2017 NBA Finals

[Troublemaker]

Ha!

[rsvman]

Durant was the difference, not just tonight but in the whole series. He was just unstoppable. An incredible shooter and just an all-around amazing player.

I think if GSW still had Barnes instead the Cavs would have repeated.

[pfrduke]

GSW's Death Lineup to close games is too hard to overcome. The only time Kerr can be counted on to play his best lineup is at the end of games. (Part of the reason why Cavs blew that Game 3 lead).

Well, Kerr didn't play Pachulia after 7:52 in the 3rd and only played West 1:27 in the second half. McCaw and Livingston had some minutes (because you have to rest people), but the Warriors played all but 5:35 of the second half with no center.

[kshepinthehouse]

ABC just said that Andre Igoudala won the finals MVP. That just can't be, can it?

They meant 2015

[JasonEvans]

I would love to read an in-depth analysis of the processes that shifted an also-ran franchise into a mega power.

Get unbelievably, incredibly, stunningly lucky three times in the NBA draft and then have a one-time glitch in the salary cap work your way to bring the second best player alive to your team.

[Green Wave Dukie]

They meant 2015

I think they actually even said it was 2015

[pfrduke]

Get unbelievably, incredibly, stunningly lucky three times in the NBA draft and then have a one-time glitch in the salary cap work your way to bring the second best player alive to your team.

And have a transformative star have eggshell ankles at the time his extension comes due. It's not just the salary cap jump; it's carrying a two-time MVP for less than Timofey Mozgov or Ian Mahinmi (among many, many others).

[Troublemaker]

Durant was the difference, not just tonight but in the whole series. He was just unstoppable. An incredible shooter and just an all-around amazing player.

I think if GSW still had Barnes instead the Cavs would have repeated.

Deserving MVP. All kidding aside, he made a great choice to come to the Warriors. He's going to win multiple championships, and once he gets ring #4, I guarantee people will argue that he's better than Lebron.

Well, Kerr didn't play Pachulia after 7:52 in the 3rd and only played West 1:27 in the second half. McCaw and Livingston had some minutes (because you have to rest people), but the Warriors played all but 5:35 of the second half with no center.

Yes, Kerr took the game seriously tonight and coached his best game of the series. I also liked how he put Iguodala on Kyrie when Klay was in foul trouble. Kerr still gets like a C- for the series for not playing Green at C more the previous 4 games (although sometimes that is because of Green's foul trouble). And the true Death Lineup is Curry-Klay-Iggy-Durant-Green; he really should start them to ensure they get enough minutes together.

[TexHawk]

Get unbelievably, incredibly, stunningly lucky three times in the NBA draft and then have a one-time glitch in the salary cap work your way to bring the second best player alive to your team.

The Ringer with a good article on this today.

Salary cap (Durant) was definitely timing and luck. Taking a risk on a PG who couldn't stay on the court, and drafting Draymond Green when every other team in the league could have had him fall under "doing a good job running the team".

It's also not their fault that their competition drafted Derrick Williams, Jan Vesely, and Jimmer Fredette instead of Klay Thompson.

[kshepinthehouse]

Lebron referenced "me personally" multiple times in his interview. Can we infer he isn't happy with one or more of his team mates?

[darthur]

The Ringer with a good article on this today.

Salary cap (Durant) was definitely timing and luck. Taking a risk on a PG who couldn't stay on the court, and drafting Draymond Green when every other team in the league could have had him fall under "doing a good job running the team".

It's also not their fault that their competition drafted Derrick Williams, Jan Vesely, and Jimmer Fredette instead of Klay Thompson.

Whenever a team gets this good, luck plays a big role. But I think the franchise management is looking pretty smart right now too. Things they've done well:

- Trading Monta Ellis for Bogut when Ellis was face of the franchise -- dropping a low-efficiency high-volume guy who could never pair with Curry on a contender, and getting a guy who can instill defense first into the team
- Steph + Klay + Draymond drafts obviously
- But Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli were really solid draft picks too that helped carry the team the last couple years
- Sign-and-trade for Iguodala so they both get an important veteran on a rising team and also dropping salary so they can keep building
- Having the courage to fire Mark Jackson even after he brought a perennial loser to the playoffs for the first time in many years. Kerr, in addition to being a good coach by conventional means, is universally loved by the players and literally calls out "having fun" regularly as one of his keys for success in games. I think this plays a big part in why the team has suddenly become so attractive for free agents (although winning of course is probably still the #1 thing).
- Refusing to trade Klay for KLove when KLove was hot stuff
- Dumping (via two separate trades) David Lee and his salary, allowing them the flexibility to sign KD and still be paying less than Cleveland
- Lots of really solid cheapo vet signings, like McGee when nobody wanted him, David West, Zaza, etc. They lost 7 players from last year's squad and yet their bench hardly suffered.
- And I'm quite happy with McCaw too. The Warriors got him as a 2nd round draft pick for $2M cash this year, and he's become a perfectly respectable defense-first bench player who's had some great playoff moments

[dukelifer]

Deserving MVP. All kidding aside, he made a great choice to come to the Warriors. He's going to win multiple championships, and once he gets ring #4, I guarantee people will argue that he's better than Lebron.



Yes, Kerr took the game seriously tonight and coached his best game of the series. I also liked how he put Iguodala on Kyrie when Klay was in foul trouble. Kerr still gets like a C- for the series for not playing Green at C more the previous 4 games (although sometimes that is because of Green's foul trouble). And the true Death Lineup is Curry-Klay-Iggy-Durant-Green; he really should start them to ensure they get enough minutes together.

No question that Durant makes GS special. He is an amazingly gifted shooter and scorer. I think that the Cavs have 5 pretty good players in Love, Smith, Thompson, Irving and James. But their bench is a mess- not that good offensively or defensively. The Warriors tend to get more from theirs on a consistent basis. Iggy and Livingston are pros and can step it up when needed. The Cavs are the only team right now that has a shot to beat them 4 games right now barring injury. It will be interesting to see how the league evolves to deal with this team. Maybe the Cavs can trade Love for Kawhi Leonard.

[Indoor66]

Deserving MVP. All kidding aside, he made a great choice to come to the Warriors. He's going to win multiple championships, and once he gets ring #4, I guarantee people will argue that he's better than Lebron.



Yes, Kerr took the game seriously tonight and coached his best game of the series. I also liked how he put Iguodala on Kyrie when Klay was in foul trouble. Kerr still gets like a C- for the series for not playing Green at C more the previous 4 games (although sometimes that is because of Green's foul trouble). And the true Death Lineup is Curry-Klay-Iggy-Durant-Green; he really should start them to ensure they get enough minutes together.

A C-? He just coached his team to the championship 4-1 in the final series for a team that went 16-1 overall. What do you expect?

[sagegrouse]

Whenever a team gets this good, luck plays a big role. But I think the franchise management is looking pretty smart right now too. Things they've done well:

- Trading Monta Ellis for Bogut when Ellis was face of the franchise -- dropping a low-efficiency high-volume guy who could never pair with Curry on a contender, and getting a guy who can instill defense first into the team
- Steph + Klay + Draymond drafts obviously
- But Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli were really solid draft picks too that helped carry the team the last couple years
- Sign-and-trade for Iguodala so they both get an important veteran on a rising team and also dropping salary so they can keep building
- Having the courage to fire Mark Jackson even after he brought a perennial loser to the playoffs for the first time in many years. Kerr, in addition to being a good coach by conventional means, is universally loved by the players and literally calls out "having fun" regularly as one of his keys for success in games. I think this plays a big part in why the team has suddenly become so attractive for free agents (although winning of course is probably still the #1 thing).
- Refusing to trade Klay for KLove when KLove was hot stuff
- Dumping (via two separate trades) David Lee and his salary, allowing them the flexibility to sign KD and still be paying less than Cleveland
- Lots of really solid cheapo vet signings, like McGee when nobody wanted him, David West, Zaza, etc. They lost 7 players from last year's squad and yet their bench hardly suffered.
- And I'm quite happy with McCaw too. The Warriors got him as a 2nd round draft pick for $2M cash this year, and he's become a perfectly respectable defense-first bench player who's had some great playoff moments

One factor working for the Warriors is that established players nearing the end of their careers will settle for lower salaries in order to have a chance at winning a ring. Bill Walton's joining the 1985-86 Celtics is a long-ago successful example. Pete Maravich also tried it, somewhat earlier, but the Celtics lost in the conference finals.

Or, as my parents used to say long ago, "Them that has, gets."

[Indoor66]

Or, as my parents used to say long ago, "Them that has, gets."

Gee, now you say it.😎

[kshepinthehouse]

No question that Durant makes GS special. He is an amazingly gifted shooter and scorer. I think that the Cavs have 5 pretty good players in Love, Smith, Thompson, Irving and James. But their bench is a mess- not that good offensively or defensively. The Warriors tend to get more from theirs on a consistent basis. Iggy and Livingston are pros and can step it up when needed. The Cavs are the only team right now that has a shot to beat them 4 games right now barring injury. It will be interesting to see how the league evolves to deal with this team. Maybe the Cavs can trade Love for Kawhi Leonard.

Love for Leonard is not even close. I'm amazed when people come up with deals like this. Leonard is the 3rd best player in the league.

[TexHawk]

Love for Leonard is not even close. I'm amazed when people come up with deals like this. Leonard is the 3rd best player in the league.

Love for Paul George makes some sense. They aren't equal players, but George only has one year left on his contract. (And he'll be flying to LA the nanosecond he becomes a free agent.)


It would be kind of funny to see the Cavs try to swap Love for a 3-and-D player like George to matchup better with the Warriors, to then have to defend a team like the Sixers in the playoffs, who have a superstar traditional big man.

[TexHawk]

Whenever a team gets this good, luck plays a big role.

Absolutely, and forgive me for not feeling bad for the Cavs in the luck department. They were only here because they won the lottery 3 times in 4 years.

[Troublemaker]

A C-? He just coached his team to the championship 4-1 in the final series for a team that went 16-1 overall. What do you expect?

Well, the Warriors have the greatest team of all time. C- is being nice when a coach doesn't play his best lineup enough. (And that's the scary thing for the rest of the league; GSW has another gear to go to if needed, but they just haven't needed it.)

No question that Durant makes GS special. He is an amazingly gifted shooter and scorer. I think that the Cavs have 5 pretty good players in Love, Smith, Thompson, Irving and James. But their bench is a mess- not that good offensively or defensively. The Warriors tend to get more from theirs on a consistent basis. Iggy and Livingston are pros and can step it up when needed. The Cavs are the only team right now that has a shot to beat them 4 games right now barring injury. It will be interesting to see how the league evolves to deal with this team. Maybe the Cavs can trade Love for Kawhi Leonard.

That's only when playing against the Warriors, though. The Cavs have a very good bench against every other team in the league. Frye and Korver are scary weapons off the bench, Deron Williams is a great backup PG, RJeff is still an athletic two-way presence, and Shumpert is a good defender. It's really only the Warriors that can expose those guys defensively and then also help-and-recover to all that shooting on the other end.

I have a difficult time criticizing Cleveland's roster construction too much. Ignoring the regular season (where, with hindsight, Cleveland doesn't try), this was Lebron's best team, imo. They just aren't the greatest team of all-time, and now that Durant is with GSW, front offices have to construct the greatest team of all-time in order to win the championship.

[superdave]

And have a transformative star have eggshell ankles at the time his extension comes due. It's not just the salary cap jump; it's carrying a two-time MVP for less than Timofey Mozgov or Ian Mahinmi (among many, many others).

Curry is making $12-ish million right now.

They also got Igoudala to take less, and come off the bench.

But yeah, the draft - Curry at #7, Thompson at #11, Green at #35. Also the rules have been designed for exactly what the Warriors got lucky in the draft to do.