The Golden State Warriors won their third championship in four years to cement their legacy as a dynasty. Led by Stephen Curry's 37 and Finals MVP Kevin Durant's triple double, the game's outcome wasn't in much doubt from the outset.
The core of the team over the past four seasons has been Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green with Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston acting as key role players. Reserve Kevon Looney joined three years ago. When Kevin Durant arrived before last season, the Warriors solidified their position as perennial favorites. David West, JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia, and Patrick McCaw arrived with Durant and contributed differing levels of help. This year, Quinn Cook filled in admirably for an injured Stephen Curry towards the end of the regular season and Jordan Bell and Nick Young also provided some key minutes. And thus, the 2018 Golden State Warriors were formed.
Cleveland never really had a chance. The Cavs were fortunate even to make the Finals for the fourth time. Without LeBron James, who is a free agent, Cleveland is a lottery team. The trades int he middle of the season were ill-advised. Gone was all star Isaiah Thomas. Key glue player Jae Crowder was also shipped away. Some solid talent in George Hill, Larry Nance, Rodney Hood, and Jordan Clarkson were acquired, but it left the Cavs with a plethora of serviceable players, but fewer standouts.
The new talent could've been molded into a winner, but head coach Ty Lue was too late in making adjustments. Hood sat on the bench for much of the playoffs and it was too little too late by the time he got in during the Finals. He managed to score 15 in Game 3, but his shot was inconsistent from sitting on the bench so much and he struggled to score 10 in Game 4. A nearly 17 ppg scorer in Utah this season, Hood sat much of Game 7 in the first round against Indiana even though he had been score efficiently during the series.
Neither Nance, nor Tristan Thompson played enough in the Finals. Too often Lue was trying to matchup his inferior players to Golden State, instead of forcing Steve Kerr to make any hard decisions. After burning up during most of the playoffs, Kyle Korver struggled in the final six games. But his presence on the floor creating openings down low. Instead of giving Korver confidence, Lue stripped him of minutes. Jeff Green defended his friend Kevin Durant well in the Game 1, but then his minutes were cut too.
Instead, J.R. Smith and George Hill, the two goats from Game 1, were trotted out on the floor like some Russian soldiers without weapons during World War I. Hill had one decent game in Game 2, but otherwise contributed virtually nothing despite playing nearly 30 minutes a game. Hill had a couple of good games during the playoffs while playing over 30 minutes, but most effective as a bench scorer in the Indiana series. Smith played terrible all series long and should've been pulled as soon as Lue realized he wasn't going to recover from his Game 1 blunder. The realization came to everyone else after Game 2's first quarter. Smith played 32 minutes a game in the Finals and scored 9 and half points per game on 31.7% shooting from the field. He made up for it by playing poor defense.
For Golden State to keep the dynasty going, the big question is Kevin Durant's impending free agency. Having won two Finals MVPs during his time in Oakland, perhaps he wants to establish his legacy further by taking a less talented team to the promised land. The original core should be back for another season, which makes the Warriors a contender regardless of Durant's decision.
Golden State's 108-85 victory ended the first sweep in the Finals since 2007 when the Spurs won four straight against an under-talented Cavs team led by LeBron and only the second time since the Lakers swept the Nets in '02.
