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Has the Golden Era ended for the Warriors?
The Golden State Warriors with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have never missed the playoffs when all of them were healthy together. There have been some years when at least one of the big three has missed a season and they didn’t make the postseason. With all of them on the court, they rarely lose. With all the turmoil this season with Draymond, Klay’s streaky stretches, Steph has had a heavier burden to bear trying to wield his team to the playoffs. Unfortunately, they were only good for the 10th seed and ended up losing to the Sacramento Kings in the Play-In Tournament. Is it time to break up the big three?
No I don’t think so, but I do think a realignment would work for them. Klay was thriving off the bench as a sixth man but was reinserted back in the starting lineup. He finished the season shooting 0-10 from the field. Draymond has had his issues and can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Plus, his impact on the game is not the same as it used to be. I’m big on players staying with one team for their whole career (maybe I’m a little old fashioned), especially players who have built such a great legacy with that team. Ride it out until it’s time to hang it up. Think about Kobe, Dirk, Duncan. Klay and Draymond can still impact the game as players who come off the bench next season. They’re older, have a lot of mileage on their bodies, it would be best to take a lesser role for the benefit of the team.
Are the Oklahoma City Thunder the weakest first seed in recent years?:
The Thunder have been amazing this season. Shannon Sharpe believes that this Thunder team is the worst first seed we have seen over recent years. I don’t think they are, but I think their youth will be their downfall. Young teams can get a lot of wins in the regular season due to them catching the older teams off guard. When playoff time comes around, the youth will show. The inexperience, the lack of discipline, not being able to close out PLAYOFF games. Closing out games in the playoffs and ultimately, an entire series is hard, especially for teams who've never experienced playoff basketball yet. This team is very young. Shai has only been in two playoff series, Lu Dort has only been in one. Experience matters. You have to fail before you succeed in this sport. I will give OKC possibly getting to the second round, but I think that’s the furthest they will go.
The Lakers vs Nuggets Rematch
The Lakers beat the Pelicans to advance to the seventh seed. Their consolation prize? A rematch with the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets. Darvin Ham said LA aren’t ducking any smoke, but the Nuggets are definitely about that action. Denver has looked like a well oiled machine all season long, and I don’t see them losing until possibly the conference finals. It’s going to take a lot to contain the beast that is Nikola Jokić. Anthony Davis and LeBron James have been playing fantastically, as well as D’Angelo Russell fitting in as the perfect third piece for this squad. The Lakers were able to make it to the conference finals last season, but I’m not sure if they will make it that far now.
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