During the Cleveland Cavaliers’ recent game against the Golden State Warriors, Richard Jefferson had some critical comments regarding the Dubs.
The 2016 NBA Finals continue to be relevant even to this day.
When Richard Jefferson appeared as a guest announcer for the Cleveland Cavaliers during their recent matchup against the Golden State Warriors, Jefferson gave his take on the Dubs’ decision to add Kevin Durant.
Jefferson, who was a member of Cleveland’s 2016 championship team, stated that the Warriors should have “ran it back” against the Cavs. RJ believes that if the Dubs really wanted to prove themselves, they should have kept the same squad and rematched the Cavaliers in the following season.
Richard Jefferson criticizes the Warriors for not running it back after the 2016 Finals: “They were like, ‘We’re gonna go get our big brother’” pic.twitter.com/NfqKRmTuOx
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 7, 2019
Instead, we all know what happened. Draymond Green reportedly sat in the parking lot after Game 7 of the Finals and recruited Durant. To no one’s surprise, the next season’s Finals between the Dubs and Cavaliers was massively one-sided as Durant’s presence skewed the balance of the matchup.
Jefferson likened this move to someone calling up their big brother after a loss at the park. The Warriors were defeated in a hard-fought Finals series and then signed a former league MVP to help them get back over the hump.
RJ also notes that the Dubs let go of one of their own players, Harrison Barnes, in order to make way for signing Durant. It should be mentioned that Jefferson acknowledges that any franchise in the NBA would make that decision 100 percent of the time, but this signing ruined the fun between the rivalry.
It goes without saying that Jefferson’s comments have sparked up quite a bit of conversation. Fans from both sides are jumping to defend their franchise. Durant himself even responded with an Instagram post captioned, “Everyone from the streets now.” Jefferson’s reply can be found below:
Much respect to Richard Jefferson. pic.twitter.com/lrDOuI4bNg
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) April 7, 2019
Whether you agree or disagree with Jefferson, he certainly makes an interesting point. Jefferson has done a phenomenal job of finding his niche after his playing career by becoming a great announcer and media personality.
One question that some people are once again pondering is what would’ve happened had the Dubs not signed Durant? Who would emerge victorious in a rematch of the 2016 NBA Finals?
It’s very easy to point out that in a potential rematch, the Dubs would benefit greatly from a healthy Andrew Bogut and unsuspended Draymond Green. However, it could be argued that the 2017 Cavaliers were better than their championship-winning former self.
in the 2016-17 NBA Playoffs, the Cavaliers went 12-1 as they rampaged through the Eastern Conference. LeBron James averaged a monstrous 32.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.4 blocks a game in the first three rounds. Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving was playing at a career-high level, putting up 29.4 points per game in the Finals.
This Cavaliers’ offense was the best the franchise had ever seen. With an average of 116.2 points per game, the Cavaliers were the highest-scoring playoff team this century (outside of the Warriors in 2017 with Durant). The Cavs even broke the record for most points in the first half of a playoff game with 86 against the Warriors.
The extra season of playing together clearly helped the Cavaliers reach their peak offensive potential. With deadly 3-point shooting all around as well as the incredible talents of James and Irving, that team could compete with anybody.
Sadly, we will never know what could have happened in a rematch of the 2016 NBA Finals. For now, we can only debate as Jefferson continues to defend Cleveland and become more and more of a legend in the city.