Since the Golden State Warriors have become such a juggernaut withKevin Durant, let’s take a look at five rule changes the NBA should consider.
Stephen Curry splash. Klay Thompson splash. Draymond Green stop. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. 73-9 in the regular season. First-ever unanimous MVP. Came back from down 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals. Were up 3-1 in the NBA Finals against a LeBron James-led squad. Yet after all that, the Warriors added former MVP and four-time scoring champion Kevin Durant.
So coming into this season, the expectation was loud and clear: championship or absolute bust. The Warriors have passed every test in their way with flying colors. Fo’, Fo’, Fo’ in the first three rounds. Is it going to be another sweep in the NBA Finals? They’re up 3-0 and won the first two games by a combined 41 points.
This is a juggernaut like we’ve never seen before. How much of a juggernaut? ESPN was trying to do Vegas odds between the 1996 Chicago Bulls and the 2017 Golden State Warriors and Dubs were heavy favorites to win the series.
They feature two regular-season MVPs, a Finals MVP, a potential Defensive Player of the Year and another perennial All-Star. Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry are playing phenomenally together and they’ve become an NBA cheat code. Draymond Green and Klay Thompson can sleepwalk through games offensively, and the Warriors will roll their opponents.
If Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston all re-sign after winning the ‘ship this year, what’s to stop them for the next 3? 4? 5? years. The Warriors are only going to improve their chemistry and hit the peak of the physical primes. Other teams in the NBA don’t stand a chance, so how can we try to even the playing field?
Here are five rules the NBA should consider as a result of the Kevin Durant version of the Golden State Warriors.
5. The Warriors cannot hit more than 15 3-pointers per game
Golden State during the regular season averaged 12 3-pointers a game. That number ranked fourth in the NBA. During their 82-game season, they had 16 games in which they had 15 three-pointers or more. Guess what their record in those 16 games was? 15-1.
The Warriors are really good, but when they eclipse that mark, they become practically unbeatable. The lone game they lost when they hit 15 3-pointers was against Sacramento, when they only lost by three.
Let’s take a look at the playoffs now. The Warriors had three games where they hit at least 15 times from long range. No surprise, but they won all three of those games by an average margin of 26.7 points per game.
Stop the madness! We have to keep these games more competitive, so here’s a rule change that the NBA should consider. As soon as the Warriors hit 15 3-pointers, the 3-point line basically becomes invisible for them.
That means that Curry and Co. can still shoot it from long-range, but it will only be worth two points. This means that all those dagger 3-pointers that the Warriors keep raining on their opponents won’t hurt as badly.
This rule change will keep future games competitive and allow for opponents to catch up because it eradicates the 3-point line for the Warriors after a certain point.