If you asked me eleven months ago if anyone could beat a seemingly unbeatable Golden State Warriors team who just added Demarcus Cousins to their roster, I would’ve definitely said no. Yet, here we are and what happened? Just that.
Throughout the season the Warriors seemed beatable but everyone said it was because they weren’t trying and didn’t really care about the regular season. Yeah they lost more than nine games and that seemed like a big deal, but then you realize they still were first in the West and only three games off of Milwaukee for having the best record in the league. If the Warriors “weren’t trying” and pulled that off I would be pretty worried as any other team in the NBA entering the playoffs.
They faced the Clippers in the first round and didn’t look like an unbeatable team but beat them in six games fairly handedly. They then faced James Harden’s Houston Rockets and beat them in six games and before you knew it they were in the Western Conference Finals. Then the Warriors swept a very talented Trailblazers team to stroll into the NBA Finals for the 5th consecutive time. Then they met injuries and the Toronto Raptors.
A Kawhi lead team, with an irritating smack talking rapper, and fans thirsty for a first NBA Championship. We later came to realize, that this was the perfect formula for beating the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The Raptors came through what is considered a weaker Eastern Conference starting with a stroll against the Magic winning in five games. They then needed some magic of their own and a lot of luck from their star to beat the 76ers in overtime, in game seven, at the buzzer. After that they faced the team with the best record in the NBA in Milwaukee. They went on to beat them in six games and moved on to their first NBA Finals appearance.
Then came the surprise. Even with some injuries the belief in the majority of NBA fans was that the Warriors would win yet another championship. Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors had other ideas. The injuries suffered by Kevin Durant and eventually Klay Thompson were too much for the Warriors to handle. The Raptors took full advantage of the Warriors’ weaknesses with the likes of Siakam, VanVleet, Ibaka, and Lowry all stepping up to help Kawhi and the Raptors win their first ever NBA Championship.
Now we know that the Golden State Warriors are a beatable team, especially with the possibility of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson missing a lot if not all of next season. This causes a new uncertainty around the league of who will challenge for and win the Championship next season. And uncertainty that will make for a very fun and exciting season.