One. Win. Away. Golden State and the True Playoff Sweep
June 9, 2017
“This is probably the most firepower I’ve played against in my career”
– Lebron James on the 2017 Golden State Warriors
Four consecutive wins against the Portland Trailblazers. Four consecutive wins against the Utah Jazz. Four consecutive wins against the (injured) San Antonio Spurs, and now the Warriors are one win away from making history. Before the 2017 NBA Finals began I covered the Warriors’ historic run and how they might be the greatest playoff team of all time. Read the article below, if you haven’t yet, to get caught up!
Are the 2016-17 Warriors the Greatest NBA Playoff Team of All Time?
The Warriors, whether or not they complete the final sweep tonight, have already made history during their outstanding 2017 NBA Playoff run. The 2017 Golden State squad are the first team ever in NBA history to go 15-0 in the postseason, they have set the NBA record for the highest average scoring margin in the NBA Playoffs, with +17.1 ppg, and they have set the record for the longest postseason streak by any team in any professional sport ever. The list of accolades doesn’t stop there, however, and if Golden State can secure one last win in game 4 tonight, the list of historical accomplishments will be practically mesmerizing. The Warriors have the best starting 5 and the best depth in the entire league, but there is one essential asset that has driven them to be on the verge of NBA history.
Kevin Durant wants to finally win his first ring, and he wants to win it bad. So bad that there’s nothing Lebron James, or anyone else on the current Cavs roster, can do to stop him from being both the most dominant player on the court every night and the 2017 NBA Finals MVP. Averaging 34 ppg, 10 rpg, and 6 apg, and playing lights out basketball on both ends of the court, Kevin Durant is simply an unstoppable force that the Cavs are still struggling to contain.
Despite being outplayed by Golden State, and Durant especially, for most of the series thus far, the Cleveland big 3 of Lebron, Love, and Kyrie are the sole reason (as expected) as to why the Cavs still have a fighting chance in the series. Love’s consistency of averaging a double double (17/13.7), which he did last series also, along with Kyrie’s 27 ppg, and Lebron James averaging a triple double (32/12.3/10.3), which has never been done before in the NBA Finals, are essential for Cleveland to find a way to come back and somehow find a way to win the series in 7 games. However, the rest of the Cleveland roster has been disappointing to say the least. JR Smith’s inability to score in the first two games of the series and Tristan Thompson’s abysmal 3.7 rpb are just a portion of the copious amount of flaws the Cavaliers have showcased this series, outside of Love, Lebron, and Kyrie. For the Cavs to make history themselves and win four straight in the NBA Finals, they will either have to completely shut down practically the entire Golden State squad, or find ways for their key role players to actually play like key role players. This feat is easier said than done, however, as only 5 teams in the history of the major 4 sports have come back to win the series after being down 3-0. Even worse, all 5 of those teams played in either the NHL or the MLB, meaning if the Cavs win in game 7, they will be the first team in NBA history to do so in the playoffs. Disheartening? Absolutely, but then again, the Cavs were the first team to be down 3-1 in the NBA Finals and comeback to win the series.
If the Warriors make NBA history tonight, which I think is very likely ,they will be the greatest NBA Playoff team ever. Period. Despite facing fairly easy competition up until the NBA Finals, having a historic average scoring margin and being the first team to never lose a game in the NBA Playoffs will easily justify the statement that the 2017 Golden State Warriors are the greatest team to ever play in the NBA Playoffs. Would I consider the Warriors to be the greatest team ever? No, simply because the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ 2nd best regular season record in NBA history along with the ability to knock out some of the best teams to play in the NBA in the 90s (Ewing’s Knicks, Shaq and Hardaway’s 60 win Magic, who the Bulls swept, and Payton’s 64 win Supersonics, the greatest team in the Seattle franchise’s history) clearly makes them the greatest of all time overall. However, a true playoff sweep, which I believe will happen tonight for the first time in NBA history, despite the fact that I predicted the Cavs will win the Finals in 7 games before the series started, will, without a doubt, prove this 2017 Warriors team is the greatest NBA Playoff team we’ve ever seen in league history.
Written by Erik Clark