Schmeelk: Thanks To Warriors' Comeback, New NBA May Be Here To Stay
By John Schmeelk
» More Columns
No one in their right mind should question the greatness of a team that sets the NBA record for most wins in a regular season the season after it wins a championship. But every great team gets to a point where it has to do something special to win a playoff series. It's that moment where the players are really tested and their true mettle is shown.
The Golden State Warriors just had that moment.
It took six playoff series for Golden State to be put against a team that was near its equal. Injuries and upsets paved the Warriors' way to the Finals last year, and the Cleveland Cavaliers were too banged up to hang with them once they got there. This time around, the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers were nowhere near the quality of team the Warriors were.
The Oklahoma Thunder were a different story. They beat a great San Antonio Spurs team in the Western Conference semifinals and were at full strength for the first time in years. The Thunder did everything they could to beat the Warriors in the conference finals, but in the end they just weren't good enough. OKC made a few too many mistakes, and Golden State made a few too many impossible 3-pointers. In the end, the combination of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala was just too good.
Being down 3-1 in a series puts even the best teams in a difficult position, but the Warriors responded by playing their best basketball when they were in their most desperate situation. The Thunder, on the other hand, completely fell apart when they had a chance to finish things on their home floor in the final minutes of Game 6. Whenever the Warriors went on a hot streak with their shooting, the Thunder seemed to panic and get away from everything that got them to that point.
Every time it seemed as though the Thunder were ready to deliver the knockout punch, Thompson or Curry hit a bunch of 3s to completely change momentum. This was a series that could have sent the argument of whether the Warriors were better than the 72-win 1996 Bulls to the graveyard. Go ask the 2001 Seattle Mariners if anyone cared about their 116-win regular season after they lost to the Yankees in the ALCS. If the Warriors lost to the Thunder, their great season would have been buried by disappointment.
Golden State still has one more hurdle to clear in order to cement its place in the NBA's pantheon. In order to do it, the Warriors have to beat one of the best players in league history in LeBron James and a healthy supporting cast.
For the Thunder, beating the Warriors might have helped Kevin Durant stay put in Oklahoma City long term. Now? Who knows? The same question will be posed to Russell Westbrook next offseason. This series loss could go a very long way towards determining the future success of the franchise.
For the foot soldiers in the NBA "play style" wars, this will help the arguments of those standing firmly in the "play small and shoot a lot of 3s" camp. When you look at how this series was turned around by the Warriors, don't look any further than the trey column. In the final two games of the series, both won by the Warriors, Golden State shot 46 percent (38-of-82) from behind the arc, while Oklahoma City shot just 20 percent (10-of-50). Worse, every missed Thunder 3 seemed to turn into an easy Warriors basket on the other end.
The Warriors, though, to me, are unique. How do you copy them? Curry is one-of-a-kind and the league MVP for a reason. Thompson is probably the best catch-and-shoot guy in the league. Green is a physical freak who at 6-foot-8 can defend centers, guards, handle the ball, pass and shoot from long range. Playing small and firing away 40 3s in a game makes sense with the Warriors' roster. Other NBA teams can copy it but they won't have the same success because they don't have Curry, Thompson and Green.
The truth is, even against those players, the Thunder could have won this series if they just played better in some key moments. But as they often do, the Thunder's flaws showed up at the worst times. Whether it was too much one-on-one play offensively, turnovers, or lack of mental toughness, the Thunder fell into bad habits and the Warriors took advantage. If the Thunder played like they did when they closed out the Spurs or went up 3-1 against the Warriors in the final three games of the series they would be playing in Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday.
There's little doubt the NBA Finals will set a record for most 3-pointers shot per game. You might have a game or two where the Cavaliers and the Warriors shoot a combined 80. It will be the new era of the NBA on full display and we'll see if the Warriors can be beat playing their game. It might finally prove that the era of the 3 and small lineups are here to stay.
The Warriors and Thunder gave NBA fans one of the better playoff series in a couple of years. The results may be felt for a very long time not just in Golden State and Oklahoma City but across the league. The Finals could have similar consequences, but as long as it is just as much fun as the Western Conference finals were, I don't think anyone will complain.
For all things NBA, please follow John on Twitter at @Schmeelk
