As predicted by SU last week, Golden State completed the comeback from being down 3 -1 and secured the Western Conference Championship. So, how did they do it?
- Klay Thompson dug deep and won game 6 for them and in the process, allowed Stephen Curry to get healthy and regain his shooting form. Curry took it from there in game 7.
- Billy Donovan went from a coaching genius up 3-1 to a rookie NBA coach who has more to learn. The truth, as per usual, lies somewhere in between.
- Russell Westbrook can’t help himself. His crazy athleticism is a curse. He is so good and so fast that he resorts to taking over the game down the stretch. At the end of game 6, SU heard a stat that in OKC’s last 15 possessions, there were 14 passes in total. The NBA has already launched an investigation to find out how ex-Knick coach Mike Woodson sneaked onto the OKC bench and was allowed to call offensive plays for the Thunder. Westbrook was criticized for turning it over 3 times late in game 6 but it did appear that on at least one of those instances he was trying to pass the ball.
- Durant is terrific but he logged a lot of minutes last night and seemed to tire late. You have to hand it to Steve Kerr for resting his stars and getting great production from some bench players in the 3rd and 4th quarters (and for not taking the Knicks’ job last year).
- Reggie Miller’s insights were interesting as he pointed out how the OKC players were yelling at each other when things started to head south in the 3rd quarter. Grace under pressure? Show some leadership.
SU believes Cleveland is a very tough match-up for Golden State. LeBron appears to be on a mission. SU predicts Cavs in 6. But this will be a great series.
SU was also correct about Matt Harvey – at least for one start. It looks like he made some mechanical adjustment and his velocity is back up in the high 90s. Of course, time will tell but Met fans must be breathing a little easier.
Speaking of breathing, the Yankees are giving new meaning to the term “lifeless.” Great stats: last night you had key players in the following slumps:
- Gardner: 0 for 19
- McCann: 1 for 19 with his homerun in the 9th inning
- A-Rod: 1 for 16 with a ton of strikeouts
- Castro: 2 for 25
- Hicks: 2 for 15
- Beltran: 4 for 21 (and supposedly carrying the team)
Afer 50 or so games, they have been limited to 2 runs or less 21 times already – worst in the majors. SU says they are officially unwatchable. They will win enough games with CC, Tanaka and Eovaldi plus the bullpen to hang around .500 but they are going nowhere and no-one is going to be watching. SU says time to clean house and go young. But I have been ignored before.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
I hope the Cavs win as well but Golden State is certainly a more balanced team offensively. Can Love run the floor and keep up with State’s explosiveness. Can the inconsistent JR Smith become more consistent? Lastly, besides Lebron can the Cavs keep their composure? It should be a great series. With a healthy Curry and Lebron on a mission the series will go 7….and the winner will come from the west.
No George, no Yankees fire. If George has any grandsons moving up the ladder maybe the fire will return. So far with the stadium creating very little noise and passion, the luxury seats half the time empty this century does not put the Yankees in the top 2 or 3 position.
Good point on whether Kevin Love can run the court. The Warriors will no doubt look to exploit that. Wonder if the Cavs dust off Mozgov for this series to match up with Bogut and their other big men? Pinch hitting for Gardner in the 9th inning with Refsnyder may be a sign that Girardi is finally willing to expose his non-producers and make them accountable for their poor performance. Cashman brought in Ackley (now out for the season) and Hicks (.190 average). He continues to also under-perform.
Back to old habits again for the OKC. Glad to see team ball pull one out again hero ball (although the Warriors did play a lot of hero ball in the 4th). Do you think Durant will stay with the Thunder?
Against the Cavs I think the Warriors have a chance as even the Raptors were able to win twice against them at home. I am not fully convinced their team can keep the concentration and consistency up for a whole series. I am predicting Warriors in 7.
Jack, from what I have been hearing from the so-called experts, the feeling is Durant signs a 1-year deal with a player option for a 2nd year and then sees where he is after the 1st year. That basically means they need to win this coming year. He should stay. That is a great roster and they are really close. He can always take the money and go to LA or even Miami but as we know, the grass is not always greener.
Agreed on most of your insights, Dad. I thought GS just shot the lights out in the second half, and that is what they tend to do at home. OKC had to win Game 6 as you can’t rely on the Warriors having an off night in a stadium they have been dominant in all season. The Thunder had 4th Quarter problems all season long as they blew many leads late in games, and this problem came back to bite them at the most inopportune time. Have to hope Kevin Durant stays in OKC as this could develop into a real rivalry for years to come.
With that being said, I thought OKC lost this game more than GS won it. How many easy shots did they miss? Sure, that guy Roberson played good defense and had his moments, but he must have missed 5-6 close to the rim shots along with 3-4 wide open 3s. Westbrook also missed 3-4 layups, as did Kanter and Adams. They did not extend the lead by enough while GS was playing badly, and it cost them in the end.
I think I find myself rooting for Cleveland in the NBA Finals. The more I watched the Warriors play, the more I really started to dislike them. For starters, Draymond Green is very annoying – he did not play well all series but will taunt the other team (deserving of a technical foul) after making one good play. He also averages about one dirty play per game. Perhaps I am in the minority, but I find myself to be a Warriors hater.
How many days until Michigan football?
Well, Ben, we know that Draymond Green has Michigan State roots so that explains a lot of it. He plays with passion but I agree, his taunts push the limits and it’s surprising that the refs don’t shut him down with a technical here and there. I don’t like him either. Curry and Thompson play with passion as well but represent the team with class. I think if Green pulls that stuff with Cleveland, Lue will send out Danthay Jones just like in a hockey game to be the goon and return the favor. That would be justice. I also agree that the Thunder had their chances in the 1st half and the 3rd quarter. They were getting wide open looks. Adams needs to learn to gather himself more quickly to go right up against under-sized opponents. I enjoy the Warriors style of play – they are fun to watch and I like that Kerr plays so many guys every game.
OKC needs to play Mitch McGary next season or trade him to the Knicks.
Is anyone else sick of Stephie shaking his head like a sideways bobble head every single time he is called for a foul. Does he think he has never committed a foul?
Ha ha, Dave. Well, that does put him in the LeBron category right? Actually, I am more bothered by the mouth piece always coming out. Between Westbrook, Curry and LeBron, a lot of gestures on the foul calls.
Went with my family to watch NYCFC at Yankee Stadium this weekend. The final score was 2-2 which saved the hometeam scoreboard operator from digging up the numeral 3 which hasn’t been seen in weeks. I’ll also share that as bad as Yankee Stadium is for watching baseball, it’s worse for soccer. The shape of the field relative to the stands is an obvious problem that is made worse by relatively gentle slope to the seating. Fan excitement (as with baseball) is muffled, which is a shame because the good people in the left field bleachers do their best to keep up the intensity for a full 90 minutes. There is absolutely no comparison to Red Bulls Arena that is an fantastic place to watch soccer. I’m not sure it would be an exaggeration to say that the worst seat in Red Bulls Arena offers a better experience than the best seat at an NYCFC game. Still, there were over 25,000 at the game in the Bronx. The people behind NYCFC have done a pretty amazing job building interest in the team over a short period of time. Give them a better stadium and a slightly better product on the field and interest will be through the roof.
I had heard that they were looking to build a new stadium in Flushing Meadow Park near the USTA National Tennis Center but the residents don’t want to give up any more of the park lands. Soccer would do very well in Queens in that area – lots of interest. MLS knows that you need to have built for soccer stadiums for the game to take hold and they have done a great job nationally in that regard. NYC FC will get theirs soon enough. I agree with you about Yankee Stadium. Nice to have the walking space and the extra leg room vs the old stadium. At my age, I will take that over the noise effects. But you are exactly right: the stadium has no feel and given this year’s team, I am sure the vibe is terrible.