J.Ross: NBA Finals, It’s the Have and Have Not’s

As I watch the NBA playoffs every  night I am trying to think how on earth can the Kings get close to this level?  They don’t have an all-star, they don’t have an MVP candidate, they don’t have an all time great player.  They don’t boast the leagues best offense or defense.  So how can they ultimately get to the level of the championship contenders?

After a closer look at how the teams have been built, I was trying to find key factors to success.  With all the number crunching and analysis it actually came down to just a few names.  Believe it or not, it may not be as difficult as it seems.  Do you realize that since 1996 every NBA Finals has features a team that was either coached by Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, Erik Spoelstra or Steve Kerr.  If you add in Pat Riley than 34 of the last 37 NBA Finals have been coached by 1 of those 5 coaches with the exception being 1986, 1990 and 1995.

Since 1999 the NBA Finals have featured one of these four players in the game,Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, or LeBron James.  Mix in Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon then we have you covered all the way to 1991.  The point being is that the Kings and most every team in the NBA doesn’t have any of these coaches or players.  We are witnessing and all-time great team in the Golden State Warriors.  They have crushed the spirits of good teams like the Clippers, Spurs, Grizzlies and now Rockets over the years.  LeBron is an all time great and he has crushed the hopes of the Celtics, Raptors and many more as well.  We thought we would get Cavs and Warriors 4 and if they all return we might just get Cavs and Warriors 5 next year.  I would love to see some new teams but I still do appreciate the greatness that we do get to watch.

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