Warriors Still Golden

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Golden State Warriors took the rubber match of their three-year NBA Finals trilogy over the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night in Oakland, California.  The final was 129-120, clinching the Warriors' championship in five games.  Stephen Curry scored 34 points while teammate Kevin Durant contributed with 39 of his own, and was named the playoffs' most valuable player.

Like any movie superhero sequel, the Warriors-Cavs series was a big disappointment to those who had expected more from it.  Golden State's roster of superstars rolled over LeBron James and his hand-picked crew in the first three games.  The Cavs did win Game 4, but by then it was too little and too late.

The Warriors blew past everybody during the regular season in winning the top Western Conference seed with a 67-15 mark.  They then swept past the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs (in that order) in the playoffs.  The Cavs ranked second in the Eastern Conference with a 51-31 record, then made their own sweep through the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics to get to the finals.

The anticipation for a third straight Warriors-Cavs NBA Final was so strong that it rendered the rest of the playoffs as irrelevant.  Never have there been so many blowouts and one-sided games.  Even Charles Barkley of TNT declared the games to be unwatchable, switching over to the decidedly more interesting NHL Stanley Cup playoffs.

Because the Warriors and Cavaliers (and the Spurs, to a lesser extent) were so dominant this past season, there is much concern in NBA circles about certain teams in certain markets stockpiling so many talented players on its roster that it's becoming harder for anyone else to compete.  This is why Durant decided to ditch the Oklahoma City Thunder for Golden State last year as a free agent, because he knew he could get a championship ring there.  And he did.  LeBron James has dismissed the notion of so-called "superteams" and claims he doesn't play for one.  If that's true, then what are Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving doing with the Cavs?  And what about Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who took their talents along with James to the Miami Heat and won a couple of titles?

The Warriors and Cavaliers are already projected to be NBA finalists for the fourth time next season by some forward-thinking pundits and Vegas oddsmakers.  But sooner or later all those sequels, whether it's movies or basketball, become more about the box office than what you see on the big screen.  People get sick of them and want to move on.  As long as the NBA championship bounces between the Bay Area and Lake Erie with little else to challenge them, this is the way it's going to be for awhile.

The Cup Stays In Pittsburgh

The Stanley Cup. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Pittsburgh Penguins, battered and bruised for most of the season with its star Sidney Crosby sidelined at times with concussion issues, stayed healthy long enough to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup (and fifth in franchise history) Sunday night in six games over the Nashville Predators.  That hasn't happened in nearly two decades, when the Detroit Red Wings were NHL champions back-to-back in 1997 and '98.

In a series that had seen the home team win every game--a fact made obvious by the presence of the underdog Predators and their raucous fans--Game 6 was different in that it was a tightly contested, scoreless game until late in the third period when the Penguins scored twice to retain the Cup.  Of course, the Predators might have had something to say about that if the goal they thought they scored hadn't been whistled down by the referees--and couldn't be reviewed on replay.

Crosby, who has won just about everything in his hockey career including two Olympic gold medals for Canada and now his third Stanley Cup for the Penguins, also adds the Conn Smythe trophy for being the playoff MVP.  It is his second.

The Penguins, with Crosby, Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin, goaltender Marc-Anthony Fleury and others defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals and Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference to get here.

The revelation of these playoffs have been the Predators, who were one of the last teams to make the playoff field in the Western Conference.  They surprised everyone by sweeping through the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks before taking the Penguins to six games in the finals through the play of P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, captain Mike Fisher, goaltender Pekka Rinne and others. 

The city of Nashville, much better known as the capitol of country music, has suddenly become hockey territory through its support of the Predators during the playoffs.  Bridgestone Arena has been sold out, national TV ratings have been better than expected, and country music stars such as Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood (Fisher's wife) have performed the national anthem.  And, oh yes, the ceremonial flinging of catfish onto the ice.  Animal rights groups hate this new tradition.  So do those who think this is a waste of food.

The Penguins proved that not having a completely healthy roster is no deterrent to winning another championship.  Can they make it three in a row?  Is this the start of something big for the Predators, or are they just a one-season wonder?  These questions and others will be answered next season.  For now, the Stanley Cup stays in Pittsburgh.