One of the greatest NBA shows of all time may return next season after a two-year hiatus.

By Stuart Shikano

For four straight years, we saw LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers play the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. We knew that that streak had come to an end when LeBron signed with the Lakers in July of 2018, putting him in the same conference as Golden State.

The Warriors instead faced off against the Kawhi Leonard-led Toronto Raptors. It was a wildly entertaining and surprisingly emotional series, full of injuries and compelling finishes.

Meanwhile, LeBron and the Lakers failed to make the postseason. LeBron and the Lakers were 20-14 after a big Christmas Day win vs. Golden State and it felt like they were finally hitting their stride and building something. But, then a groin injury caused LeBron to miss 17 consecutive games and the Lakers’ season got derailed after that. When LeBron came back, “load management” began, the locker room fell apart after a clumsy attempt to trade for Anthony Davis was unsuccessful, and the whole thing came undone.

LeBron played 55 games in the ’18-’19 regular season–his lowest in any year of his career. It was his first year not making the playoffs since the spring of 2005. In a lot of ways, it felt like LeBron’s year off, after an insane eight-year run of making the NBA Finals. For eight straight seasons, LeBron had been the basketball version of Thanos–dismantling NBA franchises practically single-handedly and shattering their hopes on his way to the Finals. In the 2018-19 season, here he was out with injury, and a spectator instead of the star when the playoffs came around.

It was odd to watch meaningful basketball games in April, May, and June, and not see LeBron James. Just like it will be odd to watch meaningful basketball games in April, May, and June, and not see Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and the Golden State Warriors. For the past five seasons, the Golden State Warriors have been at the center of the basketball universe, making five consecutive NBA Finals, winning three titles, and delighting Bay Area hoops fans/irritating basketball fans everywhere else. This year, there will be no such Finals appearance, or playoff appearance.

It will certainly be a change of pace to watch the NBA playoffs and not see the Golden State Warriors. It will be strange to not hear about how it’s “unfair” that the Golden State Warriors added an all-time great Kevin Durant to a 73-win roster. It will be strange to not see Steph Curry draining threes, shimmying, and chewing on his mouthguard. It will be strange to not see a game where Klay Thompson hits 10 3’s to carry the Dubs to a win. It will be strange to not see Draymond Green firing up his team and infuriating the refs and Twitter.

BUT, NBA fans should not get used to the Warriors not playing meaningful basketball and being an NBA Finals threat. Just like people should not have gotten used to seeing LeBron sitting out a postseason. It sounded somewhat improbable to say last spring that the Lakers would be in the 2020 NBA Finals. If one were to say that, then they would likely be assuming either an Anthony Davis trade would go through in the offseason, a huge splash would be made in free agency signing Kawhi Leonard or Kyrie Irving, or some combination of those transactions. Well, the AD trade did go through in June. Then, the Lakers signed Danny Green, Avery Bradley, re-signed McGee and Rondo and lastly signed a humbled, ever-so-motivated, reinvented Dwight Howard. The chemistry has been great and will likely get even better. It did not take long for the LeBron haters to go from laughing at the King’s misfortunes or being silent as they watch a Laker team go on a tear.

History is likely to repeat itself with the Warriors too. WHY? Well, let’s recap.

It all started in April of 2019 when DeMarcus Cousins tore his quad in Game 2 of the first round vs. the Clippers. Then, in the western conference semifinals vs. the Houston Rockets, Kevin Durant left game 5 prematurely after suffering a non-contact calf injury. When Durant attempted to come back in game 5 of the NBA Finals, Durant tore his Achilles, and will be out the entire 2019-20 season. Though, Durant left in free agency to join the Brooklyn Nets, his injury happened with Golden State, and put a big damper on their chances to three-peat. As if it could not get worse, Klay Thompson tore his ACL in game six, virtually ending Golden State’s three-peat hopes, and also putting a dagger in hope for the 2019-20 season, as months later it was announced he would miss the entire season. It was known that this year would be different and not in a good way than the last several seasons, but the season got off to a rude awakening when the Clippers and the Thunder both blew out Golden State to start the season. Then on Oct. 30th, Steph Curry broke his hand, and will be out until the spring. Steph Curry’s injury this season felt like another sequel to the Golden State injury curse that began last postseason. It really does feel like someone has a Warrior voodoo doll and has been steadfast in their pin placing since last spring.

So what’s happened this season with Golden State has not been very surprising, as there’s been a lot of losses and Steve Kerr frustration. Those who have been jealous of the Warriors’ dynasty are getting their jokes off and reveling in their struggles. But, they better do that now, because it will be a different story next year, just like the Lakers. Golden State will get a healthy Steph Curry and a healthy Klay Thompson back next season. They will also either have D’Angelo Russell or whatever players/picks/assets they get back for Russell should he be traded. They will also have a lottery pick and by the looks of things now, it will be a high pick. Imagine they draft James Wiseman from Memphis. That would mean next season, they would have Curry and Thompson back as their back-court, D’Angelo or D’Angelo trade assets, Draymond at the four, and James Wiseman at center. Yikes! Other teams better watch out. Plus, this would be a Golden State team with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove, two things they have not had in a while.

There are a lot of possible scenarios for how things could play out from here to next season and the type of team Golden State trots out next season, depending on factors like if they trade D’Angelo Russell, where they fall in the lottery order, and any other trades they could potentially make. But, here’s the thing–all of the possible scenarios are GOOD. No matter how things shake, they will have their core three guys playing together, and those three will have significantly more help than they would have had this season if they were all playing together. It would sound somewhat improbably to say now that the Golden State Warriors will be in the 2021 NBA Finals with the way they look now, but do not rule it out. They will certainly be in the conversation. Another team that will be in that conversation are the Lakers.

So, LeBron took a year off, though not intentionally. Then he came back with AD/Dwight Howard/Danny Green and NBA Finals expectations. The Warriors are taking this year off, though not intentionally, and will come back with a reloaded, scary team next year. What I am trying to tell y’all is we could get a reboot of LeBron vs. the Warriors next year.

After 1 year of LeBron being out of the playoffs and 1 year of the Warriors being out of the playoffs, next year we could get part five of LeBron vs. the Warriors — albeit this time in the Western Conference Finals.

By Stuart Shikano

Remember 2012? People were doing that “Gangnam Style” dance, Pres. Barack Obama was running for re-election against Mitt Romney, and we thought that the Mayans’ prediction that the world would end would (probably) not happen. Although, looking back on the last few years, who’s to say that the world not ending was a good thing?

A paramount NFL storyline in the winter of 2012 was the rise of the dual threat quarterback. The dual threat quarterback was not a new concept in 2012; but with Washington’s Robert Griffin III, San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick, and Seattle’s Russell Wilson on the scene and impressing, it felt like the quarterback position had evolved to guys like them. It felt like we were watching the future of the QB position when we watched Griffin, Kaepernick, and Wilson. And it was. Well, for 1 to 2 more seasons. So what happened?

RG3 suffered a knee injury in a week 14 game in the 2012 season and then re-injured his knee in a wild card game against Seattle. Things only got worse for RG3 and the Washington Redskins after that.

Coming off a breakout 2012 season that led to a Super Bowl loss to the Ravens and a stellar 2013 season, Colin Kaepernick was a Richard Sherman tip/Malcolm Smith interception away from reaching his second consecutive Super Bowl. But after that, the Niners declined as a team, failing to make the playoffs. Then, there was the ire directed at Kaepernick for protesting oppressive and racist forces in America, resulting in the NFL blackballing Kaepernick.

Russell Wilson went on to win a Super Bowl for the 2013-14 season, make it back to another Super Bowl the following year, and was a Malcolm Butler interception/terrible play call away from winning back to back Super Bowls. Wilson still played very well in the seasons following that, as did the Legion of Boom. But, the Seahawks had already peaked, never making it back to another Super Bowl, and reports circulating of a disconnected locker room.

WHICH BRINGS US to RIGHT NOW.

Russell Wilson is having his best season in years and feels like he is finally getting the recognition he deserves. He is currently the lone starting quarterback of 2012’s big three. However, there is one quarterback at the moment who is reminiscent of those dual threat quarterbacks of 2012, yet takes things on and off the field to the next level. His name is Lamar Jackson.

Lamar Jackson is frequently compared to Michael Vick. Such comparisons are inevitable and not without warrant. They are both extremely athletic, fast, and exciting to watch. Certainly, Vick and Lamar Jackson are the best quarterbacks when it comes to running the ball in the modern era. But, Vick, fair or unfair, would get labeled a coach killer and not a great leader. In Lamar’s case, it is nearly impossible to hear one of Lamar’s teammates or coaches speak about him for very long without highlighting his strong leadership and ability to galvanize this team.

The praise Lamar Jackson gets from teammates, coaches, and the media is significant. When Russell Wilson was making Super Bowl appearances earlier this decade, critics would point to Marshawn Lynch, as well as the Legion of Boom as the main reasons for Seattle’s success. There did not appear to be a particularly warm embrace of Wilson by many of his Seattle teammates and to outsiders, it was a debate as to whose team it was.

Even when Colin Kaepernick became the 49ers’ starting quarterback in 2012, it was because he did a great job filling in for an injured Alex Smith. The 49ers did not know that Colin Kaepernick would be their starter going into that 2012 season. The opposite is true for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Lamar Jackson was picked by Baltimore in the first round in the 2018 NFL Draft and it was clear that he was their guy. The man who was once Super Bowl MVP for the Ravens, Joe Flacco was out and Lamar was in.

Another important part of Lamar’s development is the organization he plays for. Poor RG3 had to play for the Washington Redskins, whose ownership has been a mess for a long time, and have mishandled numerous injuries over the years, including RG3’s. Lamar gets to play for the Baltimore Ravens, who have a competent owner in Steve Bisciotti, a GM with a vision in Eric DeCosta, and a hell of a head coach in John Harbaugh.

On a final note, I hope to see Lamar’s success continue. Watching a quarterback that can break a big run every play is exciting, and I have never liked seeing that style of play dismissed or be branded as gimmicky. There are valid concerns about running quarterbacks, particularly when some continuously take big hits. When avoiding those big hits though, a great dual threat quarterback can feel like a cheat code. If you really want to know how difficult it is to slow down a dual threat quarterback, consider that even the mastermind that is Bill Belichick does not know how to do it. In 2012, an emerging Colin Kaepernick went into Gillette Stadium and beat the Patriots 41-34. Flash forward to 2019 when just a few weeks ago Lamar Jackson beat the New England Patriots 37-20, giving the Patriots their first and currently only loss of the 2019 NFL season. Even a historically great Patriots’ defense was left scratching their heads when facing Lamar Jackson. NFL teams can certainly win with a running quarterback and with Lamar being only 22 years old, this could definitely go on for a long time.

We may have jumped the gun in 2012, but considering Lamar Jackson’s 2019 play and potential, the dual threat quarterback is the present and the future.