CLEVELAND – By Golden State standards, this ride was downright bumpy.
The Warriors won only 58 games during the regular season, by far their fewest in this four-year run of excellence, and that included going 7-10 in their final 17 games of the schedule. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson all got hurt. They needed to win a Game 7 on the road to reach the NBA Finals, and they could have easily lost two of the first three games of this title series.
Yet here they are.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr encourages his team during the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of basketball’s NBA Finals, Wednesday, June 6, 2018, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)Golden State is on the cusp of another NBA championship, holding a 3-0 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Warriors could be champions again as early as tonight, and this crown – after plenty of turbulence this season – would most definitely be one to savor.
“Going into this season, I don’t think anybody could have guessed or predicted the ups and downs and the roller coaster we’ve been on,” Curry said Thursday as the Warriors prepped for the possible clincher. “So, definitely a different year, just overall, personally with injuries, as a team with dealing with injuries, dealing with the kind of expectations that have been placed on us from the outside and the noise around us as a team.”