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OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 19: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors reacts during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 19, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

A new era begins for Golden State Warriors, but one is also ending

0 comments by on 7/6/2016

There will be plenty of time for Golden State Warriors fans to anticipate the future made possible by Kevin Durant’s announcement on the 4th of July, but let’s take a moment to acknowledge that this is not solely a continuation of what the Warriors have built to this point. It’s a new beginning, and also […]

OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 19: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors defends LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 19, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Cavaliers and Warriors fans can be proud of their teams after epic Game 7

0 comments by on 6/20/2016

Much has already been said and written about the 2016 NBA Finals, so it’s not easy to find ground not already staked out, but let’s try to do that here. Nobody choked. Nobody shrank from the moment. Nobody left anything in the tank. The way our sports society is wired these days (which, as always is a reflection […]

Ghosts of 40 years ago turn on the Golden State Warriors

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This is a column I’ve dreaded having to write for this whole season, especially since the Golden State Warriors went down 3-1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In case you’re just putting yourself together this Monday morning or you’re reading this in the year 2056, the Warriors just became the first team in NBA history […]

CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 16: Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry #30 react in the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 16, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

In Game 7, humility may be path to redemption for Warriors

0 comments by on 6/18/2016

It took me a while to figure out when I’d had that feeling before. As I watched the Golden State Warriors stumble through the first quarter of Game 6 of the NBA Finals, it finally hit me: Game 7 of the 2002 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the (then-) Anaheim Angels. I’ll get to the baseball parallel, but first, the Warriors seem […]

OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 13: Kyrie Irving #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts in the fouth quarter while taking on the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 13, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Draymond Green’s absence opens door, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James take advantage

0 comments by on 6/14/2016

The key moment in Game 5 of the NBA Finals wasn’t even in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. It was the altercation between Draymond Green and LeBron James with 2:47 to go in Game 4. Neither team will admit this, but Draymond Green’s absence was without question the difference in Monday night’s game. With […]

LeBron James and Draymond Green CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 10: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors exchange words during a time out during the fourth quarter in Game 4 of the 2016 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 10, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Green’s recklessness focuses Warriors, gives Cavaliers hope for NBA Finals Game 5

0 comments by on 6/13/2016

Game 4 of the NBA Finals spent 45  minutes sucking all of the suspense and intrigue out of the series, but the last three wound up making a huge difference. Draymond Green will not play Game 5 for the Golden State Warriors, while serving a one-game suspension. If you’re reading this column, you know why, […]

CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 10: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors handles the ball against Richard Jefferson #24 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half in Game 4 of the 2016 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 10, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Warriors figure out successful formula in time to win Game 4

0 comments by on 6/11/2016

The Golden State Warriors play good defense, they shoot 3-pointers at a historic clip, and they have possibly the best bench in the history of basketball. All of those things were reasons for them winning 67 games last year and 73 this year, which is pretty impressive. But when the story of this team is […]

Crossover Chronicles Podcast: Amin Elhassan of ESPN

0 comments by on 6/9/2016

ESPN Analyst Amin Elhassan, who worked with both Cavaliers’ GM David Griffin and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr when they were all with the Phoenix Suns, has a unique perspective on this NBA Finals matchup. We talk extensively about the Game 3, the series, the Oklahoma City series, and what’s going on with Steph Curry. […]

CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 08: Channing Frye #9 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kyrie Irving #2 react during the second half against the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the 2016 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 8, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

2016 NBA Finals finally start for Love-less Cavaliers; Now what?

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Most sports fans are non-players. Very few people who write articles like this actually played the sports they write about at a level above high school, and there are many (like me) who never played it above recreational ball with friends. It’s easy for us to lose sight of how important emotion is in the […]

Golden State Warriors’ Harrison Barnes (40) dunks past Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving (2) during the second half in Game 1 of basketball’s NBA Finals Thursday, June 2, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, Pool)

Cavaliers’ execution, not strategy, doomed them in Game 1

0 comments by on 6/3/2016

The general narrative following Game 1 of the NBA Finals was that if the Golden State Warriors could beat the Cleveland Cavaliers by 15 with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson scoring only 20 points combined, the Cavs stand no chance in this series. I disagree. Well, sort of. I completely agree that the Cavs have […]

CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 16: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots against Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors in the first half during Game Six of the 2015 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 16, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tony Dejak-Pool/Getty Images)

The Finals: nobody asked me, but Warriors in 5

0 comments by on 6/2/2016

This is going to be a (relatively) short post, so no need to get too comfortable. I’m really surprised by how many really smart basketball people are expecting the Warriors to take six or even seven games to win the 2016 NBA Finals. I’ll take a few guesses at the reasoning behind that in a […]

OAKLAND, CA – MAY 30: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriorsreacts after a three-point basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Seven of the Western Conference Finals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on May 30, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Warriors complete comeback over Thunder with confidence, composure

0 comments by on 5/31/2016

The Golden State Warriors are back. I don’t mean back in the NBA Finals, although that is also true. I mean back on the planet. They had obviously been abducted, along with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and replaced with lookalike human forms that aliens thought would pass satisfactorily while they conducted experiments on the real players. For three […]

PHOENIX – MAY 20: Charles Barkley #34 of the Phoenix Suns walks with his head down during Game Seven of the 1995 NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets on May 20, 1995 at the American West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Houston defeated Phoenix 115-114 and won the series 4-3. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1995 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Game 7 at home is hardly a lock: a cautionary tale

0 comments by on 5/30/2016

I have been saying for a week that being down 3-1 in a seven-game series, while not a position to be desired, is not fatal to a very good basketball team. If that team is the defending NBA champion, there’s even less cause for panic. To support that position, I merely had to recount my […]

Did we just witness the greatest win in Warriors history?

0 comments by on 5/29/2016

Being a high school saxophone player in the Bay Area, I pretty much grew up with Tower of Power. One of the group’s more memorable album covers, shown in the cover image above, is also the immediate headline after Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals: BACK TO OAKLAND. I’m not going to pretend I […]

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