10 things to remember about the 2017 Finals
With a full day behind us to digest the conclusion of one of the most star-studded Finals in NBA history, here are 10 things to remember about the latest Warriors-Cavs masterpiece.
Parity is overrated (for now)
After a brutal stretch of blowouts throughout the second and third rounds of the playoffs, hoops heads were treated to some of the most picturesque, entertaining basketball in recent memory during The Finals - a reminder that Warriors-Cavs is well worth the wait of a predictable postseason.
The third straight meeting between Golden State and Cleveland delivered the best television ratings of the post-Jordan era, and when the 2017-18 campaign tips off four months from now, the nightly entertainment delivered by the deepest ever pool of superstars will again stymie the hand-wringing over the Warriors' (and Cavs') dominance, just as it did for the majority of this season.
That said, while the NBA has rarely ever had true parity (the impact of basketball's best players compared to stars in other sports makes it impossible), there's a big difference between having only a few legitimate title contenders and potentially having just one.
Assuming Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry re-sign in a few weeks, and barring a superstar joining the Cavs for the minimum, the only way to beat the Warriors in the next two to three years (when Klay Thompson's and Draymond Green's contracts eventually expire) is if they run into injury problems.
If the Warriors dominate as they should when healthy, it's fair to wonder whether apathy - the most dangerous emotion in sports - will eventually set in, especially for casual fans.
Durant left no room for haters
Durant took a lot of unwarranted flak for joining a 73-win juggernaut, but make no mistake, the Warriors needed every ounce of KD's brilliance over the last couple weeks, despite the lopsided, final 4-1 tally.
After dropping 71 points on 56 percent shooting through the series' first two games, Durant drilled one of the coldest daggers of the year to steal Game 3 in Cleveland - the series-defining swing game - then capped off his Finals masterpiece with 39 points on 23 shooting possessions to put the defending champs away in Game 5, his plethora of clutch buckets keeping the Cavs at bay every time Cleveland mounted a rally.
Critics thought Durant was taking the easy way out by leaving Oklahoma City for The Bay, but in the end, it was his absurdly efficient scoring that ensured LeBron James' brilliance wouldn't be enough for another monumental upset. When you go toe to toe with King James on one of the grandest Finals stages of all time, and emerge victorious, you leave no room for haters.
LeBron added to his legacy despite the L
If James' two Finals losses (or at least his first) with the Miami Heat dented his otherwise sparkling legacy, his last two Finals losses as a member of the Cavs - both to the Warriors - have only added to it.
James didn't quite need to carry the load the way he did without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in 2015, but he still managed to write another chapter in Finals lore, becoming the first player ever to average a triple-double in the championship series.
Related: LeBron, Cavs recount his Game 4 self alley-oop
The argument can be made, as it almost always can in a game, series, or season involving James, that by definition, he was the most valuable player on the court, as the Cavs managed to play the vastly superior Warriors to a near dead heat with James in the game - losing by a total of seven points in 212 minutes with him on the floor - but were outscored by 27 points in only 28 minutes without him.
Fourteen years into his career, with over 50,000 minutes under his belt, the man averaged 33.6 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 1.4 steals, and a block on an effective field-goal percentage of 61.5 in five games against perhaps the most talented NBA team ever assembled. There's nothing left to say to James' doubters - you either accept he's at least in the discussion for GOAT, or you're wrong.
The Splash Brothers did more than just splash
In the shadow of James and Durant, Curry's statline was prolific in its own right, but he and Thompson's 2017 Finals performances were about a lot more than shooting.
Thompson might have been the best defensive player in the series, guarding the sorcerous Irving as admirably as one can on the perimeter, while holding his own when switched onto James in the post. Curry, meanwhile, the smallest starter in the series, trailed only Tristan Thompson and Love in offensive rebounding.
Draymond forever embraces the villain role
Many of the Warriors' stars don't necessarily look comfortable in the villain's role, and Warriors general manager Bob Myers reminded the media after Game 5 that it's just not who Curry and Durant are. Draymond Green, on the other hand, seems to welcome the designation with open arms.
The NBA has become the social-friendly entity it is in large part because its stars are bursting with more personality than any other league's, and it would be a lot less fun without Draymond being Draymond.
Iggy's value may still be underrated
On/off numbers never tell the whole story, and in Andre Iguodala's case, his presence on the court often means the Warriors are running one of their optimal, smaller lineups, but it's still tough to ignore the 2015 Finals MVP finished with the best individual net rating on the winning team.
Peak Kyrie is unguardable
There are plenty of NBA superstars you can say the same about when they're rolling, and Irving had his share of forgettable moments in Games 1, 2, and 5 (and in fourth quarters, in general), but his two-game explosion in Games 3 and 4 - in which he combined for 78 points on 55 percent shooting - was a dizzying reminder of how unguardable Irving can be.
No ball-handler finds slivers of seemingly invisible space quite like Irving does on a regular basis, and no guard finishes more spectacularly at the rim through seemingly impossible odds, either.
J.R. reminded us shooters shoot
After an uncharacteristic start to the series in Games 1 and 2, when he attempted just six field goals in 42 minutes, the real J.R. Smith returned to grace us with his unmistakable presence in the series' final three games.
Smith averaged 22 points on better than 61 percent shooting from the field and just under 63 percent shooting from deep in Games 3-5, hoisted a plethora of (answered) prayers in the process, claimed he was hacked by a hacker he completely agreed with when an instantly viral tweet was sent from his account during a period when players weren't supposed to be tweeting, and ended the series by staring down soon-to-be celebrating courtside Warriors fans when his 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining cut Golden State's lead to nine.
Why? Because J.R. Smith is a shooter at his core. And by God, shooters shoot.
Deron Williams (and Kyle Korver) went ice cold
David Griffin's done a tremendous job surrounding Cleveland's Big Three with supplementary talent despite few means to do so, but his midseason additions of Kyle Korver and Deron Williams, which were supposed to help the Cavs hang with the Warriors, left much to be desired in June.
Williams, especially, was a disaster in The Finals, scoring five points on 2-of-16 shooting through five games.
Kevin Love is still the easy scapegoat
You'd think playing a key role in ending Cleveland's title drought would've given Love some rope in The Land, but a year later, an underwhelming Finals performance once again has Cavs fans and pundits, alike, shipping Love out of town in hypothetical trade scenarios.
Look, Love wasn't at his best against the Warriors, but he was quietly effective defensively through most of the first three games (though he was targeted, and eventually brutalized, in pick-and-rolls later in the series), collected 21 rebounds to overcome a poor shooting night in Game 1, and finished the series with averages of 16 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals while knocking down 38.7 percent of his six-plus 3-point attempts per game.
Is there a realistic Love trade to be made that actually inches the Cavs closer to the Warriors, or is the four-time All-Star just an easy target?
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)