The NBA is less than 24 hours from the start of the playoffs. Buckle up, hoops fans. These next two months will be absolutely wild. But before you rush to the market and stock up on groceries in preparation for 60 nights of can’t-miss basketball, it’s time to relive what transpired over the last half year – and what better way to do it than celebrate the Golden State Warriors?
Maybe Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and company will fail to live up to the greatest regular season ever when it matters most. 73 wins will mean nothing other than championship expectations when the Warriors tip off against the Houston Rockets on Saturday afternoon. There are no guarantees this time of year, even for a team that might be better than any that has ever come before it.
Perhaps Curry goes cold for a few games. Harrison Barnes could continue struggling, and maybe the injury bug will bite Golden State like it did the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015. The ball bounces differently than it normally does every now and then. The basketball gods have a funny way of wielding power. And the worst really could happen.
But don’t count on the Warriors disappointing. As this epic mixtape of their historic season makes abundantly clear, the defending champions should be heavy favorites on the dawn of the playoffs – just as they are.
