I know it’s happened and this is probably the least interesting post ever but when I reflect on recent NBA history, it is still shocking to me what happened that year. I never thought it would be remotely possible. It was just a record that could never be touched.
And yet it really happened. I don’t think it gets enough credit because of the “it don’t mean a thing without the ring” piece but as time passes, I gotta say it’s just a standalone incredible achievement.
The fact that the last 30 games of the season they were the target for every team, no one wanted to see them do it, and they still did it. It’s incredibly impressive.
It was amazing because they won so many close games to get there. A few of them seemed impossible and they still got the W. It made their every game a big event.
It’s almost sad to me that sometimes you get these teams that it seems like nothing can stop them, but one playoff loss turns it into actually a bad memory in NBA culture. 2007 Mavs had a similar vibe. 2002 Kings felt close to that. Beside 2000 Lakers and 2013 Heat, those were maybe the most “they will will it to win… it just feels nothing can stop them” seasons I can remember.
The team was also so deep that year. One of the things most people don’t talk about is how much of that depth they had to sacrifice to sign KD in the offseason afterwards.
I wouldn’t say they were deeper than many other good teams at all. They were such a big minus without Curry and Draymond on court, and only average with Curry but no Draymond. We’ve seen teams winning much more points with their depth. NBA stats say their bench net rating was just +2 per 100. And that’s not really due to very deep depth, mostly due to Iguodala being bench technically and Iguodala+starters lineups being absolutely historically phenomenally strong.
Draymond’s 3 has been good this year in limited games, do you think he can average 36% or more for the season?