Are the Golden State Warriors the Greatest Dynasty Ever?

April 24, 2019

The Golden State Warriors are cruising along in the NBA Playoffs yet again.  The team is on pace to make its 4th consecutive Finals, and have won 3 of those (and two in a row).  Are they team to beat again?

[Update:  'The Greatest Dynasty Ever' lost to the Toronto Raptors, in the NBA Finals, 4 games to 2, so my declaration just took a major hit!  Oh well.  Enjoy the article, nevertheless.  - Hof7G].
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Will Steph Curry, the greatest shooter of the modern era, along with Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant win their 3rd title in a row?  Even though Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls won three consecutive titles twice (6 overall), I think these Warriors are the greatest dynasty in the NBA's history.  What is the reason for this opinion?  The team has basically assembled one of the most amazing arrays of talent in the modern era (1980 - Present). The Showtime Lakers, the Jordan Bulls, the Kobe/ Shaq Lakers and the quiet era of the San Antonio Spurs were all fabulous teams, but none have the talent level of the current Warriors.  Magic Johnson's Laker teams had great talent, but they had to work hard for every title. Additionally, the basketball talent in the '80s was fairly distributed amongst good teams (Mark Aquirre in Dallas, Doctor J in Philadelphia, Isiah Thomas in Detroit, Eric Sleepy Floyd in Golden State, Ralph Sampson in Houston and Larry Bird, Dennis Johnson and Kevin McHale with the Celtics, etc.).  The '80s Lakers won 5 titles, played in 8, the Celtics won 3 and played in 4, and the Detroit Piston won back to back titles in '89 and '90 to close out the glorious decade.  

The 1990s belonged to Michael Jordan, and there was no one close, even though the Houston Rockets and their fans could fervently protest, with their two titles.  The Chicago Bulls of that decade were superb, but that was due to Jordan standing out on a team with Scotty Pippen, Bill Cartwright, Steve Kerr and Tony Kukoc playing strong roles on the team as well.  The 21st Century saw the Lakers return to the pinnacle of the sport with their 5 titles, while the San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics, and LeBron James's Cavaliers providing noble champions too.

However, this incarnation of the Warriors has so much generational talent, I feel they play the regular season on cruise control, putting out a minimal effort because most of their games are never in doubt.  The analysts on ESPN and TNT make a fuss when the team loses a game by a significant amount, or they lose a few games in a given two-week span.  I think they just do not have the attention span to care about most of their games, due to the obscene level of play by Steph Curry, Durant, Thompson, and Green when they are on the floor together. Not to mention that the very long season requires resiliency. The Warriors have it. The team does what it needs to do to secure a high seed in the playoffs and then takes care of business against the teams in the Western Conference and the sacrificial lamb that is provided by Eastern Conference.  Their only blemish during their current reign was losing a Finals series when they were up 3 games to 1 and saw Lebron James use his power to will the Cavaliers to their lone title in 2017.  This year's team so far has defeated the Los Angeles Clippers this week, 4 games to 2. The last time they lost two games in a series was in the 2016 Finals, which Lebron and the Cavaliers won. It sets up a mouth-watering second-round series against the Houston Rockets.  The Warriors should win this series as well, but James Harden and Chris Paul should play well.  The conference finals should see the Warriors play the strong Denver Nuggets or the Portland Trail Blazers (although I think the Blazers are the hotter team) but Denver won a "death match" series, 4-3, over the resurgent Spurs Saturday night. They have the momentum to have an advantage against the Blazers and their red hot duo of Damian Lillard and Enes Cantor. This series against the Blazers should give the Warriors a good test, but I think the weapons Golden State has will provide the necessary ability to close this series out.

I think the Celtics will overcome the Milwaukee Bucks (over 7 games) in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.  While my heart would love to see the Bucks make it past the Celtics, I believe the Celtics are better equipped to make the conference finals. I am confident the Celtics will also beat a tough Toronto Raptors team.  This Raptors team is different from years past, and they are good enough to make the Finals, but again the superb coaching and Celtics players will put them through.

The last two will be the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics. This NBA Finals will be the series which determines the Golden State Warriors' destiny.  If they can dispatch a well-led, talented and mature Celtics team, then the Warriors can rightly claim the title of the NBA's greatest team.  This is the last stand of the current lineup for Golden State since there are strong rumors that Kevin Durant will leave and head to New York and play for the Knicks.  With the amount of talent the Warriors have, their record of 4 titles in 5 years, plus having the league's best win-loss record a few years ago, Golden State can lay claim to the NBA's best team, all-time.  It will be bittersweet since this year could also be the last time we see the Warriors in their current line-up before major stars depart for greater pastures.  Enjoy watching this great team while everyone can.

Tiger Roars Again at the 2019 Masters

April 14, 2019

(Updated from a previous blog post on 8/16/18)

The conclusion of the latest edition of the 2019 Masters golf tournament saw a very familiar and popular face, Tiger Woods, win the tournament.  I recently wrote about Tiger's very good year in 2018 and thought he may able to gain some success before he fades into the Twilight.  Did his destiny change after Sunday?

Tiger's recent win at the 2019 Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia showed the familiar signs of the previous early century reign of Mr. Woods: lurking close to the top of the leader board, his peers lacking the mental toughness to close out simple putts, hearing the massive roars of the gallery to let them know golf's last remaining titan was closing in on them. Tiger also gave every indication that his hallmarks of success included a laser-like focus on the job at hand, slowly closing in on his competitors, an ability to make putts and protect his long game effortlessly.  When I paid close attention to the sports pages and the news on Sunday, I saw familiar things like the collapse of his opponents, and the general fear when those who have a chance to close out a major tournament with Tiger in contention, cannot, and succumb to the Tiger Woods aura.  In the end, everyone knows who is going to win.  That is part of the Woods Legend. His record when he is tied for the lead, or leading in any major tournament is a mind-blowing 14-1.  How many golfers are that automatic when leading or have a share of the lead?   Simply put, Tiger Woods is the greatest closer in the world in golf and no one will touch that record for some time. Perhaps ever. There may be another shooting star that captures the public's mind, but I doubt he will ever be this good on the last day of a major tournament.