Hardwood Paroxysm Presents: The Warriors are the Best Team Since Sliced Bread
The Golden State Warriors are a juggernaut. This season, they became one of 10 NBA teams ever to win 67 regular season games, and one of just eight teams to outscore their opponents by 10-plus points per game. In the playoffs, they’ve compiled a 12-3 record against the loaded Western Conference on their way to the NBA Finals. We felt it important to make it known, then, that the Warriors are the best team since…
Daniel Lewis (@minutemandan) thinks the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors are the best team since the Nine Walkers.
To refresh your memory, the Nine Walkers were also referred to as the Fellowship of the Ring. This team consisted of two Men, Aragorn and Boromir, of Gondor ; Legolas; Gandalf the Grey; Gimli, son of Glóin; and four Hobbits from the Shire, Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippen. The Nine Walkers had a mission similar to the Golden State Warriors – a quest centered around a ring.
They had different talents – magic, archery, bravery, courage and valor – that the Warriors have as well. While Steph Curry doesn’t play with a staff, at times his ability to dribble himself into space and score the basketball is magical. Klay Thompson doesn’t use a bow, but he uses a quick release to launch darts all across the court. Andrew Bogut has a scraggly beard, and is skilled at moving in quick bursts but won’t be mistaken for a distance runner anytime soon. Harrison Barnes has grown from a boy into a Man, doing work in the post and taking broad cuts to the rim. Draymond Green does a little bit of everything, leading his teammates and inspiring them with his rangy play. The Warriors bench – Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, Festus Ezeli and Leandro Barbosa – are a jovial bunch who keep the fun going while not being counted on to carry the entire load.
Sadly, the fellowship didn’t last long. Gandalf fell into darkness in battle against a Balrog of Morgoth, robbing the party of their leader. Boromir succumbed to the allure of the Ring, and was killed by orcs while searching for Frodo, who fled from the party after his encounter with the Man from Minas Tirith. While the fellowship was broken, the Warriors remain together. Watching them play in harmony is like watching an unstoppable force. They operate on another plane of reality, bending time and space to their will. They’ve lost three games in the postseason – two to the Grizzlies, who were aided by the healthy presence of Mike Conley and Tony Allen, and once to the Rockets, after losing Steph Curry for a spell after a hard fall.
In the end Frodo casts the Ring into Mount Doom, destroying it. At the end of the playoffs, the Warriors will stand as champions, because there’s no way the Cavaliers beat them four times in seven chances.