I was down on the NBA this past season because we all knew it would be the Warriors and Rockets in the Western Conference Finals. Most of us were pretty confident we'd see LeBron James in the Finals again, too.
But this offseason, with LeBron and Paul George initially on the market, I tried to regain my optimism. Both players had the opportunity to swing power in either conference. Instead, "PG" took the boring way out, and LeBron -- despite making an interesting decision -- failed to select a team that would ultimately challenge the star-studded Warriors.
Well, that disparity grew even larger last night, when DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins inked a discount, one-year deal with the Warriors, aka The Monstars from Space Jam.
I mean, in all honesty, there isn't really much to say here. The Warriors were already heading into the 2018-19 campaign as the best and most dominant team in the NBA, and now they add a top-20 player (if mostly healthy).
Golden State was already a nightmare to guard, and now it has a dominant paint presence who has seen double-teams throughout most of his professional career. This goes without saying but...you can't really double when you have to worry about Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Even worse, the Warriors are now injury-proof. They can legitimately withstand a serious injury to an all-star, while still being considered the odds-on favorite to win it all.
To further intensify the basketball depression of every non-Warriors fan, the Rockets aren't improving the way they need to. Trevor Ariza chased the money to Phoenix, and Clint Capela seems to like being courted by other teams.
Of course, the knockout blow was LeBron becoming "LABron." I almost feel like Houston was never a serious consideration for him. Was it the city of Houston? Did he not want to share ballhandling duties with James Harden and Chris Paul? Or...does he personally dislike those guys? I wouldn't call "The Beard" or "CP3" popular personalities within the league.
As it stands right this very second, you could make the argument that the Celtics have become the No. 1 contender to the Warriors. Gordon Hayward returns this season, Kyrie Irving hasn't been traded and Al Horford, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are wonderful players.
Above all else, LeBron has left the East. The door is wide open. The Celtics will cakewalk to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they will likely see the Raptors. Boston will have a less stressful postseason run than the Rockets, Lakers or Thunder in the disproportionately-talented West. Those teams will beat each other up -- not to mention the Spurs, Pelicans, Timberwolves, Nuggets, Jazz and Blazers -- while Brad Stevens' bunch coasts to the Finals.
But, who even cares? They ain't beatin' the Warriors.
These are depressing times in the NBA, and I'm not going to waste any more words on the topic.
No comments:
Post a Comment