By pointing out how lousy (though popular) the Finals were. A decision that was good for the Warriors and Durant can still be bad for fans like me, who want to see close games and series in the playoffs. Series like last year’s Finals, which were amazing. A rematch of those rosters would have been great.
I don’t know about the Thunder team chemistry or whatever, but there were 27 non-Warriors, non-Cavs teams Durant could have signed with, if he was interested in building a great team instead of joining a 73-win juggernaut build by others.
For one, Harden was traded, and for two, the '12-'13 Rockets featured the following non-Harden players who exceeded 10 mpg: Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik, Patrick Patterson, Carlos Delfino, Marcus Morris, Toney Douglas, Francisco Garcia, Patrick Beverly, Greg Smith, Terrence Jones, Thomas Robinson, Donatas Motijunas, Daequan Cook.
They went 45-37.
Not comparable at all to Durant’s situation.
Durant did what was good for Durant, that much we can agree on. He’s not obligated to make the league better, just like I’m not obligated to continue to follow the NBA during this era of competitive imbalance.
Rematch of those rosters? You mean an injurred Curry and Bogut, and a suspended Green? With the hobbled 2015-2016 Warriors lineup, it was a competetive series.
So excellence on the court is to be avoided by you. See ya.
What basketball have you been watching? There has never been “competitive balance” in the NBA; it has always been a game of the haves dominating the have-nots, and there are only ever so many transcendent superstar players to be had at any given time.
Here are some interesting facts:
[ul]
[li]40% of the league, 12 of 30 current teams (Suns, Jazz, Nets, Magic, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Bobcats/Hornets, Nuggets, Hornets/Pelicans, Raptors, Timberwolves), have never won a championship.[/li][li]More than half of those teams (Clippers, Grizzlies, Bobcats/Hornets, Nuggets, Hornets/Pelicans, Raptors, Timberwolves) have never even played for one.[/li][li]Of the 18 current teams that have won championships, 8 of them have only won once (Hawks, Bullets/Wizards, Sonics/Thunder, Cavaliers, Blazers, Bucks, Mavericks, Kings), 2 have won twice (Knicks, Rockets), 3 have won thrice (76ers, Pistons, Heat), 2 have won five (Warriors, Spurs), 1 has won six (Bulls), and all the rest have been won by the Lakers (16) and Celtics (17).[/li][/ul]
Interesting! And speaking of teams loading up with extra talent, I’m reminded of the 2003-2004 LA Lakers Dream Team. When Karl Malone and Gary Payton joined a Lakers team with Shaq and Kobe that had recently won 3 straight championships, it was a foregone conclusion that they’d win another. But injuries and bickering got in their way. Phil Jackson called Kobe uncoachable. Shaq left for Miami. Sadly, Karl Malone never got his ring.
I mean a rematch of those rosters. That means the same players. Maybe the Dubs win, maybe the Cavs, but there’s a good chance of a 6-7 game series.
Again, it’s an entertainment business. I could play one-on-one with my 7 year old nephew and win every game 99-0 - pretty damn excellent, no? - but I wouldn’t expect anyone to pay for the privilege of watching.
Maybe some people are just wired differently, I don’t know. You can look at fierce rivalries with a lot of back-and-forth as the ideal, or you can exalt UConn-style utter domination by one team. I go with the former, like all good-hearted people.
I’m not talking about having 30 contenders, I’m talking about having more than 1, and ideally 4 or so. Remember 2011-14? Championships by Dallas, Miami, and San Antonio, Finals appearance by OKC. Multiple great 6- and 7-game conference finals & finals. Remember when the '14 Spurs - who were a great team - needed 7 games to get past Memphis, 6 to get past the Clippers, and 6 to beat OKC? Remember the '12 conference finals, which were both classics?
It beat the shit out of what we have now, unless you’re a Warriors fan.
You can cherry pick all you want my friend, it doesn’t change the fact that the NBA has ALWAYS been dominated by just a handful of teams. Just because there’s one exceptionally dominant team right now that you don’t like doesn’t make all the rest disappear from history.
And BTW that magical run from '11-'14 that you’re so nostalgic for? 8 Finals slots, 4 of them (LeBron’s) Miami, 2 of them San Antonio.
That series is over in 5 games, too, MAYBE 6. Take out the slugout the Warriors had in the conference finals alone, and it’s a whole different game. Golden State got 2 days between the series with Oklahoma City and the Finals - both teams got almost a week this time around. Throw in a healthy Curry and Bogut, and Green for Game 5, and that series never went back to Cleveland.
There were 13 different series in the playoffs this year. 7 of those went to 6 or 7 games, and were up for grabs at pretty much any point - pretty much every series that didn’t involve the Cavaliers or the Warriors. If knock-down, drag-out fights to the final horn are your thing, there’s plenty out there, just not at the tip-top.
Which long-term Warriors player should they just throw away to make you happy? Shall we just break both of Curry’s ankles before the playoffs start? Drug test Klay Thompson every day for marijuana? Suspend Green for the Finals because someone on the floor fell over? Kick Iguodala in the balls until he can’t play? Outside of Durant, this isn’t a team that’s been put together from bits and pieces just to win a championship. Even without KD, they’ve been pretty damn dominant.
Huh? Did you think I was disputing that Lakers and Celtics have a huge chunk of the titles or something? To repeat: multiple contenders is better than 1 contender. In the recent past, the NBA had multiple contenders - for example, the Lakers and Celtics teams in the 80s. Having an exceptionally dominant team is A Bad Thing. The end.
And, again, that run - even though it was characterized by a superteam in Miami and a weak, post-Boston, Eastern conference - produced great basketball games. Now, I guess we root for the Warriors to break up or get hurt? Woo! Maybe if Curry steps in front of a taxicab, we can get a Finals half as good as last year’s, or 2012’s.
If you say so. Based on the last 3 Finals, and the skill set of one Kevin Durant, I’m not so sure. Unless you have a time machine, that’s all there is to it.
And I watched those non-Cavs/Warriors series, because I love basketball. Knowing that the outcomes were totally moot takes a lot of the thrill out of it. Ever watch a DVR’d game from a few days before, when you already know the score? Same thing. Competing for the right to get obliterated by the superteam or the hyperteam isn’t compelling stuff.
I’m not asking the Warriors to do anything, I’m bitching about how the playoffs sucked. Jesus.