Congratulations to the Toronto Raptors on dethroning the injury-ridden Warriors en route to Canada’s first NBA championship, all while halting the first 3-peat bid since the Lakers in the early 2000’s.
Sorry Leafs fans – but that has to sting!
Kawhi Leonard‘s play throughout the postseason quickly silenced the haters and made everyone that called him”soft” look like a complete fool (@Michelle Beadle and @Skip Bayless). The 2019 Finals MVP came through in the clutch time and time again, but it was the veteran Raptor, Kyle Lowry, that dominated the early portion of Game 6. Lowry scored the Six’s first 11 points of the game and came out firing on all cylinders, setting the tone for the entire team and for the game itself.
Who knows what would have happened if it weren’t for the Kevin Durant achilles injury or the Klay Thompson ACL injury, but Toronto definitely pushed the pace all series and developed a game plan to limit Stephen Curry just enough to come away with the Larry O’Brien.
Injuries are apart of the game (ask the Warriors in 2015 and 2018), that’s just the way it is. That is simply sports in a nut shell. Can you stay healthy long enough, and if not, are the severity of the injuries minimal?
For the Bay, they could not stay off the mend, and the Raptors could. The toll of reaching five straight NBA Finals’ has finally caught up to the Warriors and quite possibly ended the dynasty altogether.
Or has it?
Well, after Anthony Davis hijacked Toronto’s championship parade over the weekend via his trade to the LA Lakers, the state of California might now have a southern shift in dominance across the Western Conference.
The Brow expressed his trade request in the midst of the 2018-19 season that virtually and publicly tore the Lakers franchise apart. Without even being traded he divided LeBron James and the entire Lakers locker room and derailed the purple and gold’s campaign for good.
Fast forward to this past Saturday and the divide in the Lakers organization is no more. Davis was dealt from the Pelicans to LA for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, the 2019 1st round pick (4th overall), and three additional first-rounders. This blockbuster trade sent shock waves across the league and will potentially impact where other free agent all-stars sign this July.
The Lakers have room for one more max contract (if AD chooses to not pickup his $4.1 million trade bonus) and the addition of Davis will easily help lure one of the bigger free agent stars this summer.
As for Golden State’s dynasty, the KD injury doesn’t effect them much as he was most likely on his way out the door anyways. However, it impacts how other big markets such as the Knicks, Nets and Clippers perform in free agency.
The Nets are reportedly the front runners to sign Kyrie Irving, although I think that is completely wrong. He went to Boston with younger players and minimal stars and proved that he couldn’t win on his own, so now he wants to try and do the same in Brooklyn? Yeah, good one.
Irving, I believe, is either signing with the Knicks or he is going to team up again with LeBron in Southern Cal. The KD injury has a huge impact on this move as he and Irving were reportedly going to team up at MSG, but now we might not ever know.
Leonard on the other hand will have a MASSIVE decision to make as well. Does he stay in the North Country and dominate the East another year? Does he wait to see where other stars sign and make a move from there? Does he simply want to play at home in California, and if so, does he want to be the main star with the Clips or the sidekick of Batman on the Lakers?
If his family could choose, they would pick the Lakers (Insta photoshop job from his sister), but if the Claw is choosing for himself, then I really have no idea.
If the Lakers fail to land either star, then Kemba Walker becomes a real option. He would fill the void at PG throughout the season, giving James a major break other than load management. Like Irving, Kemba is a sensational playmaker and can work well with LeBron and AD. The pick and roll will be virtually unstoppable and this “Big 3” can dominate any lineup with or without depth.
Whoever LA gets, and they will be getting one of them, they are the clear cut favorites heading into 2019-20. With Klay sidelined until next February (after he re-signs with the Dubs) and KD out for next year, the Warriors dynasty appears to be on its death bed.
I’m not saying that The Bay won’t be in the playoffs next year or even the Western Finals for that matter, because I’m not. They still have the original “Big 3” with Green and Curry that won over 70 games, but with Klay missing significant time and the KD era coming to a close, the door has been kicked wide open in a deep conference that has a number of stars.
The Thunder have proven time and time again that they cannot win with Russell Westbrook and there appears to be major turmoil in Houston with Chris Paul and James Harden. Portland to me seems like a one-year-wonder and the Nuggets just don’t have that “IT” factor to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Rob Pelinka finally pulled the trigger on the AD trade and the torch has officially been passed to LeBron and the Lakers even without the assurance of a third star.
I don’t know how long this mini dynasty in LA will last, but LeBron is still the best player in the world today heading into year 17 and the addition of a top-5 NBA star to his roster has all but locked up a Finals bid in 2020.