Why the Western Conference Finals is Really the NBA Finals in 2018

  The NBA Finals are intended to put the best team in each conference head to head in a seven game series, to show who the champion will be. Most of the time, the two best teams in the league match up in the Finals. But every so often, there are those  conference finals series between the two ACTUAL best teams in the league. A series in which the winner is also favored to defeat the champion of the other conference, regardless of who it is.

  A famous example of this was the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings. The Lakers were the two-time defending champs and the Kings had just finished with the best record in the entire league, finishing 61-21. They matched up in the Western Conference Finals after the Kings had been eliminated by the Lakers the last two postseasons. It was an epic seven game series that some say the Lakers were lucky to win. They went on to sweep the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals. When people recall that 2002 season, they know that the Lakers-Kings series was the real finals.

   10 years later, the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals were pretty much the NBA Finals as well. The experienced Boston Celtics led by Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, and Ray Allen were giving it one last go at a title. Their opponents were the Big 3 of the Miami Heat, led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. The Celtics led the Heat three games to two, with a chance to advance to the NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston. But behind a historic performance by LeBron James, a Game 7 was forced.  The eventual NBA champion Miami Heat won Game 7 and went on to defeat a young Thunder ballclub in five games. Considering the Celtics experience, you probably would have favored them in a series vs the Thunder had they won the Eastern Conference Finals.

  Now here we are in 2018 with the two best records in the NBA facing off in the Western Conference Finals. The number one seeded Houston Rockets (65-17) vs the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors (58-24). Despite being the number one seed, the Houston Rockets are not the favorite to win this series.  They boast a future league MVP James Harden and a future Hall of Famer in Chris Paul. The Golden State Warriors, however, still contain a team with four all stars! One of them which you can argue is the best Point Guard in the league, and the other that seems to be the consensus second best player in the world right now in Kevin Durant. Not to mention Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, who are top three in their positions in their own right. So far with those four playing, they have only lost two games in the playoffs. One was in the NBA Finals last season, and the other came recently to a feisty New Orleans Pelicans team. The Warriors rebounded from an early deficit in Game 1 to secure a commanding victory, but the game was relatively competitive.  

  The 2018 Eastern Conference Finals are a rematch from the previous season much improved team from their 2017 version, they are without their star Point Guard between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. Although the Celtics are a Kyrie Irving (Gordon Hayward as well, although he has not completed a game this season). The loss of Irving has not seemed to slow them down thus far, as they just disposed of the #3 seed Philadelphia 76ers in five games. The Cavaliers however, are a completely different task altogether. They obviously lost Kyrie Irving over the summer, who was absolutely monumental in their 2016 title run. This years Cavaliers team has been described as the worst supporting cast LeBron has had since his first stint with Cleveland. In their first round series against Indiana, no player besides LeBron scored more than 20 points! So regardless of who wins the East, both teams seem to pale in comparison to Houston or Golden State. That being said, it is sports so anything can happen.

   Besides just having more firepower than the finalists from the East, Golden State and Houston are just better basketball teams. Both teams can kill you offensively and are very solid defensively, particularly the Warriors. They were the two highest scoring teams in the league scoring more than 112 points per game! Both of them are also the best defensive teams remaining in the playoffs based on the number of points allowed by their opposition. The Rockets were never thought of as a good defensive team, but with additions of elite defenders like P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah A Moute, things can change. Not to mention we already know what Chris Paul, Trevor Ariza, and Clint Capela can do on that end of the floor.  The Warriors are also first in the league in field goal percentage, being the only team that shoots at least 50% from the field. On the other side of the ball, they are 3rd in opposing field goal percentage which shows that they force their opposition into difficult shots. Finally there’s the killer, the leader in three-point percentage is also the Warriors at 39%. When they start getting hot, there is really nothing you can do.

  Yes, I know it sounds like the Warriors are going to win it all. That is where most people seem to be going. They are until proven beatable, a borderline unfair team in my eyes. But the Rockets do not see it that way, and led by James Harden, this team may be the Warriors toughest test yet. If the Rockets do successfully catch fire and do the seemingly unthinkable by beating the Warriors, their momentum will probably carry them all the way to that Larry O’Brien trophy in the Finals.

  The Cavaliers and the Celtics are fantastic teams, but I suggest we continue to tune in very closely on Wednesday May 16th for Game 2 of what might as well be the NBA Finals, between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors.

Written by Darian Vaziri