Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
In a way, last year's Finals never really ended. The Cavs came back from a 3-1 deficit to shock the Warriors and steal the title, while Kevin Durant, probably equally surprised, sat back and watched. The Cavs and Warriors are the two teams that don't seem to get off the court even though the park is packed, and no one really complains because their team would just get killed by either team anyways. Kevin Durant is the guy who called next and had a solid team that could compete ready, but then the expected winner lost. So Kevin Durant did what any one who wants to stay on the court would do; he dropped the losing team's saddest player, Harrison Barnes, and added himself to the already loaded team. Now the Cavs and Warriors are set up for their third straight matchup, and the Warriors have to prove that their c̶o̶p̶ offseason moves were worth it. Just as the pressure of being the favorites is on the Warriors, the pressure to win this year's Finals weighs heavy on the team's core.
Steph Curry
EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES
The mouthpiece throw. Ayesha's tweets. The behind-the-back turnover. Kyrie's shot.
Rough would be an understatement of a description for Steph's performance in last year's Finals. The consensus reason seems to be that he was hurt. Was he really hurt or does the world just not want Steph exposed? We'll never know for sure, but how he performs this year will definitely sway that opinion. Life's been rough for Steph since about this time last year. Scratch that, he's married to Ayesha. Steph Curry's basketball life has been rough since about this time last year. His shoes became a meme and stopped selling, he fell out of the NBA's top-5, and lost his alpha role to Kevin Durant. A Final's filled with peak Steph could change all those negatives. Yes, even his shoes will sell again.
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)
June 19th, 2017 at approximately 10:30 Eastern time, the world lost a legend in Stephen A. Smith. The Warriors lost an epic game 7 to the Cavs, and Stephen A had a message for Kevin Durant. It was a truly legendary rant, from cupcake name calling to Kevin Durant losing his superstar tag, but sadly Stephen A's heart just couldn't keep up. Rest in peace Stephen A.
A bit dramatic, but that's about what I imagine if Kevin Durant and the Warriors don't win the championship. Durant can say he left OKC for the Silicon Valley lifestyle and life after basketball, but everyone knows chasing rings is the main priority. Durant admitted it when he said he "damn sure wasn't going there(Golden State) if they won". Kevin Durant feels he's what the Warriors need to get over the mountain that is LeBron and the Cavs, but the rest of the world sees Durant as riding the Warriors back over the mountain. Win or lose, Durant is going to get criticized, but those criticisms would be way easier to ignore with a ring.
In honor of the next player, keep your mouth open the rest of the reading.
(USATSI)
What does Draymond Green possibly have to prove? Great question, let me tell you.
As every basketball fan or anyone with a social media knows, the Warriors had a 3-1 lead last finals. Social media would have you believe the Cavs flipped a magic talent switch and came back to steal the title. That didn't happen. What's constantly left out is that Draymond was very questionably suspended for Game 5, and that's when the series switched.