Been waitin' to write this. The "Warriors," the defending NBA champions, set the league record for most consecutive wins to start the season last night by beating the Los Angeles "Lakers." They are now 16-0.
Count me among the doubters last year-that a team in its first try at a championship would do it. Too "soft" mentally. An exciting collection of dead-eye shooters. Offense doesn't win championships, defense does. Finals pressure did get to nonpareil Stephon Curry a bit. If Cleveland hadn't been down to £ they would have won it. But then I read during last year's run that they were the the best, or at least among the very best defensive teams, also. I was really surprised. Now that is a deadly combination.
Count me among the doubters that they would repeat this year. I was joined in that doubt by Las Vegas who never had the "Warriors" as favorites to repeat, the "Mistakers" had that distinction.
I am convinced. The 16-0 start is historic although other teams have had exceptional entire regular seasons only to wilt or be exposed in the playoffs. Atlanta last year. San Antonio's nonpareil coach is famous, infamous, for discounting the regular season, giving games away in order to rest his perpetually aging stars for a playoff run. One injury to one of the "Warriors" key players and that might be that. That might be that with every championship contender. The "Warriors" are young, they have a superstar-in-the-making coach and they play offense and defense. Even historic achievements can be flukes sometimes but on the evidence this is no fluke.
I have been waiting to write this because of what others have written and said about this year's "Warriors." " "Dominance" is the word that comes up again and again. Fivethirtyeight has written more than one awestruck article demonstrating the "Warriors" statistical dominance, their "efficiency" among other buzzwords. Miami president Pat Riley has compared the Curry-Klay Thompson backcourt to the nonpareil "Lakers" backcourt Riley played with, that of Jerry West and Gail Goodrich. Fivethirtyeight took a statistical look and indeed Curry-Thompson is their equal.
I don't know the Western Conference in the NBA, geographical propinquity being what it is, I don't follow the teams out there until the Finals when they play the Eastern Conference champ in Normal People time. I know that the West is best. Cleveland has gotten off to a marvelous start themselves but...there is something, I cannot put my finger on it. £ himself has said that the "Warriors" are hungrier, whereas it should be Cleveland who is hungrier. Their start beats the hell out of their start last year though and they still don't have Kyrie Irving. But there was at least one game when the "Cavs" just didn't show up. Played atrociously. The "Warriors" have shown up every game, hoo-doggie. I don't know what it is but I am having doubts that Cleveland will win the NBA championship apart from the "Warriors" historic start.
But, the last time I had doubts about who the NBA champs would be I was proven wrong, by the "nonpareil" "Warriors."
Count me among the doubters last year-that a team in its first try at a championship would do it. Too "soft" mentally. An exciting collection of dead-eye shooters. Offense doesn't win championships, defense does. Finals pressure did get to nonpareil Stephon Curry a bit. If Cleveland hadn't been down to £ they would have won it. But then I read during last year's run that they were the the best, or at least among the very best defensive teams, also. I was really surprised. Now that is a deadly combination.
Count me among the doubters that they would repeat this year. I was joined in that doubt by Las Vegas who never had the "Warriors" as favorites to repeat, the "Mistakers" had that distinction.
I am convinced. The 16-0 start is historic although other teams have had exceptional entire regular seasons only to wilt or be exposed in the playoffs. Atlanta last year. San Antonio's nonpareil coach is famous, infamous, for discounting the regular season, giving games away in order to rest his perpetually aging stars for a playoff run. One injury to one of the "Warriors" key players and that might be that. That might be that with every championship contender. The "Warriors" are young, they have a superstar-in-the-making coach and they play offense and defense. Even historic achievements can be flukes sometimes but on the evidence this is no fluke.
I have been waiting to write this because of what others have written and said about this year's "Warriors." " "Dominance" is the word that comes up again and again. Fivethirtyeight has written more than one awestruck article demonstrating the "Warriors" statistical dominance, their "efficiency" among other buzzwords. Miami president Pat Riley has compared the Curry-Klay Thompson backcourt to the nonpareil "Lakers" backcourt Riley played with, that of Jerry West and Gail Goodrich. Fivethirtyeight took a statistical look and indeed Curry-Thompson is their equal.
I don't know the Western Conference in the NBA, geographical propinquity being what it is, I don't follow the teams out there until the Finals when they play the Eastern Conference champ in Normal People time. I know that the West is best. Cleveland has gotten off to a marvelous start themselves but...there is something, I cannot put my finger on it. £ himself has said that the "Warriors" are hungrier, whereas it should be Cleveland who is hungrier. Their start beats the hell out of their start last year though and they still don't have Kyrie Irving. But there was at least one game when the "Cavs" just didn't show up. Played atrociously. The "Warriors" have shown up every game, hoo-doggie. I don't know what it is but I am having doubts that Cleveland will win the NBA championship apart from the "Warriors" historic start.
But, the last time I had doubts about who the NBA champs would be I was proven wrong, by the "nonpareil" "Warriors."
