OAKLAND – The National Basketball League is in an extremely healthy place at the moment.
The league has the global star-power of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. It’s oozing with young talent like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons ready to take the reigns once the established stars fall from their prime. It has teams like the Rockets and Warriors playing at extremely high levels, breaking scoring records left and right.
But for all of that, the 2018 NBA Playoffs haven’t been that competitive. In fact, only one game in either of the two conference finals have been decided by less than ten points – a nine-point win by the Cavaliers in Game 4 that was more lopsided than that.
Before Steve Kerr’s Golden State Warriors took the floor for Game 4, he was asked about the uncompetitive nature of the playoffs.
“My only theory would be the prominence of the 3-point shot these “days,” Kerr said. “Offensively teams are so explosive. The scores are much higher now than they used to be. The rules favor the offensive players.
“And when you add in the human nature factor during the playoffs, which team has the edge emotionally, which team is feeling threatened and on edge…you know maybe it’s that combination of 3-point shooting and explosiveness and the human element.”