The 2016-17 NBA Regular Season Has Been Anything But Regular
The 2016-17 NBA season has been anything but predictable, and it’s everything fans ask for
It was supposed to be a regular season with no big surprises.
The Golden State Warriors, after adding Kevin Durant, were supposed to coast with little resistance to, perhaps, the best record ever and an NBA Championship.
In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers were expected to cruise to the playoffs and get to, yet again, another NBA Finals.
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Little did we know, the 2016-17 season would bring so many twists and turns.
In these strange times, we learned that the Warriors were not who we thought they were. For one thing, the Warriors played in more close games than most people expected.
And in those close games, we saw the Warriors struggling down the stretch, leading many people to question the team’s chemistry. Especially in those times when Draymond Green was seen having a heated conversation with Durant, it became clear that the Warriors’ journey would not be so smooth after all.
Then came Durant’s knee sprain, which caused him to miss more than a month of basketball.
Through all the adversities, the Warriors have persevered and are still in good position to finish on top in the West. Still, this is not the 70-win team most people expected. This is not the same team that was a clear favorite to win the title.
For the Cavaliers, the road to the playoffs has been even more tough. The defending champs finished 7-10 in March and dropped to second place in the East behind Boston. One of the Cavs’ worst losses was a 103-74 loss against the Spurs on March. 27.
It’s still hard to imagine the Cavs not making the Finals, but there are definitely a few teams in the East that can make that a reality. Especially if the Celtics and the Wizards continue to surprise us in the playoffs, this season might come to an abrupt end for the defending champs.
For some fans, the dream is to see the Warriors and the Cavs in the Finals again. But that may not be the best thing for the NBA. What the league needs is drama, as we have seen so far in the regular season.
Even if we see the San Antonio Spurs and the Wizards in the Finals, the league is better off when it’s unpredictable.
In yet another strange plot twist this season, we saw the Houston Rockets as a formidable team. Maybe some folks already forgot, but the Rockets were the laughing stock of the offseason. First, they signed Mike D’Antoni, a coach who has always been criticized for his laissez-faire approach to defensive schemes.
Then, the Rockets decided to experiment with James Harden at point guard, leaving us even more baffled. As it turned out, the Rockets became one of the pleasant surprises of the season. Like the Steve Nash days in Phoenix, D’Antoni has the Rockets running-and-gunning, making them one of the most exciting teams to watch.
Harden, who has made a name for himself as a YouTube blooper reel in recent years, now has a chance to etch his name on the MVP trophy.
Russell Westbrook, the guy who stands in the way of Harden’s MVP campaign, is also another reason why this season has been so unpredictable. Maybe some of us expected Westbrook to take his game to another level when Durant departed last summer.
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But nobody anywhere on this planet could have guessed that Westbrook would total more than 40 triple-doubles in a season. That type of historic feat is enough to even lure in the occasional sports fan.
Thus, it’s safe to say that this regular season has been anything but regular. Now, lets looks forward to more uncertainty in the NBA Playoffs.