A Golden Season That’s Not Done Yet

Andrew SlapTHE SANTA CLARAApril 14, 2016

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Warriors are winning the championship. Considering their historic season, it’s not the boldest prediction in the world. It’s just the simple truth.

Who’s going to beat them? The Spurs are 1-3 against Golden State; Oklahoma City is 0-4. Those are the only teams that have a glimmer of hope against the Warriors.

LeBron James is a shell of himself, and might not even lead the Cavs atop the Eastern Conference. And with no David Blatt, he’s running out of people to blame. The Clippers certainly don’t stand a chance. That would require CP3 getting past the second round of the playoffs. Impossible.

So the only “challenge” could come in the Conference Final, where the Warriors will most likely meet the Spurs.

But the Warriors beat the Spurs twice within the past week. On Sunday, Curry dropped 37, and Golden State held the Spurs, who were undefeated at home, to just 86 points. A few days before, they won by 11.

In virtually every aspect, Golden State is better than the Spurs. Gregg Popovich has finally met his match in Kerr, and the Warriors play even better team basketball than the Spurs. Golden State leads the league with 28.9 assists per game. The Spurs average 24.6.

And the Warriors should get even better in the playoffs. Most of the losses Golden State experienced can be attributed to overlooking its opponent. Now that’s not an excuse, but the Warriors won’t take any game for granted in the playoffs. And can you really blame them for overlooking the Lakers? Kobe can barely jump and Coach Byron Scott seems to have given up.

But in the playoffs, Kerr will certainly shorten his rotation, resulting in more minutes for Golden State’s stars. Kerr has done a masterful job conserving his players. Draymond Green played the most for the Warriors this year, and he ranked twenty-third in the league in minutes per game. The Warriors have already been through a championship run; they know what it takes. They’ll be more than ready to repeat.

Plus, Golden State can always resort to their small-ball lineup with Draymond at the center, which is basically unfair.

And if all else fails, Golden State can let Stephen Curry win a game by himself. Curry isn’t just the best player in the league, he’s on track to be the best player ever. That’s right, he’s going to be better than Michael Jordan. Curry’s more efficient than the ‘95-96 Jordan, and puts up almost identical stats despite playing fewer minutes. At equal playing time, Curry averages more points, assists and steals than Jordan.

It’s foolish to believe that any team besides the Warriors has a shot at the title. Yes, sports are unpredictable and anything can happen, but this is different. The Warriors are the most dominant team the NBA has ever seen, and it’s only a matter of time before they deliver another championship to the Bay. Get ready for the parade.

Andrew Slap is a junior communications major.