5 reasons the Golden State Warriors won’t three-peat in 2019
5. They could’ve lost this year
The Warriors may have won the championship in a painless four games over the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they should consider themselves lucky for having the chance to do so.
A Western Conference Finals matchup with the Houston Rockets saw them down 3-2, with Chris Paul injuring his hamstring in the closing seconds of Game 5. Paul would go on to miss Games 6 and 7, allowing Golden State to come back and take the series.
While Houston would have almost certainly lost Game 6 at Oracle Arena even with Paul, having the All-Star for a do-or-die seventh game on their home-court would’ve certainly helped the Rockets chances. Remember, Houston was up double-digits in both Games 6 and 7 before running out of gas.
It’s become one of the biggest “what-ifs” in recent memory, with many, including Paul himself, believing that had he been healthy, the Rockets would’ve advanced to the Finals.
Daryl Morey on CP3 taking Game 7 loss the hardest: '...he knew if he hadn't had the injury, he's dragging us [to the Finals]’ https://t.co/1C5N7uXonI pic.twitter.com/ZO0b1r9Xyu
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 31, 2018
Warrior fans could counter that their loss of sixth man Andre Iguodala for Games 4-7 was important for the sake of context, but if they’re trying to suggest Iggy’s value to Golden State is equal to that of Paul’s to the Rockets, it’s an argument they would lose every time.
With their talent, the Warriors are obviously still capable of winning championships, but if the conference finals showed us anything, it’s that at least one team isn’t so far off from dethroning the NBA’s Goliath.