5-at-10: NBA Finals from every angle, U.S. Open free contest to win stuff, UTC AD steps down, Rushmore of twins


              Golden State Warriors players, coaches and owners hold up the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy after Game 5 of basketball's NBA Finals between the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Oakland, Calif., Monday, June 12, 2017. The Warriors won 129-120 to win the NBA championship. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Golden State Warriors players, coaches and owners hold up the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy after Game 5 of basketball's NBA Finals between the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Oakland, Calif., Monday, June 12, 2017. The Warriors won 129-120 to win the NBA championship. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Warriors win

The NBA season is a wrap.

What was assumed last July when Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City and joined a team that won 73 regular-season games, was finalized with Golden State's 129-120 win over Cleveland. There's a lot to discuss here, in a lot of different takes. We are going to breakdown the numbers and the future in the next segment.

Here, are some general thoughts and takeaways from the Warriors' second title in three years and Durant's first NBA championship and Finals MVP.

We have a hard time buying the "Durant has passed LeBron" narrative. If you think that, well, OK. But you're wrong. Flip those two players and this series is even more lopsided than the 4-1 tally it turned out to be.

That said, Durant delivered a monster performance in a monster vacuum of pressure. If this had turned out any other way, Durant would have been vilified to a LeBron-like place. But he was great - he scored the second-most points in a five-game Finals series ever - and efficient and made every big play his team needed. (That dagger in Game 3 is career-defining image, friends.)

This series was a lot closer than history will show. We believe that two tiny plays are the difference in this series being done and Cleveland leading 3-2 going home for Game 6.

If Kyle Korver makes an open corner 3 - he's a career 43.1 shooter from distance - Cleveland wins Game 3. If the ref under the basket had not missed the obvious open-court foul when Durant hit James in the head, Game 5 completely changes. That would have been Durant's third foul early in the second quarter. It would have sent James to the line looking to add to an eight-point lead. It would also have made the 21-2 run that included three Durant 3s.

Durant's decision to come to Golden State was validated. His style and his strength - he is an elite shooter who stands 7 feet tall - meshed perfectly and gave this team an almost unguardable collection of weapons.

Which leads us to

photo Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant speaks at a news conference after Game 5 of basketball's NBA Finals between the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Oakland, Calif., Monday, June 12, 2017. The Warriors won 129-120 to win the NBA championship. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

See you next year

We have to expect to see this again.

In fact, Vegas has already listed the Warriors as an impossible 1-to-2 favorite to win the title next year. Yes, picking the Warriors means you have to bet $200 to win $100. That's unthinkable, considering that the best dynasty in pro sports - the Patriots - opened at 7-to-1 after winning the Super Bowl last February.

Vegas expert Jeff Sherman told ESPN that the Warriors are the highest favorite in any sport that Vegas has ever posted going into any season. That's the rarified place these Warriors occupy.

And it makes sense. All of the main pieces of the Warriors return. All of the main pieces of the Cleveland Cavaliers return. (Cleveland is a 3-to-1 pick to win it all; San Antonio is next at 12-to-1.)

That means it's hard to envision not seeing Cavs and Warriors are not back in these Finals next year.

Is that good for the rest of the NBA? Not really, but when have sports fans collectively worried about competitive balance. Sure if you are a Raptors fan or a Hawks fan (if there are still any left) or fill in the blank, you are wondering if your team will ever had a chance. But, you know what? Tough. That's sports. Your team must get better. Your management must get better.

And know this: Dynasties are great for overall casual interest. The TV numbers are at the highest levels since some guy named Michael Jordan was in the NBA Finals. Yes, there is a lot of hand-wringing about the predictability of the outcome, but when has that ever deterred the sports viewing public.

In fact, it galvanizes the sports viewing public.

When was golf at its heyday? When Tiger was winning every other major.

When was NASCAR at its ascension and heyday? When Dale Sr. was winning every third race and heckling Jeff Gordon, who was winning every other third race.

When was baseball at its modern heyday? When the Yankees were dominating baseball.

When was the NBA rebirth? When the Lakers and Celtics were in the Finals almost every year in the 1980s.

When was the NBA at its heyday? When Michael Jordan and the Bulls were beating all comers in the 1990s.

The NFL? The NFL has long been about dynasties through its history, but its TV numbers and ascension to the top has been as much about gambling and fantasy sports than anything else.

So the outcome - Warriors over Cavs, June 2018 - may be predictable. Heck, it's more than that. It's expected and likely and almost assured barring injury to either side. But this is not like a fiction crime novel. Knowing the outcome does deter sports interest.

Exactly the opposite in fact. It commands interest because people know these Warriors and now have a vested rooting interest either for or against.

See you next year.

photo Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant, left, drives on Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James during the second half of Game 2 of basketball's NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, June 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

NBA numbers you need to know

OK, we have combed the interwebs and here are some NBA Finals facts and figures that will make you look smart at lunch.

* Want to know the only non-Celtic to have multiple titles as a player and a coach? Steve Kerr, who joins K.C. Jones, Tommy Heinsohn, and Bill Russell;

* If you add all the titles of the Bulls (6), Warriors (5), Spurs (5) together, it would match the Lakers' 16 and would trail the Celtics' 17 (dynasties, anyone?);

* Durant is third player to win Finals MVP in his first season with a team. Magic did it in 1980 and Moses Malone did it in 1983;

* LeBron is the first player to average a triple-double in the Finals with 33.6 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Go one step further in terms of James' 'window' and how well he played: According to Elias, James has never averaged that many points, rebounds and assists over any five-game stretch in his entire career. Think about that for a moment. James just put together his best five-game stretch of his career and it was not enough against these Warriors;

* Andre Iguodala had the best plus-minus (plus-60) of any Warriors player in the Finals;

* The amazing offense of the Warriors - and friends that's the problem; you can't expect to stop this bunch, you're going to have to score with them - averaged 121.6 points per game in these Finals. The highest since the 76ers averaged 124.5 in 1967;

* This was the first Finals in which four players averaged 25 points per game or more with Durant (35.2), James (33.6), Irving (29.4) and Curry (26.8).

This and that

* Monster late news. David Blackburn has stepped down as UTC athletic director. Wow. This just happened so there's that. Obviously more on this to come.

* Gang, we've had some interest and some submissions, but if you are interested in getting in the U.S. Open contest, send in your five golfers. You know the drill. Need submissions by Thursday morning.

* Word out of Vegas has Aug. 26 as the day for Mayweather-McGregor. If some dude paid $133K to sit courtside last night in Game 5, what will ringside seats for that monster go for? Let the bidding start at around $250K for two.

* Nice night for the Atlanta Braves. A bunch of homers - including Tyler Flowers' go-ahead three-run jack in the ninth - pushed the Braves by Washington. Also, the Braves took Vandy right-hander Kyle Wright with the No. 5 overall pick in the MLB draft. Wright was ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in this draft and has the size (6-4, 220) and power (a fastball that is routinely in the 92-95 range and can get to 97) to have a legit top of the rotation ceiling.

* The Twins took Royce Lewis, a high school shortstop, number one overall. He could be at AT&T downtown in the next couple of years.

* How boss is Aaron Judge, the Yankees' slugger, right now. He is the first rookie to lead his league in all three Triple Crown categories in June or later. Boss.

* This is an odd story of someone involved with a New Jersey high school who edited pro-Trump messages and quotes out of the yearbook. Weird.

* Wow, the NCAA can't figure out hookers in a Louisville dorm, or Miami's sleaze, or the UNC academic scandal, or the Ole Miss recruiting stuff, but they are going to force this UCF kicker to quit YouTube. Perfect.

Today's question

True or false Tuesday. Let's go.

True or false, Kevin Durant is better than LeBron James.

True or false, Warriors-Cavs will be the 2018 Finals match-up

True or false, David Blackburn was a great AD at UTC.

True or false, if you could attend any one sporting event for the rest of the year it would be McGregor-Mayweather.

As for this day, file this away for news of the weird: On this day in 1922, Charlie Osborne got the hiccups. Big deal, right? Well, Osborne had that case of the hiccups for 68 years before it stopped in 1990. Osborne died 11 months after his hiccups ended.

As for birthdays, Red Grange would have been 114. Tim Allen is 64. Chuck Noll died on this day in 2014.

For a Rushmore, let's go with the Rushmore of twins since Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen turn 31 today.

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