TORONTO — Stephen Curry and LeBron James tried in the preseason to set people up for how this regular season would unfold but, for different reasons, it didn’t seem anyone would listen.
Curry was confident that his Golden State Warriors would prove they were the best team in the Western Conference, even as most eyes wandered over to the usual suspects in San Antonio and Oklahoma City or even the Los Angeles Clippers. James was cautious about anyone declaring that his newly formed Cleveland Cavaliers were already a championship contender, no matter how many shiny all-stars they boasted.
As the NBA playoffs get underway this weekend, the Warriors and Cavaliers appear headed on a collision course for the Finals — and Curry and James have both proven to be correct.
The Warriors pulled off one of the most dominant regular seasons in NBA history, winning the incredibly competitive West by an astounding 11 games with Curry using his lethal jumper and ridiculous ballhandling skills to take the lead in the MVP debate. With first-year Coach Steve Kerr stressing more ball movement while building upon the defensive principles that were already left over from his predecessor, the Warriors became the 10th team in NBA history with 67 wins and many weren’t very competitive.
“I knew this team was good,” said Kerr, who helped the Warriors improve by 16 games — the most for any team that had at least 50 wins the previous season. “The record is probably better than I expected, but I totally expected this team to take the next step because they’ve already been evolving the last couple of years. We’ve added some depth this year and we should be better and we are.”
The Cavaliers needed more than just time and talent to become a title threat; they had to make a few trades and give James a midseason mental and physical break for it all to come together. James struggled to get Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love — two all-stars with no playoff experience — to break some bad habits and buy in. They were sputtering when General Manager David Griffin traded for Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, moves that helped improve a porous defense and created a more balanced and deep roster.
“We have an opportunity to do something special,” James said this week. “We had a pretty, pretty good regular season. I wouldn’t say great. I’m not satisfied. I’m never satisfied. But as far as what we were able to accomplish as far as our growth as a team, I think I’m pretty happy with that.”
Cleveland finished the season winning 34 of its final 43 games, causing many to completely forget about the underappreciated Atlanta Hawks, who finished with an Eastern Conference-best 60 wins, had a league-leading four all-stars and won the season series against Cleveland and Chicago.
The Bulls have a roster that can match the Cavaliers as the most talented in the East on paper, but they have struggled to get the talent on the floor. Former MVP Derrick Rose missed 31 games because of numerous ailments and returned to play the final five games after recovering from a torn meniscus in his right knee. But Chicago hasn’t had much time to gel and could be looking at a conference semifinal date with Cleveland.
Ten teams won at least 50 games in the NBA, but only three resided in the East. The East power structure was bound to change when James made his somewhat stunning decision to leave the Miami Heat, the organization for which he won two championships, to return to a city that hasn’t won a professional sports title of any kind since 1964. Miami was devastated by the loss of James, and blood clots ending Chris Bosh’s season, and failed to make the playoffs after reaching the Finals in four consecutive seasons. Indiana, the top seed from last season, also missed out on the playoffs with two-time all-star Paul George missing most of the season with a broken leg.
The path to the Finals appears easier for Cleveland, but Coach David Blatt said: “I’m not thinking that far ahead. It’s certainly a goal… . We’ve all put the cart before the horse before, so if you want to do it again, you can. Feel free. I find that you do a lot better when you fight the battle in front of you and you keep moving.”