The NBA playoffs are about to partake in their version of the Final Four. What is shocking about the four teams remaining, though, is that it is chalk. The top two seeds from each conference managed to make it this far, but they all have battle scars. Consequently, there are as many questions as answers left to be had for some of these organizations.
Everyone and their respective mothers pretty much assumed Golden State and Cleveland would be here. Those parts of the conference finals are not a shock. As for Houston and Atlanta, however, both of them came into the playoffs with much doubt surrounding them.
Many seemed to really want to question the legitimacy of Atlanta. I’m not sure that has as much to do with the Hawks’ roster as it does with them being, historically, the Atlanta Hawks. That’s while Houston had people questioning the Rockets’ heart after falling into a 3-1 deficit in their series against the Los Angeles Clippers. Regardless, amazing as it may seem to be to the guy in the comments section of fan-site articles, both of them managed to make it this far without their non-fans’ support.
With chalk reigning supreme, it could be suggested that the NBA should have taken a cue from college football and simply implemented a BCS type of setup. Yeah, whatever… the NBA actually pays the labor which drives its billion-dollar-a-year business.
Nevertheless, let’s rank the remaining teams as if there was some sort of NBA media or fan poll anyway.
First, a note going forward: If your “favorite” team isn’t ranked first, don’t get upset. There are only four teams remaining. Think of it like this: If a Miss Universe contestant comes in fourth or third or second, she shouldn’t be upset. She battled many obstacles to get to that grand stage and is still considered one of the four most beautiful — inside and out — women in the world. So, yeah, non-Golden State fans — you’re all gorgeous too!
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4 – Houston Rockets
It is really surprising that they have made it to the Western Conference Finals. That is not based off their regular season, but the dreadful postseason in which they had been immersed.
After everyone buried their chances when falling behind 3-1 in the Clippers series, Houston has resurrected its playoff life much like the world’s most famous carpenter. That doesn’t mean we should expect much more out of the Rockets going forward, though.
This isn’t a knock on them — being one of the four remaining teams is technically a good thing. However, there’s little reason to think that they are any better than the “number three” team. It also doesn’t help that no one expects them to beat Golden State. Heck, few are even giving them a puncher’s chance — which the following team does have.
3 – Atlanta Hawks
You didn’t want to give in to the idea that they are a really good team. Instead of giving them props for overcoming a tough Brooklyn team and persevering in a bizarre Washington series, the Hawks are still here, and they are going to give Cleveland fits.
Al Horford might still, somehow, magically even, be the most underrated player in the NBA. People are going to want to call Atlanta a team without a star, but he is one. That said, this team is built more similarly to the Sheed-Chauncey Billups Detroit Piston teams than one centered around a single super-duper-star.
Kyle Korver’s ability to return to form will be vital for them going into their series against the Cavs, but there’s so much more to it than that. Matchups, like Horford against the Cleveland bigs, will be pivotal if Atlanta pulls the upset.
The oddest part of all of this, though, is that we will consider this an upset if the team with seven more regular-season wins (Atlanta) beats the one with seven fewer (Cleveland). Regardless, this should be a really entertaining series, and the only reason Atlanta is ranked third is because, um… the Hawks are the third best team remaining.
2 – Cleveland Cavaliers
I feel like I have written this so many times lately, but I’ll say it again because it is true: LeBron James is the best basketball player on the planet.
That’s the reason. There don’t need to be (many) others. While we had a good few years talking about Kevin Durant overtaking his throne, or {insert hot player of the moment} becoming more important than James, he is still leaps and bounds better than every natural entity on Earth at basketball.
It doesn’t hurt Cleveland that it has another superstar in Kyrie Irving, as well as a nicely rounded out roster thanks to midseason maneuvers, but nearly everything Cavaliers-related centers around James.
We expected them to be here, too. This isn’t a surprise. We also expected some early regular-season issues for them considering we had James’s first year with Miami as a reference point. None of this shocking. So, yeah, Atlanta has the better overall record, but very few think the Hawks are truly better. Let’s not try to get cute here or overthink this, okay?
1 – Golden State Warriors
Lots of positive stuff. Right? Right.
That sums it all up. This team has the Splash Brothers; Draymond Green becoming a max-deal-level player; Andrew Bogut fitting his role to perfection; the Warriors becoming so good, and so deep, that one of their bigger offseason acquisitions, David Lee, is having a hard time finding minutes on the floor. All of it.
Seriously, they have become so good that I have run out of the proper adjectives to describe them in the ways they deserve. There is a reason they are here, and we all know it. They are good. Good at shooting, good at defense, good on the bench — basically good at everything.
There’s no glaring flaw anyone can point to that should put any of the other three teams ahead of them in this fictional ranking. People will want to use the (stupid) idea of “jump shooting” teams not being able to win championships, but they’ll be doing so while completely ignoring how great a defensive team the Warriors are, and how balanced they actually happen to be on offense.
This is not to mention the fact that teams who shot more jumpers (Spurs teams) than this version of Golden State have won NBA titles before them… or the idea that the game in the NBA has changed to needing three-point shooting more so than welcoming it as a nice bonus on a roster… or the fact that Golden State has two historically good shooters. (Eh, that’s another column for another time.)
The most surprising part of Golden State’s run might be the fact that there’s a real possibility the Warriors won’t go through that whole “lose in the playoffs before becoming great” thing. Granted, if they are to beat Houston to get to the NBA Finals, the Warriors didn’t have to go through San Antonio to get there, but that’s through no fault of their own.
