J-Speaks: Two-Time Defending Champion Warriors Back in the Finals

There is nothing more valuable to a professional sports team than experience, especially championship experience. It allows you to overcome things from injuries or playing against a very solid opponent that has on the surface no fear of you. The back-to-back defending champion Golden State Warriors have that championship level of experience and they used that and the high-level play from two of their four perennial All-Stars to get them past a Conference rival to be with four wins of winning their fourth Larry O’Brien trophy. 

Behind historic performances by two-time Kia MVP Stephen Curry and 2017 Kia Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green, the two-time defending champion Warriors got past the Portland Trail Blazers 119-117 in overtime of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday night on ESPN, to close out the series in a four-game sweep on their opponent’s home floor of the Moda Center in Portland, OR to earn their fifth consecutive trip back to The NBA Finals, where they stand just four wins away from their third straight title, and fourth in the last five seasons. 

They will play the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the No. 1 Seeded Milwaukee Bucks and No. 2 Seeded Toronto Raptors, who have a chance to punch their ticket to The Finals with a victory in Game 6 on TNT on Saturday night in Toronto, Ontario. 

Curry had a game-high of 37 points, going 11 for 25 from the field, including 7 for 16 from three-point range with 11 assists, 13 rebounds and just two turnovers in 47 minutes. 

While Curry earned his career postseason triple-double, his first of the 2019 NBA Playoffs, Green, who had 18 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists with three steals and two block shots earned his second straight triple-double, third of this postseason and 30 of his career-counting the regular-season and postseason. 

This also marked the first time in NBA postseason history that teammates registered a triple-double in the same game. 

The other half of the “Splash Brothers” in perennial All-Star Klay Thompson had 17 points, but shot just 7 for 21 from the field, including 3 for 10 from three-point range. 

While Thompson did not have his best series scoring and shooting wise, hitting just 42 percent overall from the floor, he and the team slowed down the Trail Blazers prolific backcourt of All-Star Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, holding them to averages of 22.3 and 22.0 points respectably, on 36.1 and 39.1 percent from the field.  

The Warriors in this game more than any other during this championship run lived up to their playoff moto “Strength in Numbers” as reserve big man Kevon Looney had a double-double off the bench with 12 points and 14 rebounds and rookie forward Alfonzo McKinnie had 12 points in his first career playoff start. 

The play of Looney and McKinnie more than made up for the absences of perennial All-Stars DeMarcus Cousins, who has been out with a left quadriceps injury sustained Game 2 of the First-Round against the Clippers; Kevin Durant, who has been out since straining his right calf in Game 5 of the Semifinals against the Houston Rockets and 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, who injured his left calf in the 110-99 win in Game 3 last Saturday night. 

“I mean we’ve been here before. We’ve seen everything,” Curry who played all 29 minutes in the second half said to ESPN’s Doris Burke after the game about knowing how to close out an opponent with the opportunity to do so. “Every experience you could imagine. So, we relied on that…three starters down. Everybody stepped up. Played amazing minutes, and we fought to the end.” 

Curry added to Burke, “Yeah we could’ve said, ‘Game 5 was our game,’ but we saw how long that break was going to be so we wanted to take advantage of it.” 

One of the reasons why the head coach Steve Kerr’s squad is back in The Finals and the Trail Blazers are on summer vacation is that in the last three games of the series the Warriors were able overcome double-digit deficits of 17, 18, and 17 and prevail at the end. 

They also managed to get off to strong starts in third quarters as the Warriors outscored the Trail Blazers 91-63 entering Game 4; outshot them 53 percent to 39 percent and 48 percent to 38 percent from three-point range and had an assists-to-turnover ratio of 24-11 to 12-14. 

In Game 2 the Warriors overcame a 65-50 halftime deficit by outscored the Trail Blazers 39-24 in the third quarter and held on to win 114-111 on May 16, thanks to Igoudala blocking Lillard’s tying three-point attempts in the closing seconds. 

The Warriors put themselves in that position to need one stop to claim victory in Game 2 because in the last 4:20 of the game they outscored the Trail Blazers 14-3, going 5 for 8 shooting and holding them to 1 for 9 from the field, including a combined 0 for 7 from Lillard and McCollum.  

The Warriors overcame a 66-53 halftime deficit by outscoring the Trail Blazers 29-13 in the third quarter as they held the home team to 1 for 8 shooting from three-point range in the period and went on to win 110-99 on May 18 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. 

The Trail Blazers did not go quietly in Game 4 as they led 69-65 at intermission and even increased the lead to as many as 17 points in the third quarter where they led by as many as 17. The Warriors like they did in Games 2 and 3 fought back and cut the deficit to 93-97 after three quarters, despite getting outscored in the third for the first time in the series 26-22. While the Warriors went 8 for 21 from the field after intermission, the Trail Blazers, who averaged just 21.0 points in the third period in the series on 39 percent from the field shot 8 for 15 with 20 of their 26 points coming from Lillard and McCollum. 

The fourth quarter would belong to the Warriors as they outscored the Trail Blazers 24-16, shooting 10 for 19 in the final period and holding their opponent to 6 for 21 from the field. 

While both teams struggled in overtime going 3 for 12 and 3 for 10 shooting respectably, the Warriors made the shots when at key moments of the extra frame and they found a way to get second and third chances by hitting the offensive glass, where the Warriors outrebounded the Trail Blazers 67-44, including 15-6 on the offensive glass, with Looney coming up with 12 of those 15 coming from the combination of Looney (6) and Curry (4). The Warriors also dominated the Trail Blazers in the paint, outscoring them 60-42. 

As mentioned earlier, the role players for the Warriors in McKinnie and Looney were the standouts in this one. But they also got contributions quietly from Jordan Bell, Quinn Cook, Jonas Jerebko, Andrew Bogut, and Shaun Livingston, who had eight points on a perfect 4 for 4 shooting in the Game 4 win.

“I mean, just the resiliency of this team. Our bench, guys called upon. Next man up,” Thompson, who averaged 21.3 points on 34 percent from three-point range in the series said during the Western Conference trophy presentation after the Game 4 win. 

“These dudes haven’t played in a series and they come in make a huge impact. Obviously, Steph and Draymond don’t need to be spoken for carrying us tonight. But other than that, the role guys were amazing-Looney; Zo [McKinnie]; Q. [Cook]; Jonas. Down the line, big Bogues [Bogut], everybody. So, I’m proud of all these guys and we deserve this.” 

That respect that Thompson gave to his teammates for their contributions in recent games, which sometimes goes unnoticed by the fans outside of the “Bay Area” is a huge reason the Warriors have continued to role with Durant, Cousins, and Iguodala.

It is also a credit to Kerr and his coaching staff of Mike Brown, Bruce Fraser, Ron Adams, Jarron Collins, Chris DeMarco (Director of Player Development) and Willie Green (Player Development). That is how the Warriors have gone 34-4 the last three seasons (regular/postseason) with Curry in the lineup and Durant out, which includes a 31-1 mark the last 32 games and a 7-0 mark this postseason. It is also how they have gone 22 consecutive series winning at least one game in the opposing team’s gym and earned their first win of this entire season in overtime after dropping your first six chances.  

“We work on it all year and we set the tone from training camp, and throughout the whole season that they’re going to be important,” Curry, who became the fourth player in all-time to go 10-0 or better in the postseason against a single opponent said to Burke “It’s what we do. Whether it’s the Western Conference Finals or Game 6 or Game 7 of the regular season, it doesn’t matter. Injuries happen; different rotations; different matchups in the Playoffs-and everybody has to stay ready. So, I think we stet that culture from the beginning, and it manifest itself throughout the season.”

The play of the role players and Curry and Green being able to turn back the clock to the team that they were pre-Durant in 2015 and 2016 is also how they were able to sweep the Trail Blazers. 

When Durant was signed by the Warriors in the summer of 2016, Curry and Green specifically have had to sacrifice some of their offensive game for Durant to shine, which on the surface was something that the average fan was not able to see. It is only when Durant, Cousins and Iguodala were on the shelf as mentioned earlier, Curry, Thompson and Green had the room to allow their true basketball greatness to really shine 

Curry, who did not commit a single foul in Game 4 in his 47 minutes of work, registered a 36.5 scoring average in the 2019 Western Conference Finals is a new NBA postseason record by a player in any four-game series sweep. Curry’s 146 total points in this series not only set a new record for a four-game sweep, he joined four-time Kia MVP of the Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James as the second player all-time scoring 35-plus points in each game of a four-game series sweep. He also eclipsed the 145 set by now NBA on TNT/NBATV studio analyst and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal in 2002; the 144 by James in 2017 and the 140 future Hall of Famer of the Lakers Kobe Bryant had in a series back in 2001. 

Curry had the Trail Blazers defense so extended and had them spinning in their wheels by the amount of screens he came off of in this series that when he got room to shoot he made Lillard and whoever was guarding him pay by making his shots from the perimeter especially from three-point range. 

"It's very difficult to keep the ball out of Steph and Klay's hands, and when those guys are getting two, three touches on one possession I wouldn't want to defend them," Hall of Famer and six-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s Scottie Pippen said on this past Tuesday's edition of "NBA: The Jump" on ESPN. 

"I mean in the days when I played this game, I've never seen a guy other than maybe a Reggie Miller where you didn't want him to touch the ball. But, Steph has got the defense so extended, 35 feet away from the basket. That's unheard of, and how do you defend that?" 

Green, who picked up four technical fouls in the early part of this postseason has kept his focus on the game. His focus was very evident in Game 3 as his tenacity on both ends of the floor kept the Warriors within striking distance in Game 3 before they took over in the second half and never looked back. He hit a three-pointer that increased the Warriors’ lead to 119-115. 

The major reason Green was performing like the ultimate swiss army knife in the entire league is because he was moving around with the kind of bounce and bringing the kind of energy and emotion that we have seem him put forth because he had the kind of endurance necessary to play at that inspirational level. That is due, according to "NBA: The Jump" host Rachel Nichols him at the start of March eliminating from his diet Snickers candy bars, Cheetos, and the alcoholic beverages of wine and tequila. That resulted in him losing 25 pounds and regaining the endurance that allowed him to average 16.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 8.8 assists on 54 percent shooting in the series against the Trail Blazers. 

With the Trail Blazers within two (119-117) in the final seconds, Lillard driving layup attempt was stifled by both Green and Thompson, but his team got another chance when the ball went out of bounds in a loose ball scramble. Lillard’s game-winning attempt from the right corner with 03.3 seconds left fell short and the Trail Blazers season was over. 

“This group has a fiber to them where when guys go down, they find a way to come together and compete, and win,” Kerr, whose team improved to 18-7 in playoff series clinching games said in his postgame presser after the win. “Starts defensively. If we can defend at a high level in the playoffs you always have a chance. I just think the experience of winning titles helps you in these moments and it helps you continue to move forward and come away with victories like tonight.” 

With the NBA Finals, presented by YouTubeTV set for May 30, with all games broadcast on ABC, the Warriors are currently four days into a nine-day layoff giving them a chance to rest and prepare for the final leg of a journey that will hopefully lead them to their third straight championships and fourth in the last five seasons. They hope to get Durant and Cousins back at some point in The Finals and Iguodala is expected back for The Finals right from the beginning. 

The Warriors will need them if they want that third straight title and fourth in five seasons. Why, because with Durant specifically on the floor the last two times they have made it to The Finals, he has brought such an exceptionalism to do what he does offensively, and even defensively the Warriors have won their two straight championships going 8-1 in The Finals over four-time Kia MVP LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

There have been a lot of ups-and-downs during this 2018-19 season for the back-to-back defending champs. That said, they are right where they expected to be and their collective effort from the coaching staff, led by head coach Steve Kerr; to the All-Stars “Core Four” of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green and the role players has them poised to finish this journey with title No. 4 and they do not care if it the Milwaukee Bucks or Toronto Raptors who come out of the East that they have to go through to win it all. 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 5/18/19 9 p.m. “NBA Courtside,” on ESPN, presented by SoFi with Michelle Beadle, Jalen Rose, Chauncey Billups, and Doris Burke; 5/20/19 9 p.m. Game 4 Western Conference Finals “Golden State Warriors versus Portland Trail Blazers” on ESPN, presented by Google Nest with Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Doris Burke; 5/20/19 11:30 p.m. edition of ESPN’s “Sportscenter” with Steve Levy and John Buccigross; 5/21/19 3 p.m. edition "NBA: The Jump" on ESPN, fueled by Marathon with Rachel Nichols, Brian Windhorst, and Scottie Pippen;  www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/gs; www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameid=40113836;  www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3975/stephen-curry;  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018-19_Golden_State_Warriors_season#Roster; and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draymond_Green.