Warriors join Bill Russell's Celtics in NBA history by reaching fifth straight Finals

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Warriors join Bill Russell's Celtics in NBA history by reaching fifth straight Finals





By Michael Deprisco
May 21, 2019 12:48 AM



After sweeping the Blazers Monday night to advance to their fifth straight NBA Finals, they joined Bill Russell's Celtics as the only teams to make five in a row.



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The Warriors have become the 2nd team in NBA history to reach the Finals in 5 consecutive seasons.

They join the Celtics, who made 10 straight appearances from 1957-66.

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8:50 PM - May 20, 2019



The Warriors will look to win their fourth championship in five years and join an elite club of teams to complete a three-peat.

From 1957-66, the Celtics won nine NBA titles, including a run of eight consecutive championships from 1959-66. The Warriors will have a tough time accomplishing that feat, but they are arguably the greatest dynasty since the Russell era.

Along with their series win, the Warriors also passed the Bulls on the all-time list for Finals appearances for a single franchise with seven. The Lakers (31) and Celtics (21) are the only teams ahead of them.

Golden State will await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals series between the Bucks and Raptors. Milwaukee currently holds a 2-1 series lead ahead of Game 4 in Toronto.



bob
MY NOTES:  Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors for achieving this milestone.  Nobody has a better understanding of just how hard this is to do, and has more respect for those that do it, than Celtic fans.

Now let's see them go 11-for-13. They've already used up one of their 2 misses. Heheheh.



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Not a big fan of the Warriors, but a big fan of how hard they work and how they have kept the core together over an extended period of success.

GSW has earned a place with the elite few in any sport. As far as the NBA, the Celtics are the pinnacle, and you might say San Antonio had among the most consistent runs near the top of any other franchise. The Lakers, of course, are right there with the number of titles earned.

At the present time, I think the only questions facing GSW are; 1) who do they get to beat for this year's title, Milwaukee or Toronto? and 2) will everyone be back when they make their 6th consecutive trip to the championship next season?

The NBA is going to have to revisit a hard cap, as although the Warriors are playing under the current rules, they have gamed the system to their advantage. But it really isnt all that different than all the great teams in NBA history.

The NBA has been ruled by a dynasty each decade. But the talent gap never seemed this large. The Warriors will break up at some point, because of the luxury tax or boredom, but Silver and the NBA would be wise to continue pushing for proactive measures whenever the next collective bargaining negotiations come around.


Golden State's front office has most certainly drafted well and managed the cap very shrewdly - no argument there. They have also gotten EXTREMELY lucky on multiple occasions, as is often the case when building these dynasties:

1. Minnesota takes not one, but two, point guards back to back in 2009 and neither one of them is Steph Curry, leaving Golden State to happily scoop up one of the best 30 players of all time at #7 in the draft. Lucky.

2. Despite showing great talent and promise, Steph's ankles continually betray him throughout his rookie contract, allowing the W's to sign him to what would otherwise be a well-below-market extension, opening up valuable cap space for later deals. Lucky.

3. Draymond Green falls to #35 in the 2012 draft. It was that obvious to me at the time Green was going to be a good NBA player, and yet 34 teams passed on him, only for GS to happily scoop him up. LUCKY.

4. Green was parked on the bench until David Lee got injured and Green was forced to move into the starting PF role, unlocking all the versatile lineups we've seen from them since. They get lucky even when they're unlucky.

5. The Players' Association rejected the league's proposal to "smooth" the cap over several seasons when the new TV contract kicked in, and instead the giant cap spike happened to coincide with Kevin Durant's first foray into free agency, and it just so happens they had just managed to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the playoffs against KD's OKC team, which probably would have won the title that year if they get past Golden State. So if both those things don't happen, KD never goes to the Warriors. LUCKY!!

6. Boogie tears his Achilles tendon in January of last year right before his first foray into free agency. No market develops for him, allowing GS to nab him on the paltry one year deal we're now discussing. LUCKY!!!!

Obviously, many of these moves were predicated on being in the right cap/draft/organizational position based on other shrewd moves -- again, not saying they haven't played their cards well, but so many things had to break just right for them to be in this position, it's kind of mind-boggling.

Great analysis kleen

We would have went to 7-8 Finals in a row with Len Bias playing on the Bird Celtics....

cowens/oldschool wrote:We would have went to 7-8 Finals in a row with Len Bias playing on the Bird Celtics....

Thanks Cow....and man what a loss. That and Reggie really set us back.

mrkleen09 wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:We would have went to 7-8 Finals in a row with Len Bias playing on the Bird Celtics....

Thanks Cow....and man what a loss.  That and Reggie really set us back.

Oh man, think about that all the time, Pistons would have never had their mini run, had Bias and Reggie stayed healthy, would have been so compelling, Bias and Reggie as building blocks vs Michael and Scottie....in the 90’s.

When I think of some of the draft picks Red was able to garner over the years, it is amazing. I know he had his share of dud's, but the good ones far outweigh the bad. Start with Cousy (he didn't even want him in the beginning), then the crazy deal that brought Russell here for the Ice Capades!! Sam and KC, Ramsey, Heinsohn, Havlicek, Max, Cowens, then he pulled a quick one, JoJo, and the Bird redshirting, Kevin McHale, and the disaster drafting of of Bias, who was the bridge from the past to the future. Then, with a blink of an eye, he was gone. A few years later we drafted Reggie, he showed us how good he was going to be, played Jorday so tough, and then HE was gone.

So this team we have now, talent abounds. Are we so willing to watch them go away? At least three of them deserve to stay here and build for the future. The other one is talking his way out fast. GSW drafted their team, added a few pieces, but kept the core together. Look where that has led. This is what I would like for the Celtics, build from the draft. Add a couple of superstars and bang....there we are, fighting for ECF . Blow it up and who knows where it will lead

RosalieTCeltics wrote:

So this team we have now, talent abounds.  Are we so willing to watch them go away? At least three of them deserve to stay here and build for the future. The other one is talking his way out fast.  GSW drafted their team, added a few pieces, but kept the core together. Look where that has led.  This is what I would like for the Celtics, build from the draft. Add a couple of superstars and bang....there we are, fighting for ECF .  Blow it up and who knows where it will lead

I guess we will find out if Danny and company feel that:

Tatum= Curry ( 2 time MVP)
Brown= Klay ( Multuple all-star)
Smart= Draymond ( guy who does all the dirty work and makes it all work)

for me, Smart does = Green, but I'm not sure Tatum or Brown can reach the status of Curry and Thompson. Tim will tell, I suppose.