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GameDay: Will Warriors Host Next Championship Parade?

Will you settle for 81-1?

The NBA Power Rankings came out today ranking your Golden State Warriors as the best team in basketball, or the most powerful, depending on your literal interpretation of the rankings.

Here's the top five:

  1. Golden State 5-1
  2. Memphis 6-1
  3. Houston 6-1
  4. Toronto 6-1
  5. LA Clippers 4-2

When the San Francisco Giants paraded down Market Street I pondered the unlikely scenario of a second World Championship team in the Bay Area in the same year.

Could the 49ers win the Super Bowl? Would the Sharks finally drink from Lord Stanley's Grail?   And then, just as Madison Bumgarner was waving to his throngs of new-found followers, I caught myself laughing at the preposterous notion that, well, it could actually be the Golden State Warriors!

A preposterous thought because, until two years ago, the Warriors were the laughingstock of the NBA. Preposterous because it's been 39 years since Rick Barry led the Warriors to an unlikely sweep over the Washington Bullets in the NBA Finals. Preposterous because Gregg Popovich is like a mosquito. He's always there and you can never seem to catch him.

But the last time I checked the Spurs were eight spots behind the Warriors in the power rankings. A new era?  If you listen to Warrior broadcasts it certainly is. Steph Curry just won Player of the Week honors, soon to be followed by Player of the Month and, eventually, Player of the Year.

Curry led the NBA with 30 points per game, averaged 3.33 steals and dished out 7.3 assists per game. Just ignore the turnovers. Sure Golden State leads the NBA is that dubious distinction, but work with me.

To no one's surprise the Warriors lead the NBA in shooting at 49 percent. They have more offense than Miley Cyrus. People laughed at Mark Jackson when he proclaimed the Warriors duo of Curry and Thompson the best-shooting backcourt of all-time. Who's laughing now? But the offense was a given.

What propels the Warriors into the stratosphere of the NBA's elite is balance, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Mark Jackson gets some of the credit here. His locker room bought into his homily and played their best defense in 30 years. Personnel additions in Andrew Bogut, Andre Iguodala and, of course, the beast Draymond Green all combine to provide the Warriors with a defense-first mentality.

Case in point? In their victory over Houston, the Warriors held the undefeated Rockets to 87 points. Golden State's defense ranks first in the NBA in efficiency, allowing just 89.4 points per 100 possessions. That's 10 points fewer than a season ago.

It's a far cry from the Don Nelson years of shoot first, ask questions later. But Nelson never won an NBA title with his brand of basketball. Will Steve Kerr become the first NBA rookie coach ever to win a title in his rookie season? He's got the horses, the assistants, and some of the best home-cookin' in the NBA. If this team stays healthy, and that's always a big "if" with Andrew Bogut, I'd mark June 8 on your calendar.

That's the likely date of a championship parade, right through downtown Oakland.

 

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