5 Reasons The Golden State Warriors Can Win The NBA Finals This Year
April 16, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) dribbles the basketball against Portland Trail Blazers guard Evan Turner (1) during the first quarter in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Trail Blazers 121-109. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Golden State Warriors are in good position to come through and take their second title in three years this postseason.
A title is guaranteed to no team. The Oklahoma City Thunder once boasted a roster with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook, but their trophy cabinet still remains without any Larry O'Brian trophies—minus the Seattle SuperSonics years, of course.
Even more recently, a 73-win Golden State Warriors team held a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals and left the NBA Playoffs without a title. Those same Warriors, now with the addition of Durant, are back in the playoffs once again this season.
In an expected development, the Warriors have cruised to a 2-0 lead over the Portland Trail Blazers in a series that will likely end in either a sweep or a gentleman's sweep. This Round 1 series is not what Warriors fans are all that interested in.
This season offers a chance at redemption for the Dubs. Still, as evidenced by last June, there's no free championship awaiting any team.
As Zaza Pachulia once said oh so well: nothing easy.
Even if it won't be easy, the Golden State Warriors are the odds-on favorites to win it all this season. The following five reasons explain why the Dubs have a good shot at adding a second title to the Stephen Curry era.
January 16, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and forward Kevin Durant (35) celebrate during the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 126-91. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Best Team
It isn't overly hard to figure out which team has the best title odds if it's obvious which team is the best one. More often than not, either the best team or the best player (or both) wins it all in the NBA.
The Golden State Warriors didn't win 73 games this season, but they're still far and away the NBA's best team. Golden State has four legitimate All-Stars in Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.
Golden State has the luxury of having four stars who can all fit together. It took some time for the Warriors to integrate Durant, but even if the fit still isn't perfect the overwhelming talent of the Dubs can make up for any small lapses.
It's pretty hard to look at this team and say there are huge issues, anyway. Golden State led the NBA in all of the following statistics: offensive rating, net rating, assist-turnover ratio, true shooting percentage. The Dubs were also second in defensive rating, coming in at just 0.2 points per possession worse than the San Antonio Spurs.
The Warriors beat teams by 11.6 points per game in the regular season, meaning the average Warriors game was decided by double-digits. No other team beat opponents by more than 7.2 points per game.
Apr 20, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) talks to a referee against Cleveland Cavaliers while Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) listens in during game three of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Cleveland defeats Indiana 119-114. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Who Can Step Up?
For the Warriors to lose in or before the NBA Finals this season, some other team would need to beat them. The Cleveland Cavaliers are up 3-0 in the first round against the Indiana Pacers, but it took a historic comeback in Game 3 for that to happen, and Cleveland's defense is still problematic.
The Cavaliers having LeBron James makes them the most dangerous challenger, but the Milwaukee Bucks could pose Cleveland a serious threat in the second round. Even if the Cavs do make the NBA Finals, the West has a lot of offensive juggernauts who could expose their defensive issues in the Finals, Golden State at the forefront of them.
Those Western Conference teams may be good, but which of them are ready to beat the Warriors? The San Antonio Spurs finished the season with the second-best record and have a true star in Kawhi Leonard, but their depth is suspect and there's no second All-Star in San Antonio.
The Houston Rockets suffer from the same problem. Houston has the most dangerous offense outside of Golden State, but if the Warriors throw Thompson at Harden all night who else on the Rockets can step up when needed?
The Los Angeles Clippers haven't beaten the Warriors at all this season. The Dubs have the Clippers' number, and a playoff series between these two teams might not require more than five games, especially now that Blake Griffin is out for the rest of the postseason.
The Utah Jazz could be interesting, but even if Rudy Gobert would be healthy by then he would be largely neutralized by the Warriors' lineup of death. Dragging Gobert outside of the paint makes him far less effective of a defender.
There are a few really competitive teams in the NBA right now, but it seems like the Warriors are head and shoulders above the competition right now.
April 16, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates against the Portland Trail Blazers during the third quarter in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Trail Blazers 121-109. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Having An Edge Again
The 2014-15 Golden State Warriors had doubters. Remember when "jump-shooting teams" not being able to win a title was an argument? Those Warriors were young and unproven, and they had a lot to prove.
The very next season, fans started to tire of the Dubs. They won 73 games, blew most teams out of the water and sauntered to the NBA Finals. They talked trash about LeBron James, which is never a good idea.
And although fans may not have liked the Warriors, did anybody really doubt them? Until Draymond Green's suspension for Game 5, did anybody believe the NBA Finals was anything but over after the Dubs took that fateful 3-1 lead?
Well, the Cavaliers certainly did. Cleveland winning that series gave automatic fire back to the Warriors, who now have something to prove once again. Losing in the Finals again could cause some hot take specialists to question that first Warriors title–after all, the Cavaliers weren't healthy when the Warriors beat them in six games back in 2015.
Adding KD also adds a new edge to the Warriors. There are people out there who believe Golden State was foolish to fiddle with their depth and chemistry, even at the cost of adding a player of Durant's caliber.
If the Warriors can win the title this season, they can avenge their 3-1 loss and prove they're capable of re-designing their offense on the fly to incorporate Durant without costing Curry and Thompson touches. The Dubs have something to prove.
April 16, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) celebrates with guard Shaun Livingston (34) against the Portland Trail Blazers during the fourth quarter in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Trail Blazers 121-109. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Defense Wins Championships
It may be a tired mantra, but it's hard to argue that defense really doesn't win championships. The NBA Playoffs often feature some low-scoring affairs, even when teams like the Warriors and Cavaliers meet in the Finals.
After all, Game 7 last season was a 93-89 Cavaliers victory. That's a very low score for a game featuring two of the NBA's best offenses, but Cleveland holding the Warriors to under 90 while LeBron and Kyrie Irving went off got the Cavs the victory.
The deciding Game 6 the year before was a 105-97 Warriors victory. Again, the losing team didn't manage to hit 100 points, although this time the winning Warriors did. The year before, the winning San Antonio Spurs didn't allow the Miami Heat to hit 100 points at any point in the series, and won the deciding Game 5 104-87.
As previously mentioned, the Warriors have the NBA's second-best defense. In the playoffs, no team has been better defensively. Golden State has held the Portland Trail Blazers to under 90 points per 100 possessions, which is fantastic considering the Blazers have both Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
Durant, Draymond and Thompson are all plus defenders, to say the least. Draymond should win the Defensive Player of the Year award this season–he's the NBA's equivalent of a free safety who can cover one-on-one, blitz or play hard-hitting zone defense.
With Draymond on the floor, the Warriors have suffocated their opposition. He'll be on the floor quite often in the 2017 NBA Playoffs, meaning Golden State will pose plenty of problems to opposing offenses.
January 4, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr (left) instructs forward Draymond Green (23, right) during the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Trail Blazers 125-117. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Having Kerr At The Helm
Least but certainly not least, the Dubs have a perfect coach at the helm to handle all of the madness that comes with being the NBA's premier team. It would be easy for Golden State to lose perspective and get lost in themselves, but Steve Kerr isn't likely to let that happen.
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Kerr's focus on life being bigger than basketball is a refreshing change of pace around the NBA. Kerr has been almost universally praised for speaking out on social issues, and he and his team often get together and talk about what's going on in the world.
If that sounds familiar, it's because San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich does the same thing. It's no coincidence that Kerr came up under Pop when he was on the Spurs. He saw that Spurs culture firsthand, and has clearly brought parts of it to his Warriors.
Kerr has control of his team, but he allows each and every Warrior to be themselves. It can't be easy to manage Draymond Green and allow him to remain fiery without allowing him to burn things down, like what happened in the NBA Finals last season, but Kerr has done well in generally keeping his team on the same page and focused.
As documented in Ethan Sherwood Strauss' excellent piece on the Dubs' pursuit of 73 wins, Kerr lost a little bit of that control last season while he handed the reins to Luke Walton and sat out with back problems. The Warriors seem to be back and invested in Kerr's free-flowing philosophy of fun, and that may be the best thing Golden State has going right now.
