By Matthew
Have you ever had a rivalry with someone on a sports team? Well, the Golden State Warriors have an ongoing rivalry with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The rivalry is fueled by trash talk, and newly drafted players play a big role in helping their team, but in the end there has to be a winner. The rivalry between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors is a great example of why billions of people around the world play and watch sports.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have an ongoing rivalry with the Golden State Warriors. But in 2017, the Warriors were seeking redemption because of their loss in 2016. The Warriors are doing great as they won the NBA final to end the trash talk. But Kyrie Irving even admitted some extra trash talk is actually motivating. Trash talk is another source of motivation; if a player talks trash to the opposing team, then that team will want to make it to the finals and prove them wrong. Another good source of motivation is knowing they lost to the same team last year. Harvey Araton said that, “The N.B.A. is the most top-heavy of our professional sports leagues, the most predictable in preseason every season, ruled through the years by a chosen few.” The two main teams that have been making it to the NBA finals are the Cav’s and the Warriors, so it makes sense that their rivalry is growing.
The Warriors have a new player who has helped Golden State to rise to an even higher level. Even though Kevin Durant is a newbie he is amazing at scoring and defence, and his height allows him to get rebounds easily. Although the Warriors have Kevin Durant they did not need him to get to the finals, but they needed him to win the finals. Kevin Durant is not the only new player who has helped the Warriors a lot; he is just the best out of the new players. There are also other other good new players like JaVale McGee, Matt Barnes, David West, and other great newbies. The newly drafted players have not only been helpful but they have also transformed the Golden State Warriors into an unstoppable, undefeatable, NBA team.
At the end, in game five, the Warriors won 129 to 120. Golden State went home with joy, but Lebron was not mad. In fact Lebron even said the Warriors are “built to last.” He meant that the new and young players are factors that make Golden State so great. The younger the players are usually means that the greatness of that team would last. However, the cycle will start again, because the Cav’s will try even harder to beat the Warriors and seek a chance to redeem themselves next year.
The rivalry between the Warriors and the Cav’s has grown to be more than just a rivalry. Kevin Durant and all the other new players on the Warriors added to their team’s greatness, and in the end the Warriors won the 2017 NBA finals. This means the Cav’s and the Warriors could remain the best teams in the NBA. Which team will step up to beat the Warriors next year?