Golden State Warriors Arrive at NBA Finals as the Complete Package
It should be more surprising than it is to see the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
The fact that it isn't shows the championship-caliber strength of this squad.
Under a wide-angle lens, there's an undeniably surreal feeling to what's taking place.
The Dubs are doing things the Bay Area hasn't seen in decades. This is their first appearance on the game's grandest stage since Rick Barry powered them to the 1975 title. In the 39 years between Finals trips, they won a total of seven playoff series—and couldn't gain entry to the postseason party 29 times.
Three seasons back, the Warriors went just 23-43 in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 campaign. This year, with rookie head coach Steve Kerr and a rotation light on playoff experience, they won a league-best 67 games and carried a 12-3 record through the first three rounds of the postseason.
"I did not see this coming," Warriors general manager Bob Myers told ESPN.com's Ethan Sherwood Strauss. "It's not that I didn't think it was possible, but I didn't see this expedited path to where we are."
But if you tighten the focus to this year alone, it makes perfect sense for the Warriors to find themselves in this position. Equal parts unstoppable force and immovable object, Golden State was by far the league's top team this season.
| Field-Goal Percentage | 47.8 | First |
| Opp. Field-Goal Percentage | 42.8 | First |
| Offensive Rating | 109.7 | Second |
| Defensive Rating | 98.2 | First |
| Net Rating | Plus-11.4 | First |
| Point Differential | Plus-10.1 | First |
The Warriors reached a level of greatness only measurable on a historic scale.
They became the first team since the 1980-81 Philadelphia 76ers to lead the league in both field-goal percentage and field-goal defense. Golden State's double-digit point differential (plus-10.1) was only the eighth the NBA has ever seen. The 67 wins were tied for the sixth-most all time.
The Warriors have continued flexing their muscles in the postseason. They sprinted through the Western Conference minefield without approaching any real danger.
"Winning the West was much harder than the Warriors made it look over the past six weeks," wrote Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News. "Those 15 games managed to test the Golden State basketball system in just about every way possible."
Golden State surely didn't mind avoiding the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs. But the Dubs' playoff draw was still a doozy.
They first ran into the New Orleans Pelicans and the league's most dominant young player, Anthony Davis. Then they matched wits with a battle-tested Memphis Grizzlies group that never makes things comfortable for opponents. Finally, the Warriors squared off with the Houston Rockets and their superstar duo of MVP runner-up James Harden and eight-time All-Star Dwight Howard.
All were worthy foes, and the Dubs demolished them all. They suffered just three losses total during three playoff series in the NBA's better half.
Double-digit margins decided eight of their 12 playoff victories, including all three of their close-out wins. The final one could have been the most impressive of the lot—Wednesday's Western Conference Finals-clinching 104-90 triumph on a night when Klay Thompson played just 22 minutes and Stephen Curry needed 21 shots to score 26 points.
The game was an ugly affair. Both teams struggled to find their shooting rhythm, and each burned itself with turnovers.
But it should have opened some eyes for those who still see the Warriors as a finesse, jump-shooting team.
The Warriors imposed their will on the glass and won the rebound battle by 20 (59-39). They took away Harden's air space and held him to 14 points on 11 shots and 13 turnovers. They exploited their unparalleled depth by squeezing 24 points out of Harrison Barnes and nearly a double-double from reserve center Festus Ezeli (12 points, nine boards).
"We had to gut it out," Draymond Green said, via Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. "Coach said at halftime, it's ugly, but I like our team better in an ugly game than theirs."
That's the beauty of this team. It can win however it needs to, rolling to an aesthetically pleasing blowout one night (like the surgical 115-80 rout in Game 3) and grinding through a defensive tussle on another.
The Warriors are as close to a weakness-free team as the NBA currently has. The thing they're most commonly criticized for, the lack of low-post scoring, is something today's pace-and-space league is quickly abandoning.
Whatever the Warriors might need in the next round, they have: go-to scorers, long-range shooters, a slew of willing passers, perimeter stoppers, defensive anchors and spark-plug reserves. Their chemistry is as tight as compression shorts. Their depth is the proverbial embarrassment of riches.
And their top-level talent is extraordinary. Splash Brothers Curry and Thompson averaged a combined 48.9 points and 7.9 three-pointers per game through the first three rounds. Their long-range shooting alone can dismantle a defense, and both are more than capable scorers off the dribble.
Throw in a horde of overqualified role players behind them, and this roster reads like a band of juggernauts.
More importantly, it's been an incredibly healthy team all season. Golden State will hope that's still the case after Houston's Trevor Ariza kneed Thompson in the head. The Warriors guard left Game 5 with what was initially diagnosed as an ear laceration, according to CSN's Rosalyn Gold-Onwude.
But the diagnosis later changed to concussion-like symptoms, and Thompson will now need to pass the NBA's concussion protocol test before receiving medical clearance to play, according to Yahoo Sports' Marc J. Spears.
Thompson has plenty of time to recover, as the Warriors won't begin their battle with the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers until June 4. Still, Thompson's health is worth mentioning, if for no other reason than the Warriors don't have a lot of other concerns around them.
Except, of course, those pesky Cavaliers and the best player on the planet, LeBron James. The Cavs are dealing with bigger injury issues (no Kevin Love and a hobbled Kyrie Irving), but they also suffered only two losses during their three-round race to the Finals. That success admittedly came against inferior competition, but it also showed what type of problems Cleveland can present.
As good as the Warriors have been, they'll need better consistency and sharper execution to pass the ultimate test.
"For the Warriors to break through they'll need excellent three-point shooting, defensive discipline with LeBron's passing targets and better ball control than they exhibited in much of the conference finals," wrote ESPN.com's J.A. Adande.
Golden State has plenty of things in its favor. The Warriors boast a deeper, healthier and more versatile roster. They are loaded with athletic, long-limbed defenders to throw in front of James. They'll also open the series at the always-raucous Oracle Arena, where they own a remarkable 46-3 record (7-1 in the postseason).
But as NBA TV's Matt Winer, Isiah Thomas and Dennis Scott discussed in the video below, there are reasons to like each team's chances:
If this has been a dream season for the Dubs, they aren't ready to wake up. Considering they snapped a 40-year Finals drought, their celebration was rather subdued.
Reaching this stage was never the goal. They're still four steps shy of completing their mission.
"We'll get the champagne out when we take care of business in the Finals," Shaun Livingston said, via Kawakami. "Four more to go."
Four more wins to validate one of the finest seasons in NBA history. If they pull this off, don't expect the championship-starved franchise to be surprised.
That's what great teams are supposed to do. And the Warriors have been the league's greatest all year.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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