In a world where sports narratives can only be written in simplistic terms, it’s being reported that the Golden State Warriors have something to prove against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Stephen A. Smith is saying, “I can tell you for a fact, they want Cleveland and they want Cleveland badly.”
That’s what Stephen A. Smith said on ESPN this week when asked about the Warriors and their preference between the Spurs and the Thunder. He claims that the Warriors didn’t have a preference, and that they were confident that they could return to the Finals. Apparently they have a chip on their shoulder, however, due to all the chatter after they finished off a severely hobbled Cavaliers team for the title a year ago.
Here’s the clip.
I don’t know why we have to choose a single minuscule line of truth when there are so many that better represent the whole truth. Why can’t we live in a world where the Warriors are truly a great team with great talent that also happened to have some good fortune on their road to the title a year ago? In any NBA season there are likely three-to-five worthy championship teams and some combination of luck and talent end up playing a role in figuring out who wins in the end. The Warriors were both great and lucky. Both are undeniable, and if the Cavaliers ever end up finding a way to get over the top and win a title there will be a lot of luck involved as well.
The entire title run is rife with luck already as a team that can count Anthony Bennett and Dion Waiters as first round picks in the last decade are somehow sitting home waiting as the most talented team in the East. As Chris Grant’s firing can attest, that wasn’t as much about skill as pure dumb luck.
So the Warriors can have a chip on their shoulders all they want, but the fact is that they’re both a great team and that they defeated a hobbled Cavaliers team a year ago, regardless of desired narratives. Now here’s hoping the Warriors get their wish, or at least the Cavaliers hold up their end of the bargain and make it to the NBA Finals.
