Phoenix can form a dynasty, as neither team has won an NBA championship (the Timberwolves have a chance to become dynastic, but I'm not sure about the Suns though).
Three consecutive Finals and 3 consecutive seasons over 60 wins (one over 70) is not an ordinary quality team. And they have a decent shot at sleepwalking their way to 60 wins again this year. Klay's statement is perfectly defensible.
Fans come to Warriors games early to watch a Hall of Fame Point Guard's warm up. That is not characteristic of a run-of-the-mill star player. It's a special team, and we have the good fortune to be here for it.
Golden State became the first team in NBA history with three consecutive seasons with at least 67 wins. They won the championship both years they went 67-15. I expect them to be capable of winning 60 games for several more years.
The Warriors have certainly been a popular team since Steve Kerr became their head coach. He set the record for most wins in a season by a rookie coach, and also became one of the few rookie coaches to coach his team to a championship. I think the last coach to do it was Pat Riley when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980's.
Due to their success over the last few years, the Warriors are now the third-most valuable team in the NBA.
It's so hard to be a sports dynasty nowadays. In the NFL we call the Patriots a dynasty for playing in 8 of the last 17 Super Bowls. They didn't win them all (lost 3), and they haven't won back-to-back since '03-04. Hell, during this 17-year "dynastic" run, they haven't won back-to-back since '03-04, and incurred a 7-year Super Bowl drought in the middle of the 17-year dynasty, which begs the question, has it really been two dynasties, and can you be considered a one, consistent dynasty if you go seven years without making the championship?
So as it compares to modern sports dynasties of the 21st century, the Patriots are the barometer and the Warriors aren't in that stratosphere, and it's unconscionable to think they have that level of sustained success...
The Spurs are the barometer of 21st-century NBA dynasty talk. They went to 6 Finals in 16 seasons from 1999-2014 and only lost once, and their run makes them far and away the closest NBA comparable to the Patriots. The Warriors aren't on that level yet. The Spurs even had a 6-year championship drought from '07-13 in which they didn't even make the championship, just like the Patriots '07-14 championship drought...
The key to the Dubs reaching that level of consistency is innovative leadership. Both the Patriots and Spurs won for so long yes, led by a transcendent talent, but also with a system that adapted to the modernizing pro game and ancillary pieces who knew their roles and played them to the tee. I do think the Dubs have a great head coach and front office. It remains to be seen: 1)what they could do if they had to play a full season without Curry (a la the Patriots without Brady in 2008); 2)if they could win without a Top 10 player in his prime (a la the 2013 and 2014 Spurs); 3)if they could win without three or four Top 20 players on the roster (outside of the 3.5 year window that the Pats also had Randy Moss, there's never been a Top 10 player on the Patriots besides Brady)...
In this Super team era, the Raptors are putting pressure on the notion that you need multiple Top 10-15 players. I am extremely impressed with DeRozan's improvement, but even if he's a Top 10 player now, he's borderline, and there isn't another Top 20 player on the roster. The Rockets have two Top 10 players and a bunch of guys and they're also putting pressure on this Superteam idea...
The "Warriors dynasty" talk is premature. They have a shot at doing some really special things. At the very least, this would be the greatest regular-season 4-year run ever, but that doesn't make them a dynasty. Let's see how Year 4 finishes. At the end of the day, the goal is to win championships. The last "almost" NBA dynasty was the 2011-2014 Heat, four straight Finals, 2-2 record. The 2008-2010 Lakers went to three straight, won back-to-back and went 2-1. Right now, the Warriors are on that level, 2-1 after three straight Finals. They don't have to win back-to-back to be considered a dynasty, but if they a)don't make the Finals this year, or b)lose in The Finals and drop to 2-2; how would either of those qualify as a dynasty? The Lakers didn't make The Finals in '11 and the Heat couldn't win 3...
As fans, we have short memories, because this Dubs team, from a popularity point, is a reincarnation of the Heatles. The difference is the Heat were more hated at the beginning of their run, but the presence of peak Lebron James made them must-see TV and increased the league's visibility and popularity. I won't say the Dubs are at the end of their run, too soon to say, but they definitely were more popular in Year 1 and 2, compared to last year and this year. Still immensely popular, but not universally admired...
From that last point alone, the comparisons to the '90s Bulls lose merit...
One thing is for sure if we are currently seeing the end of Golden State, 2 rings makes them not even as great as Shaq-Kobe's Lakers (not that there's anything wrong with being inferior to them, just saying).
Houston may prove to be closer to a dynasty than Golden State, because who can stop Harden-Paul? They also have the big man that Golden State lacks.
Speaking of Houston, Olajuwon's Rockets won the championship without having the home-court advantage in any round of the playoffs, and that is more impressive than anything Golden State ever did.
I also think that Houston team would have done very well in today's NBA, very good 3-point-shooters, and even Olajuwon is suited to today's game because (even though he didn't attempt many treys) he had decent range for a center and obviously he'd destroy everyone in the paint anyway - not even Shaq could guard him - and had the mobility to render Draymond Green useless.
One thing is for sure if we are currently seeing the end of Golden State, 2 rings makes them not even as great as Shaq-Kobe's Lakers (not that there's anything wrong with being inferior to them, just saying).
Houston may prove to be closer to a dynasty than Golden State, because who can stop Harden-Paul? They also have the big man that Golden State lacks.
Houston has yet to win anything. Chris Paul is turning 33 this year. There is pretty much no chance that this year is the beginning of a 4 year run with Paul at its center.
The Warriors have 3 years, 3 Finals, 2 wins. That's better than the Heatles' achievements. Right now, we are probably watching their 4th consecutive 60 win season. When do you think that last happened?
In the WCF, I expect the Warriors to ditch a traditional center for most of the time that Capella plays 5. Expect KD, Draymond, and even Iguodala to spend time as the nominal 5.
It's strange to see so many write off the defending champs before the regular season is over when they are likely headed to 60 wins again with a top 3 point differential.
Quote:
Originally Posted by magaalot
Speaking of Houston, Olajuwon's Rockets won the championship without having the home-court advantage in any round of the playoffs, and that is more impressive than anything Golden State ever did.
I also think that Houston team would have done very well in today's NBA, very good 3-point-shooters, and even Olajuwon is suited to today's game because (even though he didn't attempt many treys) he had decent range for a center and obviously he'd destroy everyone in the paint anyway - not even Shaq could guard him - and had the mobility to render Draymond Green useless.
GS went 16-1 enroute to a title last year--more impressive than either of Olajuwon's runs. They also beat a top 5 all-time NBA player at the height of his powers on their way--also more impressive than Olajuwon's runs. The Warriors delivered 3 of the 11 best point differentials in NBA history, including #4 all-time (the team's ahead of them were led by two of the best players in NBA history: Jordan & Kareem).
In today's NBA, the '94 Houston team would be destroyed by these Warriors (or this year's Rockets). Even their guys who eventually became good shooters were not terribly good in '94. Hakeem putting up 20 shots/game in mostly post up offense would invite swarming help and wouldn't be able to keep up with pace & space offense. The '95 team would be more well-positioned to play against a pace & space team, but I doubt their ability to defend the perimeter well enough.
Rick Carlisle must've missed his boss' tanking memo because the Mavs played the Raptors tough well into OT.
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