Shut it all down and start over. The Warriors are too good
In the final gruesome scene of the fantastic “There Will Be Blood,” Daniel Plainview sits on the ground with a bloodied body next to him and says, simply, “I’m finished.”
After a similarly epic Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, I don’t feel exactly the same way, but … well, I have seen enough.
As good as that game was, there is no need to see it again. Golden State has proved its point, one that was fairly obvious from the beginning: when you add one of the best players in the history of the NBA to the team with the best regular-season record in the history of the NBA, there’s a very good chance that team is going to excel.
After Wednesday’s 118-113 victory in Cleveland, the Warriors are 15-0 in the playoffs and just one game from perfection. LeBron James played all but two minutes in Game 3. Cleveland outscored Golden State by seven points when he was on the court. In the two minutes he dared to rest, the Cavs were outscored by 12. What must he be thinking right now? Does the best player on the planet actually believe Cleveland can win four consecutive games against this West Coast All-Star Team?
Not if he’s being honest. He played about as well as he could, as did Kyrie Irving
Jay Williams suggested on Rich Eisen’s show Wednesday that LeBron could opt-out of his Cleveland contract after next season and form a new superteam in Los Angeles or San Antonio.
Stop. No. A better idea: burn the NBA to the ground. Not literally, of course, but the next best thing.
The Warriors were built shrewdly. Stephen Curry was a No. 7 overall pick. Klay Thompson was a No. 11 overall pick. Draymond Green was a second-round pick. Durant had every right to join them, and yet it’s still not fair.
Durant can opt out of his contract after this season. He should do it now that he’s going to get his ring.
Break up the superteams. We need fewer of them, not more. Wednesday proved that definitively, in a game that felt pivotal in the history and trajectory of the league. For the sake of competitive balance, Adam Silver needs to figure this out.
As it stands now, I’m as finished with the current state of affairs as the Cavs are in this series.