concordtom said:

---

Well, I look forward to seeing what next tricks Lacob has up his sleeves.

Quote:

---

But Lacob won't accept that what the Warriors have achieved is a product of anything but a master plan. "The great, great venture capitalists who built company after company, that's not an accident," he said. "And none of this is an accident, either." [...]

---

Quote:

---

When I asked him about the previous night's game, he could hardly contain himself. He boasted that the Warriors are playing in a far more sophisticated fashion than the rest of the league. "We've crushed them on the basketball court, and we're going to for years because of the way we've built this team," he said. But what really set the franchise apart, he said, was the way it operated as a business. "We're light-years ahead of probably every other team in structure, in planning, in how we're going to go about things," he said. "We're going to be a handful for the rest of the N.B.A. to deal with for a long time."

---

---

Ah, hubris...

Well, in a few years, Lacob's two sons will certainly be able to restock the roster with the next generation of Warrior Champions. Genius that he is, Lacob brought them in early, so that they will be ready to crush the competition when needed. (So happens, Lacob did a world-wide search for the finest NBA executive talent and coincidentally found the two most qualified guys right in his own backyard... literally.)

Light-years ahead, baby. Light-years.

GBear4Life said:

---

Warriors aren't making finals next year with this groups minus KD.

---

Wouldn't be the same group though.

But I'd agree that next year they probably don't, just because it's so hard to make that deep playoff run year after year.

Big C said:

---

concordtom said:

---

Well, I look forward to seeing what next tricks Lacob has up his sleeves.

Quote:

---

But Lacob won't accept that what the Warriors have achieved is a product of anything but a master plan. "The great, great venture capitalists who built company after company, that's not an accident," he said. "And none of this is an accident, either." [...]

---

Quote:

---

When I asked him about the previous night's game, he could hardly contain himself. He boasted that the Warriors are playing in a far more sophisticated fashion than the rest of the league. "We've crushed them on the basketball court, and we're going to for years because of the way we've built this team," he said. But what really set the franchise apart, he said, was the way it operated as a business. "We're light-years ahead of probably every other team in structure, in planning, in how we're going to go about things," he said. "We're going to be a handful for the rest of the N.B.A. to deal with for a long time."

---

---

Ah, hubris...

Well, in a few years, Lacob's two sons will certainly be able to restock the roster with the next generation of Warrior Champions. Genius that he is, Lacob brought them in early, so that they will be ready to crush the competition when needed. (So happens, Lacob did a world-wide search for the finest NBA executive talent and coincidentally found the two most qualified guys right in his own backyard... literally.)

Light-years ahead, baby. Light-years.

---

Was he wrong, though? After he said this they got KD and became the most dominant team in the league. Kind of backed up the talk there.

That they are going to be moving into a new arena that they own and operate puts them in a position to re-sign everyone and pay significant luxury tax bills moving forward makes them unique. Most teams avoid the luxury tax period, much less the repeater luxury tax.

But if KD leaves, it will take awhile to rebuild unless they get lucky in the draft.

sycasey said:

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Big C said:

---

concordtom said:

---

Well, I look forward to seeing what next tricks Lacob has up his sleeves.

Quote:

---

But Lacob won't accept that what the Warriors have achieved is a product of anything but a master plan. "The great, great venture capitalists who built company after company, that's not an accident," he said. "And none of this is an accident, either." [...]

---

Quote:

---

When I asked him about the previous night's game, he could hardly contain himself. He boasted that the Warriors are playing in a far more sophisticated fashion than the rest of the league. "We've crushed them on the basketball court, and we're going to for years because of the way we've built this team," he said. But what really set the franchise apart, he said, was the way it operated as a business. "We're light-years ahead of probably every other team in structure, in planning, in how we're going to go about things," he said. "We're going to be a handful for the rest of the N.B.A. to deal with for a long time."

---

---

Ah, hubris...

Well, in a few years, Lacob's two sons will certainly be able to restock the roster with the next generation of Warrior Champions. Genius that he is, Lacob brought them in early, so that they will be ready to crush the competition when needed. (So happens, Lacob did a world-wide search for the finest NBA executive talent and coincidentally found the two most qualified guys right in his own backyard... literally.)

Light-years ahead, baby. Light-years.

---

Was he wrong, though? After he said this they got KD and became the most dominant team in the league. Kind of backed up the talk there.

---

Having followed the Warriors for decades, I wouldn't even begin to deny that Lacob has done a good job, but I believe the key factor was getting a little lucky with Curry, Thompson and, especially, Draymond. This enabled them to be an attractive location for Iguodala and then Durant.

At any rate, the Warrior players will show a lot of character and intestinal fortitude if they can somehow pull out Game Five. Most any other team, I would say "Stick a fork in them; they're done.".

GBear4Life said:

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Warriors aren't making finals next year with this groups minus KD.

---

I agree.

GBear4Life said:

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Embarrassing performance last night -- both effort and execution. Shameful.

---

Disagree.
Klay and Looney showed massive cojones in their efforts and performances last night.
Totally disrespectful to overlook that.
Also, disrespectful to overlook the effort which Cousins gave just to get back on the floor. It's a shame that it hasn't gone well.

You think Curry sucked?

Are you mad at Kerr?
Are you upset with McKinnie, Jerebko, Cook, Bell? Dude, you're high if so - they are not Finals class players, period.
Livingston is about to retire, and Iguodala is 35.

So, what's your real complaint?

Well, I've got multiple ancestors 140-250 years ago who lived in Canada (including greater Toronto) for enough years to make me think "I'm happy for them".
We've got no ill will toward anything Canadian, do we?

concordtom said:

---

Well, I've got multiple ancestors 140-250 years ago who lived in Canada (including greater Toronto) for enough years to make me think "I'm happy for them".
We've got no ill will toward anything Canadian, do we?

---

If not my team, Toronto is one of the less annoying teams to have win the title. That city hasn't won any major titles since Joe Carter hit that home run in '93.

concordtom said:

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GBear4Life said:

---

Warriors aren't making finals next year with this groups minus KD.

---

I agree.

---

Lacob disagrees with you guys and he is the self proclaimed smartest guy in the room:

"He [Joe Lacob] boasted that the Warriors are playing in a far more sophisticated fashion than the rest of the league. "We've crushed them on the basketball court, and we're going to for years because of the way we've built this team," he said. But what really set the franchise apart, he said, was the way it operated as a business. "We're light-years ahead of probably every other team in structure, in planning, in how we're going to go about things," he said. "We're going to be a handful for the rest of the N.B.A. to deal with for a long time." Bruce Schoenfeld, What Happened When Venture Capitalists Took Over the Golden State Warriors, NY Times Magazine, 2016




*Earlier in the article: "He's six feet tall but seems taller." Yeah, like Arnold is 6'2 and tRump is 6'3.

sycasey said:

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Frankly, this is what happens after multiple Finals trips. You've basically played a whole extra season of playoff games, and that adds up. I didn't expect it to crash this badly in home games, but being so short-handed compounds the problem.

---

This is a great point and one I can't really say I've ever thought about. Let's just assume ceteris paribus, just in comparison, the Warriors have played 1/2 season more than the Raptors over the last five years.

Even if it doesn't end like we want, I'll take this five year run!

sycasey said:

---

GBear4Life said:

---

Warriors aren't making finals next year with this groups minus KD.

---

Wouldn't be the same group though.

But I'd agree that next year they probably don't, just because it's so hard to make that deep playoff run year after year.

---

Exactly.

I sort of laugh at some of this. Seems people forget the Warriors just did something no team has done in 60 years in any sport (five straight championship rounds).

TheFiatLux said:

---

sycasey said:

---

Frankly, this is what happens after multiple Finals trips. You've basically played a whole extra season of playoff games, and that adds up. I didn't expect it to crash this badly in home games, but being so short-handed compounds the problem.

---

This is a great point and one I can't really say I've ever thought about. Let's just assume ceteris paribus, just in comparison, the Warriors have played 1/2 season more than the Raptors over the last five years.

Even if it doesn't end like we want, I'll take this five year run!

---

Yeah, if you told me six years ago that the Golden State Warriors were about to make five trips to the Finals and win three of them, I would have been ecstatic. This franchise was a joke for most of my life.

Could that have been it at Oracle? Dubs Nation grapples with daunting 3-1 deficit


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mercurynews.com/2019/06/07/on-warriors-move-from-oakland-to-san-francisco-steph-curry-and-draymond-green-are-sentimental/amp/

TheFiatLux said:

---

sycasey said:

---

GBear4Life said:

---

Warriors aren't making finals next year with this groups minus KD.

---

Wouldn't be the same group though.

But I'd agree that next year they probably don't, just because it's so hard to make that deep playoff run year after year.

---

Exactly.

I sort of laugh at some of this. Seems people forget the Warriors just did something no team has done in 60 years in any sport (five straight championship rounds).

---

NY Islanders did it from 1980 to 1984. So not quite 60 years, but the point still stands, 35 years is a long time

sycasey said:

---

TheFiatLux said:

---

sycasey said:

---

Frankly, this is what happens after multiple Finals trips. You've basically played a whole extra season of playoff games, and that adds up. I didn't expect it to crash this badly in home games, but being so short-handed compounds the problem.

---

This is a great point and one I can't really say I've ever thought about. Let's just assume ceteris paribus, just in comparison, the Warriors have played 1/2 season more than the Raptors over the last five years.

Even if it doesn't end like we want, I'll take this five year run!

---

Yeah, if you told me six years ago that the Golden State Warriors were about to make five trips to the Finals and win three of them, I would have been ecstatic. This franchise was a joke for most of my life.

---

I've called 1975 to 2014 the Warriors 40 years in the wilderness.

Eastern Oregon Bear said:

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....I've called 1975 to 2014 the Warriors 40 years in the wilderness.

---

The Warriors of this season represent everything that is good and everything that is bad about modern basketball. The good is that they play together better as a team better than any NBA team and are changing the culture as others try to emulate them. The bad is that now their season may end early due to key injuries, which is a pattern in basketball now, with so many teams in college and pro having their dreams ended due to an injury to one or more key players.

Durant, Thompson, Cousins, Looney, Iguodala, and more this season. Cleveland had Lebron, but when Kyrie Irving went down, they had trouble winning games. Our own memory of getting knocked out of the NCAA due to Wallace injuring his hand in practice, and Jabari Bird's freak back spasms right before the game. Bird could easily have left Cal early, but for so many injuries he suffered over his 4 years at Cal, hampering his play and limiting his playing time. Harper Kamp missing a year with injury, and the same for Theo Robertson. Ricky Kreklow had never ending stress fracture injuries, just to name a few.

John Madden said that injuries in sport may be caused by players working so hard to add more muscle to their bodies, and he thinks it is too much for their frames. Some think that modern players try too hard, they try to go all our and more, striving for a jump that is maybe 110% of what they are capable of. John Havlicek was known as a player with an incredible motor, but he said that he only played at 85% of what he was capable of. The game used to be about getting the ball in the basket, not showing up the defense. I watched Cal basketball seriously for about 20 years in the 1950s and 1960s, and I don't ever remember a player getting injured so seriously that he would miss a game or more. Earl Robinson played with a knee guard and seemed to favor his knee, but he never missed a game. Wilt Chamberlain averaged over 48 minutes a game one season as he played every minute of every game including overtimes. And nobody worked harder in the weight room to add muscle and strength. When I saw him play for Kansas, he weighed about 230 lbs. I few years later he was up to 260, then 275. When he last played for the Lakers, his responsibilities were down to rebounding, passing, and defense, and he had bulked up to 310-315 lbs. And he never got hurt. The Warriors of '75 had no injuries, as I remember, though Rick Barry injured a knee in the ABA a couple years later.

So I don't know what the problem is, but basketball today is filled with tragedy, as so many teams have their seasons ruined by an injury, not to mention the personal injury to the player. In college, scholarships are now limited to 13 per team, which is not sufficient to cover for the injuries that may happen. And the talent level in high school is not enough to stock more than a few teams to make them championship-worthy. The players today could learn a few things from the Havliceks about how to play hard and stay healthy, and still win championships.

Eastern Oregon Bear said:

---

sycasey said:

---

TheFiatLux said:

---

sycasey said:

---

Frankly, this is what happens after multiple Finals trips. You've basically played a whole extra season of playoff games, and that adds up. I didn't expect it to crash this badly in home games, but being so short-handed compounds the problem.

---

This is a great point and one I can't really say I've ever thought about. Let's just assume ceteris paribus, just in comparison, the Warriors have played 1/2 season more than the Raptors over the last five years.

Even if it doesn't end like we want, I'll take this five year run!

---

Yeah, if you told me six years ago that the Golden State Warriors were about to make five trips to the Finals and win three of them, I would have been ecstatic. This franchise was a joke for most of my life.

---

I've called 1975 to 2014 the Warriors 40 years in the wilderness.

---

https://www.landofbasketball.com/head_to_head_gl/lakers_vs_warriors_game_log_season.htm

I call 2015-2019 a temporary escape from the warrior dumpster fire.

SFCityBear said:

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The Warriors of this season represent everything that is good and everything that is bad about modern basketball. The good is that they play together better as a team better than any NBA team and are changing the culture as others try to emulate them. The bad is that now their season may end early due to key injuries, which is a pattern in basketball now, with so many teams in college and pro having their dreams ended due to an injury to one or more key players.

So I don't know what the problem is, but basketball today is filled with tragedy, as so many teams have their seasons ruined by an injury, not to mention the personal injury to the player.

---

For NBA there are just too many games

For college maybe there should be an additional schollie allowed, due to injuries and the reality that there will be more and more transfers. I read an article from a D1 power six coach saying it's like coaching JC ball. Every year there is lots of roster turnover so you need to dumb down your schemes because players aren't on the team long enough to master more complex schemes

But maybe that just leads to even more transfers as players won't be happy with their PT

LOUMFSG2 said:

---

TheFiatLux said:

---

sycasey said:

---

GBear4Life said:

---

Warriors aren't making finals next year with this groups minus KD.

---

Wouldn't be the same group though.

But I'd agree that next year they probably don't, just because it's so hard to make that deep playoff run year after year.

---

Exactly.

I sort of laugh at some of this. Seems people forget the Warriors just did something no team has done in 60 years in any sport (five straight championship rounds).

---

NY Islanders did it from 1980 to 1984. So not quite 60 years, but the point still stands, 35 years is a long time

---

Did you know that off the top of your head or did you do a quick search? I should have just said NBA.

KD in for Game 5?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/playoffs/2019/06/09/kevin-durant-to-practice-warriors-raptors-nba-finals/1402006001/

TheFiatLux said:

---

LOUMFSG2 said:

---

TheFiatLux said:

---

sycasey said:

---

GBear4Life said:

---

Warriors aren't making finals next year with this groups minus KD.

---

Wouldn't be the same group though.

But I'd agree that next year they probably don't, just because it's so hard to make that deep playoff run year after year.

---

Exactly.

I sort of laugh at some of this. Seems people forget the Warriors just did something no team has done in 60 years in any sport (five straight championship rounds).

---

NY Islanders did it from 1980 to 1984. So not quite 60 years, but the point still stands, 35 years is a long time

---

Did you know that off the top of your head or did you do a quick search? I should have just said NBA.

---

I grew up in NJ and was a big-time hockey fan in general, and Islanders fan in particular. Probably my favorite team in any sport as a kid, in large part due to how dominant they were. They won 19 consecutive playoff series in their 4 consecutive titles, and then their trip to the finals in the 5th year, where the streak finally came to an end, just short of their 5th title. I think that record (19 consecutive series) still stands

Wouldn't it be fun if the Warriors won three in a row?

oskidunker said:

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Wouldn't it be fun if the Warriors won three in a row?

---

would it be cooler if those 3 wins coincided with Durant's return, or done completely in his absence?

Free agency is going to be INTERESTING!

oskidunker said:

---

Wouldn't it be fun if the Warriors won three in a row?

---

Absolutely.
They are batting for history.

HoopDreams said:

---

SFCityBear said:

---

The Warriors of this season represent everything that is good and everything that is bad about modern basketball. The good is that they play together better as a team better than any NBA team and are changing the culture as others try to emulate them. The bad is that now their season may end early due to key injuries, which is a pattern in basketball now, with so many teams in college and pro having their dreams ended due to an injury to one or more key players.

So I don't know what the problem is, but basketball today is filled with tragedy, as so many teams have their seasons ruined by an injury, not to mention the personal injury to the player.

---

For NBA there are just too many games

For college maybe there should be an additional schollie allowed, due to injuries and the reality that there will be more and more transfers. I read an article from a D1 power six coach saying it's like coaching JC ball. Every year there is lots of roster turnover so you need to dumb down your schemes because players aren't on the team long enough to master more complex schemes

But maybe that just leads to even more transfers as players won't be happy with their PT

---

Is there evidence that injuries actually happen more now than in the past?

I mean, it does suck when injuries affect the championship, but that's just how sports work.

oski003 said:

---

Eastern Oregon Bear said:

---

sycasey said:

---

TheFiatLux said:

---

sycasey said:

---

Frankly, this is what happens after multiple Finals trips. You've basically played a whole extra season of playoff games, and that adds up. I didn't expect it to crash this badly in home games, but being so short-handed compounds the problem.

---

This is a great point and one I can't really say I've ever thought about. Let's just assume ceteris paribus, just in comparison, the Warriors have played 1/2 season more than the Raptors over the last five years.

Even if it doesn't end like we want, I'll take this five year run!

---

Yeah, if you told me six years ago that the Golden State Warriors were about to make five trips to the Finals and win three of them, I would have been ecstatic. This franchise was a joke for most of my life.

---

I've called 1975 to 2014 the Warriors 40 years in the wilderness.

---

https://www.landofbasketball.com/head_to_head_gl/lakers_vs_warriors_game_log_season.htm

I call 2015-2019 a temporary escape from the warrior dumpster fire.

---

They might not be this dominant again, but I don't think you can count on the old pathetic Warriors coming back anytime soon. The Lacob group seems committed to winning and actually has an idea of how to do it. It's not the Chris Cohan clown show anymore.

HoopDreams said:

---

SFCityBear said:

---

The Warriors of this season represent everything that is good and everything that is bad about modern basketball. The good is that they play together better as a team better than any NBA team and are changing the culture as others try to emulate them. The bad is that now their season may end early due to key injuries, which is a pattern in basketball now, with so many teams in college and pro having their dreams ended due to an injury to one or more key players.

So I don't know what the problem is, but basketball today is filled with tragedy, as so many teams have their seasons ruined by an injury, not to mention the personal injury to the player.

---

For NBA there are just too many games

---

This, 100 percent.

82 regular season games, plus 20 playoff games through Finals game 4, is way too many. This season just illustrates that the Warriors of the past two seasons were very fortunate with injuries.

When Bogut returned to the Warriors, he said that he was much fresher because in Australia they play at most two games a week. Doing that in the NBA would be the right way to go. It would mean a regular season of about 56 games.

BearSD said:

---

HoopDreams said:

---

SFCityBear said:

---

The Warriors of this season represent everything that is good and everything that is bad about modern basketball. The good is that they play together better as a team better than any NBA team and are changing the culture as others try to emulate them. The bad is that now their season may end early due to key injuries, which is a pattern in basketball now, with so many teams in college and pro having their dreams ended due to an injury to one or more key players.

So I don't know what the problem is, but basketball today is filled with tragedy, as so many teams have their seasons ruined by an injury, not to mention the personal injury to the player.

---

For NBA there are just too many games

---

This, 100 percent.

82 regular season games, plus 20 playoff games through Finals game 4, is way too many. This season just illustrates that the Warriors of the past two seasons were very fortunate with injuries.

When Bogut returned to the Warriors, he said that he was much fresher because in Australia they play at most two games a week. Doing that in the NBA would be the right way to go. It would mean a regular season of about 56 games.

---

And I'm sure the players would happily reduce their salaries by a third, and the owners would gladly reduce their profits by the same amount.

concordtom said:

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Well, I've got multiple ancestors 140-250 years ago who lived in Canada (including greater Toronto) for enough years to make me think "I'm happy for them".
We've got no ill will toward anything Canadian, do we?

---

Poutine.

KD officially "questionable" for Game 5. Even if he plays I don't know how effective he'll be.

Effectiveness and minutes played will certainly be in question.