After all the 3-1 memes, after all the heckling from 29 other team fans around the NBA, after experiencing the pain last year in Game 7, after an 82 game season where all you can think about is Kyrie Irving draining that long jumper against Steph Curry, finally, the Warriors have avenged last season’s downfall.
It’s official. The Golden State Warriors are the 2016-17 NBA Champions. The second title in three years. The perfect post-season, 16-0. Cemented in history, nobody can ever take that away from the Warriors and now they can start planning their celebration and parade.
After Game 7 in the 2016 NBA Finals, Draymond Green contacted Bob Myers and Kevin Durant. The consolation prize of the former MVP has truly placed the team in the all time ranks of great teams.
Them choking away a 3-1 seems like a distant memory. The Warriors are the champs and now that this team has one together, there is no reason why they can’t win the next 3-4 Larry O’Brien trophies. Is that cocky? A little bit, but tell me another team besides the Cavs that can challenge them, I will wait…….I thought so. The Cavs are the biggest challenge and they just beat them in five games.
The Warriors have an opportunity to become a dynasty with this core of talented players in their primes. If you like parity in the NBA, this might not be the best time for you to be tuning in. Enjoy this Bay Area, this is a special time with a special team.
1st Quarter
The Warriors got the game started with two beyond the arc from Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Giving them an early lead. The Cavs then came right back with a run of their own. The Warriors had a sloppy run there for Warriors, they turned the ball over and gave up easy buckets. The Cavs had all the confidence in the world, but at least they weren’t shooting lights out like they did in Game 4. Curry got the crowd going when he drove to the basket and finished on James. You could tell James wanted the block, but Curry once again got the better of him. Early on you could tell the James and Irving were aggressive offensively. James started off hot, but missed some buckets as the quarter progressed, luckily for him the Cavs were there to put back his misses. Overall, the turnovers have been the problem and the Cavs finished the quarter by shooting very well and once again putting some pressure on the Warriors.
2nd Quarter
The Cavs continued their momentum by simply being more aggressive and forcing turnovers. It seemed an easy hole the basket was the reward for the turnover and the lead kept growing. It got as high as eight. Surprisingly, it was David West of the bench that provided some offense. The Warriors built a run of their own and turned this into a closer game. An Andre Iguodala dunk got the arena in a frenzy and the Warriors were finally playing with some confidence. The Warriors were finally able to regain the lead with a triple from Durant, which was followed by a Curry three and the lead was up to five. The Warriors kept the run going and after a Curry floater, the lead was up to 11. The Cavs were reeling and the Oracle crowd was waiting for the Dubs to blow this game open. Durant and Green knocked down triples down the stretch and the lead was up to 15. However, David West and Tristan Thompson got into each other’s faces and all ell was about to break loose. James and Irving tried their best to get them back into the ball game, but they still faced an 11 point deficit at the end of the half.
3rd Quarter
Klay starts the second half with the quick trigger and drained a triple to get the lead back to 14. James came right back by attacking the basket and hitting a tough shot on Durant. Once again, it felt like the Warriors were going to blow the game open after yet another triple from Thompson. However, the Cavs kept chipping at the lead, making this game more interesting as time went on. Two Iguodala triples extended the lead momentarily, with James coming right back to get the Cavs some easy buckets. The Warrior lead was now steady at 7-8, the Cavs just couldn’t get any closer. As I was typing this, the Cavs cut the lead to four points after LeBron kept getting his team involved. The Dubs responded with a Durant triple to get back to seven, so I wasn’t completely lying. The third ended in a frenzy, but you have to give the Cavs credit, they were hanging around. The Warriors were playing good basketball, capable of putting the game away, but the Cavs didn’t want to give up.
4th Quarter
LeBron got the final period started with a bucket, but Durant was quick to follow. Every shot that went up you could hear the Oracle crowd gasp for air, but Durant made it easier on them by knocking down yet another triple. He was the difference. He is an offensive juggernaut who can get a shot up against any defender in the league and he did just that. The Cavs valiantly fought back, but you almost felt like this game was over. As time continued to slip away, the Warriors were on a mission and kept getting easy basket after easy basket and now the lead was 14. The Cavs hit some amazing shots to keep this respectable, but we all knew it was over and the Warriors are now the NBA Champions! The Larry O’Brien Trophy is coming back to the Bay Area.