toodles23 wrote:It really is hard to imagine how this team could lose if they're healthy. It's going to be a really boring several years for the NBA - and spare me the talk of "but it's going to be beautiful basketball!". Watching a team win every game they take seriously without a challenge is not fun or interesting in any way. It's kind of like the 2012 Olympics - sure, it was cool to see the US dominate the rest of the world, but really, was it that fun, intense or competitive?
Even the greatest teams in NBA history were all challenged at some point - the '86 Celts were taken to 6 by the Rockets and all of the games in Houston were competitive, the '87 Lakers were taken to 6 by the Celtics with one of their wins coming because of a missed open 20 footer by Bird, the '96 Bulls were in a weak period for the league but were still taken to 6 by the Sonics (and the series could have been even more competitive if Karl had put Payton on Jordan from the start), the '72 Lakers were taken to 6 by the Bucks with two of their wins coming by 3 points or less... this on the other hand? It's hard to imagine how any team could even pretend to challenge the Warriors. Maybe Pop can work miracles or something, but that's grasping at straws.
It's also a shame that the rest of Lebron's career, and the primes of guys like Westbrook, Harden, CP3, etc. are going to be wasted in a non competitive league. Luckily for Cavs fans, they snuck a ring in before the NBA got shut down for 4-5 years.
I really hope I'm wrong about all of this and the Warriors end up having problems, but I don't see it at this point.
Not so fast, I say. Obviously the Dubs will be awesome. They were awesome this year, and they didn't win it all. As of now, they've subtracted Bogut, Barnes, and Festus. Those 3 guys were absolutely key to their defensive identity. Zaza is fine, but a severe downgrade from their former big man rotation. Getting KD means they will double down on their offensive philosophy, and it will almost certainly cost them on defense. I've thought all along that KD could be a mixed bag for them - yes, explosive shooters have been their calling card, but we've seen that ANY shooter can go cold. Their other 2 keys have been their defense and depth, and that has taken a big hit. I'm sorry, but at this point I've seen too many 'superteams' that didn't roll through the league as expected. Real basketball isn't 2K.
I'm actually super excited that this happened, but mostly because of the effect it could have on the rest of the league. Westbrook now becomes the most interesting player in the NBA, and the run-away MVP favorite. The Cavs now have to be seriously looking at dealing Love, which I was hoping for anyway. The ripple effects are going to br insane.
. Of course if they all stick together they are going to be a contender as long as they are all in their primes. My point was and perhaps I should have been clearer, year 1 they have better chances of winning than in year 2 for now. You will be paying the full max to Curry and KD next year. Iggy will be older and might want more money. You never know....even then they will far and away be the best team in the league. Only thing is they might have more holes defensively.
