History repeats itself. Currently, the Golden State Warriors and Stephon Curry are fighting an uphill battle against history. Can the Warriors learn from the mistakes of the past to win the 2015 NBA Championship? Or will the defensive-minded Cleveland Cavaliers deny us and Stephon’s daughter Riley Curry another opportunity to steal our hearts 1 fast break at a time?
Steve Kerr and the Warriors are trying desperately to avoid the fate of the Los Angeles Lakers suffered at the hands of the Detroit Pistons during the 2004 NBA Finals. Detroit came in as a double-digit underdog and very few gave them a chance to avoid being swept by the Lakers. Even fewer believed they could win the series. I believed. People laughed, I believed. A few told me to turn in my press pass because I had become just another girl who picks their favorite teams based on color or cute mascots. Yes, even when idiots with such sound reasoning surrounded me – I believed in the Pistons.
The cornerstone for my belief centered on 1 principle: the Lakers could not score 100 points or more 4 times against the Pistons. I knew if the Pistons could hold the Lakers to 99 or less 4 times the Pistons would win. I believed inLarryBrown’s defense and believed in my Pistons. I was right. The Pistons shocked the world and won the championship. The Pistons formidable defense prevented the Lakers from scoring more than90 points in all but 1 game – game 2 that the LA 99-91. Game 2 is the only game the Los Angeles won. The Pistons controlled the tempo 4 out of 5 games, and as a result, they controlled the series and won the championship.
Both games of the 2015 NBA Finals have gone into overtime. In-game one the Warriors dominated the Cavs even holding James and the Cavaliers to only 2 points during overtime. The Warriors won 108 -100. Game 2 was a completely different story. The Cavs were supposed to be crippled after the loss of Kyrie Irving due to toa season-ending knee surgery after being hurt in game 1. Many had taken the brooms and fishing pools out declaring the Warriors champions. LeBron James and the Cavaliers came back in game 2 with a vengeance refusing to be denied. The Cavs controlled the clock, the ball and the tempo for most of the low scoring game. The Cavs were able to steal one in Oracle Arena winning game 2 95-93 in OT.
Game 3 is in Cleveland at Quicken Arena, James and the Cavs supporting cast are a dangerous team. Underdogs are always dangerous when they gain momentum and believe. If the Cavaliers can control the game tempo 3 more times the same way they did Sunday night in game 2 an Eastern Conference team will shock the world again. History will repeat itself and Riley Curry won’t do any more post-game interviews.
The Warriors don’t get back to playing Dubnationball. If the Warriors want their storybook season to have a happy ending they may want to watch game footage from the 2004 NBA Finals, otherwise, history just might repeat itself.
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