True Warriors

Last night I witnessed the 6th best NBA team EVER get outplayed, outclassed and completely manhandled by an overachieving bunch of role players. As the Golden State Warriors blew by the Mavs in the third quarter I was filled with pride as well as sympathy.

Pride: The 8th seeded Warriors shouldn't have had a chance in this series (as I noted in my predictions before the start of the playoffs) yet they beat the odds and left it all out on the floor to come away with a 4-2 series win. This team had a record that this year's sonics could have easily equaled had we not sustained some of the injuries and underachieving we did this year. So from one lottery bound team to a nearly lottery bound team, congratulations.

Sympathy: This, like every NBA playoff since it happened, showed the clip with Dikembe Mutombo grasping the ball in his meaty paws as the #1 Sonics were ousted by the #8 Nuggets in 1994. I feel for the Mavs and know that the sudden end to their season feels more like the end of the world. They will rebound from this in years to come and while I rooted for Golden State to shock the world, I am regretful that it had the happen against Avery Johnson, Dirk, and the rest of the supporting crew. Let this be a lesson to the all too cocky Mark Cuban: you can be on top of the world, but once you are content to be there and no longer fight for it, you may find yourself in the deepest of dungeons.

As for the rest of the playoffs, my predictions are holding nicely for now. Except for the Warriors my bracket winners are the same as the actual winners, and while I was obviously hoping for more neck-and-neck action (see Spurs and Suns each needing 7 games to advance) I will stick by my predictions. More than even before I feel like this is the Suns year: having home court against San Antonio is HUGE as well as "getting" to face winners of the Warriors, Jazz, and Rockets. The Pistons still hold the honors in the east although I feel like a perfect combination of a long series with the Bulls and the possibility of the Cavs quickly taking care of business may set Lebron up for his first Finals appearance. As of now if I have to refine my west picks I say Rockets over Jazz, Rockets over Warriors, Suns to win the conference. Until another day this is your local prospective sports beat writer signing off, later.