This round of Warriors vs. Cavaliers won't be nearly as fun
The soon-to-be-quadrilogy between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers has produced some genuinely fun moments in the annals of NBA history.
When the Warriors won the title in 2015, it seemed like a new era of basketball, where shooting and skill take precedence over size and paint play.
In 2016, the Cavaliers not only won the first championship in franchise history, they also became the first team ever to come back from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals.
In 2017, the Warriors avenged their epic 2016 collapse and Kevin Durant won his first NBA championship.
In 2018 — what’s left?
Yes, there’s history to be made with a fourth straight championship to be decided between the same two teams. It’s never happened before in North American sports history. In fact, there haven’t been three straight championships between the two same teams (excluding Warriors-Cavaliers) since 1956, when the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings capped off a trilogy of Stanley Cup Finals.
But with an unprecedented fourth straight NBA Finals between the two same teams, it’s fair to wonder if unprecedented fatigue is about to set in for viewers as well.
It’d be one thing if the two teams were somewhat evenly matched, but they’re not. This is easily the worst Finals team that LeBron James has spearheaded since his lowly 2007 Cavaliers team was swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
The Warriors already have been pegged as heavy favorites against the Cavaliers, with many prognosticators predicting the series to be over in five games max. Vegas odds strongly reflect this, with the 2018 Cavs being significantly bigger underdogs than the 2007 Cavs.
NBA Finals ratings will ultimately decide if the fans and viewers are fatigued, but Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob already has admitted to his fatigue.
Chatted with Joe Lacob briefly postgame on his nerves during these West Finals and Warriors-Cavaliers, Round 4. Lacob: "Sort of tired of Cleveland." pic.twitter.com/FpvZi6UyoG
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 29, 2018
If an NBA owner on the verge of his third Larry O’Brien Trophy in four years is sick and tired of facing the same opponent, imagine how the common fan without a particular vested interest in either team must feel.
And make no mistake about it, this is the Warriors’ championship to lose.
LeBron James very well might be playing the best basketball of his career, and yet a Boston Celtics team missing two of its best players and an Indiana Pacers team without a second star behind Victor Oladipo both took three games from him.
A Warriors team missing former NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala is still significantly more talented than either the Celtics or Pacers.
If there’s one sliver of hope, it’s that the duopoly on the NBA Finals might be coming to a close.
In the East, rising powers such as the Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers are closing the talent gap between themselves and the Cavaliers. In fact, the Celtics are probably the better team right now with a healthy Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.
Out West, the Rockets seem poised to remain a thorn in the Warriors’ sides for the immediate future. Rising Western Conference teams like the Pelicans have the singular talent (All-Universe big man Anthony Davis) a team needs to hang with Golden State. Even cellar-dwellers like the Los Angeles Lakers could quickly turn their fortunes around if they’re able to land James and Paul George in free agency.
Despite some lopsided games in the Conference Finals, the NBA has continued to draw improved ratings. The ultimate litmus test for the health of the NBA’s fan base will come when the Finals ratings are in.
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