After the 2019 finals, the Golden State Project seemed to be over, but the recovery and touch-ups of its stars changed everything
The Chronicle of the 2019 Finals Could Be the Golden State Warriors’ obituary. Kevin Durant He tore his Achilles tendon in Game Five, which would be his last match with the franchise. In the sixth, which sealed the defeat to Toronto, Clay Thompson Suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament. And while he was speeding up his recovery, a year and a half later, he also broke his Achilles. So the different ending was conceived, not the other ring. Fourth in eight seasons.
It’s an anomaly, a victory for a long-term project in the NBA’s most volatile times. Stephen CurryThompson and Drummond Green they have been together for a decade Steve Kerro He came on the bench in 2014. They form the hard core of the Golden State Warriors, a group that has marked the evolution of the modern NBA in two baskets (the field is increasingly open on offense, the defense increasingly versatile). And around them he has lived a new life every time the previous one was finished.
But of those four rings, as Kerr pointed out, it was the most likely not. Because after losing the 2019 Finals to Curry with a broken arm, the Warriors were the worst team in the NBA. Because last season they were out of the playoffs on a mediocre level. Because Thompson didn’t return until five months ago after 941 days off. Because throughout the regular stage, the three pillars were matched in only three games, a total of 11 minutes.
Because 2019, after all, seemed like the end.
Andrew Wiggins, L Factor X
This new life began to take shape just a few days after the final loss. When Kevin Durant confirmed he was moving to the Brooklyn Nets, the Warriors convinced him to do so by trade and not as a free agent. That way, they could get some value in exchange for starting to rebuild the team.
To accomplish this with wage regulation, he had to leave a valuable veteran because iguodala (He came back two years later last summer), but it was a statement of intent: They would keep the core, even if it meant paying exorbitant bills for the team without any aspiration.
what was originally D’Angelo RussellBecame a point defender of the exact opposite style of the team Andrew Wiggins You Jonathan Kuminga, The first, number one, was in doubt in the 2014 draft, but he has been the team’s second most deciding player in these playoffs, behind only Curry; The second, only 19 years old, opens the door to Riley.
Backed by a grand pavilion that doubles as a money-printing machine, Warriors has maintained its commitment to no-cost. He has spent around $350 million this season between salary and luxury tax.
Oxygen for Giants
Without Klay Thompson away from the limelight, these two years of forced fallow served to oxygenate a nucleus that was going to the limit: Between 2014 and 2019, the Warriors played more than 500 games in five campaigns. The challenge to stay long as the title contender is not just staying hungry but staying healthy too. And for 2019, Golden State was in reserve.
The physical troubles continue this year. On the day Klay Thompson reappeared after being injured for more than two and a half years, Drummond Green played only seven symbolic seconds. He made the initial jump only to meet his partner again, but it was immediately necessary to get on the bench and continue treatment for a muscle injury.
The problems, which came with age (Curry 34, Thompson and Green 32) led many to question the Warriors’ candidacy. “It’s come a long way here,” said pvot after winning this fourth ring. “We have too many people and people doubt us.”
And with this last one, he hit a key that touched the warriors very deeply: the outward feeling that their titles had asterisks. In 2015, injuries kevin love You Kyrie Irving on the Cavaliers; In 2017 and 2018, Durant’s appearance. So while the champagne bathing dress “and what are you going to say now?” Slogans were raised.
future and relay
The Warriors took advantage of the brackets of these years to prepare to replace their lost wardrobe. The lack of a clear horizon allowed more patience and minutes Jordan Poolewho has emerged as the unlikely cousin of ‘Splash Brothers’ this season, and Gary Peyton II, decisive with his intensity in the finals; To adapt Wiggins to a role he had played throughout his career; and finally settle kevon looney,
Also, top draft like Jonathan Cumminga translated into poor results and Moses Moody, two 20-year-old forwards who have shown good manners when given the opportunity. Pieces that add to the bottom of the bench and that allow the core to increase the legitimacy of what already has NBA history.
With four years (and six finals) in eight years, the Golden State Warriors are confirmed as the modern dynasty, the team that has dominated the last decade, transforming basketball.
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