The Golden State Warriors had one of the most convincing championship runs in recent memory last season.
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Money, Money, Money, Money – The Salary Cap era has made it harder than ever to keep championship teams intact. And as the Warriors prepare to embark on the quest for a repeat, a few fans and odds-makers continue to stress they won’t be able to do it – using the reigning champions’ “luck” last spring and early summer as justification for that opinion.
The scene in Cleveland when the Warriors clinched.
First, the Warriors never suffered any serious injuries – something that was evident when they beat a battered Cavs team missing Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.
But in the road to a championship, the winning team will always have their “lucky breaks”.
The talent is there for the Kings to be a fringe playoff team but the more likely scenario is that they fall well short of that goal and are forced to once again reevaluate their long-term plan at a few point in the near future. Even after bottoming out a year ago, they did their best to add a few quality veterans to their roster with the hope of getting back to the playoffs. First-year coach Steve Kerr went to Andre Iguodala before the season and asked him to come off the bench because Harrison Barnes was a better fit with the starting five.
Draymond Green, predictably, also had a few killer quotes in response to the Clippers.
Golden State hopes to incorporate new aspects into the offense, whether it’s corner 3-pointers from Shaun Livingston and Mo Speights, consistent minutes from Brandon Rush, who played sparingly past year, or newcomer Ben Gordon.
Already we’re seeing signs of discontent.
James Harden declared (again) that he should have been the MVP.
The Warriors haven’t gotten enough credit for how incredible they were last season. People like, for instance, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers.
But the race to get out of the Western Conference this season should be insane. In the second round, they faced a Grizzlies team with an injured Mike Conley, while the Clippers blew a 3-1 series lead to the Rockets.
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The video features a number of great moments from last season with a few of the NBA’s most talked about players.
