The World Changes a Lot Between Golden State Warriors' Playoff Appearances

With the Golden State Warriors on their way to the playoffs for the first time since 2007, and just the second time in the past 19 seasons, the world has changed quite a bit in between.

There are grown men who have seen their favorite basketball team make the playoffs just three times in their lives, and talking, coherent children who will be watching the Warriors in the playoffs for the first time in their young basketball-loving lives.

From Chris Mullin to Baron Davis and now Stephen Curry, the teams have seen very different leaders at the helm, yet very similar styles of play.

All three teams have been high-scoring, fast-paced groups who look at defense and either try their hardest and remain a few steps away, or just turn the other way and get back on offense.

There may be similarities between this Warriors team and the Don Nelson-led '94 playoff team; the world, however, has changed drastically.

Gas is more expensive, every movie imaginable is in 3-D and the Dallas Cowboys have gone from being champions of the football world to a laughingstock, back to being a decent team, yet still a complete laughingstock.

Some things are cyclical, others are never ending but eventually the Warriors are going to end up doing more than making the playoffs once every decade.

The Team

Today

This group is lead by a superb inside-outside game headlined by the hot three-point shooting of guard Stephen Curry and the solid low-post and mid-range game of forward David Lee.

Klay Thompson and Jarrett Jack are always threats to get hot, and Carl Landry is always rock solid in the low post.

They've spent the season without any kind of continuity at center, so their defense is predicated on heading guys off on the perimeter, especially since David Lee isn't going to pose much of an interior defensive presence.

Like their two previous playoff teams, these Warriors are a potent offensive threat, but this time around they're more efficient than they are fast paced.

2007

Back in 2007, Golden State's run-and-gun game was run by a beautiful quintet that inexplicably fit well together.

Baron Davis, Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Monta Ellis, and Jason Richardson—all players who have had a shoot-first reputation—put on a burst of unselfish fast-break play that electrified the NBA.

With Andris Biedrins emerging as a promising center and Richardson, Davis and Mickael Pietrus shooting three-pointers, Golden State was able to take down the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs.

1994:

This was the first real successful team since Golden State broke up the late-'80s Run TMC Warriors.

Drafting Latrell Sprewell in 1992 put down the new foundation, and swapping Penny Hardaway for Chris Webber finally put them over the top.

Spree and Webber shared the bulk of the scoring load, while Chris Mullin had a solid season, and Billy Owens, the guy they got when they traded away Mitch Richmond on the eve of the 1991-92 season, gave them a decent post mate for Webber.

They were a fast-paced team, the second-highest scoring group in the NBA, despite having a point guard-by-committee approach.

Yet, all they had to show for that productive season was a first-round sweep at the hands of Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns.

Price of This and That

One thing that we always tend to look at when we compare today with an earlier time is the cost of everyday items. The cost of living is can be a barometer for gauging how different the times were.

Today

The nationwide average price of a gallon of gas right now is $3.53, not far off from what it was back in 2007.

An average movie ticket costs $7.96. A loaf of bread is up to $1.41, while a gallon of milk runs $3.48.  A pound of coffee costs $5.72 and a pound of bananas a measly 61 cents.

2007

The price for a gallon of gas—what we often use our judge how expensive our lives are getting—was $3.02 at the end of 2007.

You could go get a ticket to a movie for $6.88 and get a loaf of bread for $1.28. You could buy a gallon of milk for $3.87, a pound of coffee for $3.68 and a pound of bananas for just 53 cents.

1994

One of the biggest difference between now and when the '94 Warriors made it to the postseason is the price of gas, which was just $1.14 in 1994.

The average movie ticket price was a mere $4.08, bread was just $0.75, a gallon of milk was $2.48, a pound of coffee was a surprisingly expensive $4.38 and a pound of bananas came to just 46 cents.

The Sports World

The world of sports tends to go through gradual changes, so there are a lot of similarities between today's sports world and that of 2007—but things have definitely changed.

Today

NFL champion: Baltimore Ravens

NCAA Basketball champion: Louisville Cardinals

NCAA Football champion: Alabama Crimson Tide

Technically, we haven't seen any "official" 2013 champions yet, as Baltimore, Louisville and Alabama both won for the conclusion of the 2012 seasons, but that's the best we've got so far.

The biggest story of the year thus far has been the Manti Te'o dead-girlfriend hoax, but who knows what might coming down the pike.

2007

Super Bowl champion: Indianapolis Colts

World Series champion: Boston Red Sox

NBA champion: San Antonio Spurs

Stanley Cup champion: Anaheim Ducks

NCAA Basketball champion: Florida Gators

NCAA Football champion: Florida Gators.

The biggest story in the sports world had to be Barry Bonds hitting his 756th home run, breaking Hank Aaron's all-time record.

1994

Super Bowl champion: Dallas Cowboys

World Series champion: None

NBA champion: Houston Rockets,

Stanley Cup champion: New York Rangers

NCAA Basketball champion: Arkansas Razorbacks

NCAA Football champion: Nebraska Cornhuskers

1994's biggest story came as the baseball season dragged on and came to a dramatic end as the players went on strike, and the world was left without a World Series for the first time since 1904.

Oh, and there was O.J.

Entertainment

Today

Oz, The Great and Powerful has been this year's greatest success at the box office so far in 2013, as everybody's been rushing to see James Franco play Oz. It's far from a guarantee, but this one should hold firm to the top spot for a while.

It seems that "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis has the best shot of finishing as the top single of the year, while Justin Timberlake's new album, 20/20 Experience is probably going to trounce everybody.

2007

Spider-Man 3 ended up with the top spot in the box office by the end of 2007. It was the third and final installment of the movie trilogy starring Tobey Maguire. Of course, they would make another one and release it in 2012, but that's another story.

In music, Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" was the single of the year, while Josh Groban's Noel was the year's top-selling album, because everybody had impeccable musical taste.

Culturally speaking, the biggest splash was probably the release of the seventh and final installment of the Harry Potter book series.

1994

The Lion King routed everything at the box office and became, at the time, the second-highest grossing movie ever.

Once again we showed off our amazing musical taste, getting down with Ace of Base's "The Sign" and bought up copies of the soundtrack to The Lion King, because who can't get enough of "The Circle of Life?"

It seems that the most culturally jarring moment of 1994 was the release of Nas' Illmatic, which is largely considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest hip hop album of all time.

Story of the Year

Today

North Korea is doin' weird stuff.

It seems inevitable, but unless something insane ("insaner," I suppose would be the correct non-word) pops up, North Korea being crazy is going to be the story of the year.

They've threatened to send missiles left and right while cutting off communication with South Korea.

And it all started with a visit from Dennis Rodman.

2007

Most of the talk about the recent recession goes back to 2008, but the mortgage crisis started in 2007, as people started to get in way over their heads.

The Mortgage Debt Relief Act did what it could to help take some pressure off indebted homeowners, but it wasn't enough and the bubble burst.

1994:

O.J. Simpson gets arrested.

As far as I know, there was only one news story in 1994. Every time you turned on the television there was something else happening surrounding O.J. Simpson, and it lasted a full 15 months.

The trial began in early 1995, but Simpson was arrested in mid-June 1994 after fleeing from police at break-neck speed in his now-infamous white Ford Bronco.

That's the biggest celebrity-related controversy of the past 25 years, the start of the biggest economic lull in the past 25 years, and what could be the biggest international story in over a decade all happening in the wake of, if not because of, a Warriors playoff berth.

The NBA

Interestingly enough, success for the Warriors has meant a down year for three perennial powerhouses in the NBA.

Today

The Los Angeles Lakers are struggling to make the playoffs; the Chicago Bulls' best player missed the season, and the Boston Celtics have struggled with injuries.

With just a few games left on the season, Los Angeles has been battling with the Utah Jazz for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Meanwhile, Derrick Rose has missed the entire season (so far—who knows what happens tomorrow) as the Chicago Bulls have floated along aimlessly in the middle of the Eastern Conference.

In Boston, the Celtics have locked up a playoff spot (the seventh seed in the East), but they hardly look like a team that will make much noise in the postseason.

Picking an eventual champion, it seems as if the Miami Heat are the best choice.

2007

The Lakers were struggling to make the playoffs, the Chicago Bulls' best player was Ben Gordon.

Ironically, the Lakers record in 2007 was the best in the three most recent years that the Warriors have made the playoffs. The Lakers finished 42-40 and were the seventh seed in the West.

It was also a good year for the Bulls, who were a solid team, making the playoffs with a 49-33 record before falling in the second round of the playoffs.

Boston spent their second season without a trip to the postseason, although its summer would be a dynamic one, as they acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in high-profile trades.

The San Antonio Spurs were the eventual champions, sweeping LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

1994

This was a terrifying year for the old guard in the NBA.

This was the first year of Michael Jordan's first retirement. Chicago finished third in the East, but lost in the second round of the playoffs. Los Angeles and Boston were adjusting to an NBA world without Magic Johnson and Larry Bird (although Vlade Divac and Dino Radja were there to pick up the pieces).

Both teams missed the playoffs—the Lakers losing 49 games, the Celtics 50.

And 1994 would be the first of two straight championships for the Houston Rockets.