The Golden State Warriors repeat NBA playoffs 2016
By Rock Collier, Staff Writer//
Supreme champion Michael Jordan once said, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” If any team hopes to be the one cutting down the nets in June, they would be wise to adopt this philosophy as their own.
It’s certainly the new normal that for each team to reach this point, they can rely solely on their talent. However, now that the playoffs have begun, each team must incorporate the basic fundamentals of basketball into their game plan if they have any inclination to be the last team standing.
Realistically, there are truly only three teams that could successfully adopt this model and have a chance at being crowned the NBA champion: the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs. According to ESPN’s NBA Basketball Power Index (BPI), the Warriors have a 44 percent chance to win the title, the Spurs have a 34.6 percent chance and the Cavaliers have a 9.3 percent chance.
There is a rather troubling implication for NBA fans here, since the data implies the finals will not showcase the two best teams in the league. Instead, the two Goliath’s of the regular season will meet in the Western Conference Finals when the Warriors spar with the Spurs for a much anticipated series. These two giants have a combined record of 140-24 and a combined winning percentage of 0.853 percent.
It’s historically unprecedented to have two teams in the same conference that both have had such dominant regular seasons. Using the eye test, you would likely come to a similar conclusion as you would with the data – the Spurs and Warriors are playing on a much higher level than the rest of the NBA. Therefore, given the empirical evidence, the best two teams in the NBA will most certainly meet in the Western Conference Finals.
A Spurs and Warriors series is inevitable and will likely be regarded by historians as the best series of the 21st century. Although these two points could be considered definite predictions, the prediction of the outcome is considered ambiguous since prominent NBA analysts appear divided on this point. During the regular season, the Spurs and Warriors met four times and the Warriors won the series 3-1.
However, two of three Warriors’ victories occurred in April after both had already clinched a spot, which leaves us only one rational way to attempt to make a prediction: basing the prediction on the teams themselves and not the individual matchups.
On paper and in reality, the Warriors and the Spurs are virtually even in almost every category except age. Therefore, the Warriors’ youthfulness will be the primary cause of their victory in seven games. Then, they will ride that victory into the finals defeating the Cavaliers with ease in five games.
If the Warriors are crowned the NBA Champions, the question then becomes where does this team compare among the greats. Capturing the best record in league history and winning the title gives the Warriors a pretty compelling case to be considered one of the best; or perhaps they’re just a one-hit wonder.