12/22/24
May 28, 2015
Golden State Reaches First NBA Finals in 40 Years: Stephen Curry's 26 points and 8 rebounds helped the Golden State Warriors defeat the Houston Rockets 104-90 at home for a 4-1 series win Wednesday night. The Warriors are in the NBA Finals for the first time since winning the championship in 1975. Alvin Attles, the coach of that team, handed Curry the conference trophy after the game. "The Bay Area's been waiting for 40 years," Curry said. "I think it's time."
posted by rcade to basketball at 10:27 AM - 8 comments
I remember the 1975 Finals. Two games in, the commentators were saying that the Bullets had no answer for Warriors' center Clifford Ray down low.
Ray played at 6'9". He had 2 inches on Bullets center Wes Unseld who was 6'7". (But Unseld's shoulders were at least 6'3" wide).
Magic could have played his whole career as a ball handling center back then and taken the league apart. Every game might have been like his Game 6 in the Finals against the Sixers after Kareem got hurt.
I think the 75 Finals was also one of the first times two African-American head coaches competed for the title. Maybe the first. It wasn't as big a deal in the press as when Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith faced each other in the Super Bowl.
posted by beaverboard at 11:58 AM on May 28, 2015
Maybe the first. It wasn't as big a deal in the press as when Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith faced each other in the Super Bowl.
There had been a black head coach in the NBA in 1966, and the first in the NBA finals that year. Nine years later, two of them faced each other in the finals.
It wasn't until 1989 before there was a black head coach in the modern NFL.
The first black head coach to make the Super Bowl wasn't until 2006-07 season, a span of 17 years. Of course, it was TWO black coaches in the Super Bowl that year.
MLB's first hired black manager was in 1975. The first black manager to reach the World Series wouldn't happen until 1992 (a span of 17 seasons), and there have never been two black managers in the World Series.
That's why the NFL occurrence (and the future MLB occurrence) was a bigger deal than the NBA one. The longer you have to wait, the bigger the deal is made out of it.
(See: Triple Crown (baseball and/or horse racing) or Canadian Stanley Cup champion team)
posted by grum@work at 12:31 PM on May 28, 2015
Enjoy the conference trophy.
Warriors are -250 favorites to win the series.
posted by tron7 at 01:04 PM on May 28, 2015
The first black manager to reach the World Series wouldn't happen until 1992 (a span of 17 seasons), and there have never been two black managers in the World Series.
Heck - there's only one in the league right now and depending on who you believe, he's on the hot seat and might not make it through the summer. The MLB one at this point will be miraculous.
posted by dfleming at 01:52 PM on May 28, 2015
Maybe Thompson shouldn't have been allowed back into the game after he said he felt "dizzy" and was, you know, bleeding from his ear drum.
posted by grum@work at 03:16 PM on May 28, 2015
Jeez. Thompson was woozy and threw up multiple times after the game, according to his dad, but the NBA still isn't using concussion protocol for him.
posted by rcade at 03:47 PM on May 28, 2015
Hugo Lloris called to say he thought Thompson was fine. And was I his mom and where were those shoes he ordered?
posted by yerfatma at 08:47 PM on May 28, 2015
Enjoy the conference trophy.
Warriors are in tough against the Cavs. Even tougher if Thompson has a concussion.