As the NBA off-season has provided some dramatic changes, a Daily Iowan staffer gives his opinion on how the moves won’t actually change anything. The dominant will always reign supreme.
By Adam Hensley
It’s been a wild NBA off-season.
Trades and free-agent acquisitions highlight an off-season full of unexpected decisions. It’s been hard to keep up with at times, and some decisions shocked fans and athletes across the league.
But as teams scramble to add ingredients to form a championship-team recipe, one thing remains clear: The NBA is still a two-team league.
Reigning champion Golden State and runner-up Cleveland are still the teams to beat in the Western and Eastern Conferences.
Big-name stars such as Jimmy Butler (Minnesota) and Paul George (Oklahoma City) have been traded from the East to the West. Sure, the Thunder and Timberwolves will make some noise and could very well be much better than their 2016-17 records, but neither squad will challenge the Warriors out West.
Even after Houston traded for Chris Paul, the Rockets still don’t have what it takes to keep up with the Warriors. Both teams rely on up-tempo, 3-point-favoring offenses, but when it comes to star power, Golden State remains unmatched.
In the East, Cleveland, the conference champions for three-straight seasons, should have no problem with most teams. Toronto returned most of its pieces from last season, as did Washington.
Boston could pose as a legitimate threat to LeBron James’ run to yet another Finals. With Gordon Hayward joining a 53-win Celtics squad, the Cs finally nabbed a big-name free agent.
James and Company might be challenged by the new-look Boston team, but even if the Celtics get past the Cavaliers, the chances of their taking down Golden State are slim to none.
Kevin Durant joined Golden State just over a year ago, and ever since then, teams have been scrambling to create “super teams” capable of taking down arguably the greatest team of all time, whether fans like it or not.
The recipe for a championship in today’s NBA doesn’t include letting draft prospects develop. A team of good-but-not-great players no longer can reign supreme. Even with two high-level players, teams struggled against both Golden State and Cleveland.
Just ask the pre-Gordon-Hayward Celtics, who managed to snag the East’s top seed before losing in a five-game series to Cleveland.
Aside from Isaiah Thomas, Boston didn’t possess an All-Star (Al Horford is an All-Star caliber player but failed to earn that recognition last season).
Injury sidelined Thomas for the series with Cleveland, but an all-around solid Celtics squad could barely keep up with Cleveland.
Even with Thomas, Boston struggled in the playoffs against a lackluster Chicago team and then toppled Washington in seven games — nothing came easy for the team with the best record in the conference.
Hayward gives Boston another scoring threat, a proven playmaker. But James isn’t done playing yet, and until his game significantly declines, he’ll be the biggest roadblock in any team’s attempt at winning the Eastern Conference.
Just like last season, the playoffs will be competitive for all teams except Golden State and Cleveland.
Those stuck in the good-but-not-great purgatory will be in a dogfight, and when the winner, bruised and battered from competitive playoff basketball, emerges in the conference finals, it’ll come face-to-face with a powerhouse still in its prime.
Aside from securing Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, Golden State re-signed Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, and David West, and it signed Omri Casspi and Nick Young, two stellar shooters who on paper appear to fit nicely on the roster.
Cleveland didn’t have as many assets to re-sign this off-season, but the Cavaliers reached a deal to bring back sharpshooter Kyle Korver, who proved to be a strong component off the bench, playing significant minutes down the stretch of the NBA Finals.
Keeping ahold of the pieces that brought them to championship heights and signing new role players to bolster their squads, Cleveland and Golden State reign supreme, despite key free-agent signings and noteworthy trades.
Like the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.