Ty Watches "The Last Dance" Parts 9 and 10

"The Last Dance" ended last night, and it may be the single greatest documentary series that has ever existed. I don't feel like I am being a prisoner of the moment. I don't think it has anything to do with the lack of sports, although that definitely helps. I think this is the greatest documentary series ever because it is about the greatest basketball player ever, and it is directed by one the best sports story tellers of all time. "The Last Dance" has every single ingredient to make it as perfect as it was.

Now, spoiler alert out there for listeners to out podcast, but I will give my feelings on the documentary as a whole on the next pod. Today, I want to continue with my review of the most recent episodes. Last night finished it off with 9 and 10, and they were magnificent. The series continued to get better, and last night was no exception. Episode 9 went straight away into the 98 East Finals against the Pacers. This was one of two series that went to 7 games during the Bulls double three peat. This was also, probably, the toughest series for any Jordan led team, prior to the Pistons. The Pacers had the style of team that could compete with this Bulls squad. They had big, nasty guys. They had a veteran point guard. They had quickness and electricity off the bench. They had an old sharp shooter. They had size. And they had Reggie Miller. They could have won this series. They could've ended the dynasty one series early. But they didn't. Too may mistakes, miscues and poor rebounding and free throw shooting doomed them. Also, the jump ball between Rik Smits and Jordan was a play I never, ever thought about, but was played out to show how important that one moment was in this series, and I will never look at it the same ever again.

They shifted from that series to the 97 Finals against the Jazz. They showed a lot of stuff from there. We got some great back story on Steve Kerr. His story was very, very in depth, heartbreaking and showed his character. It made me like him even more. We also got the real truth behind the infamous "flu game". As I suspected, and a ton of others did, it wasn't a stomach flu, it was food poisoning. To hear Jordan confirm so quickly and assuredly made it hit home even more. And to see the way he came out and played, after going through something as awful as food poisoning, the guy is not human. That was cool. I also liked getting to see Jordan's kids and hearing them talk about their dislike for Utah and why their mom wouldn't let them go to games there. It was nice to finally hear from someone in his family.

They shifted back to the Pacers series and we got all the intel that I mentioned, and so, so much more. Reggie Miller is underrated, Scottie Pippen is one of the best defenders ever, Larry Bird could coach, Steve Kerr was a sharp shooter and Jordan was an absolute killer. It was awesome to see them break down the series the way they did. We also got to hear about his close relationship with one member of his security detail, and that was a nice story to see how that gentleman took on the fatherly role for Jordan after his dad was killed. It was all great.

Episode 10 was all about the 98 Finals and the aftermath. This was a tremendous episode. To see them talk about how they went about winning, how tired mentally and physically they were, how they laid it all out, it was amazing. Also, big props to Scottie Pippen for playing through that horrible back injury. He really showed his mental toughness, and to do what he did with that injury is astounding. Also, props to Dennis Rodman. Sure, he is an asshole, he skipped out on practice to go wrestle, he wouldn't talk to anyone, but the dude laid it out on the court every game night, and he was the best pest and rebounder that the Bulls have ever had. He also hit four straight free throws in a critical moment for the Bulls, and that is just amazing.

But this was all about MJ and his willingness to put this team on his back and carry them to their 6th title. The things he did in game 6 of the 98 Finals was spectacular, especially the last minute of that game. The Bulls were down 3, and he goes and gets a quick layup. I mean, guys tried to stop him, but he is Michael god damn Jordan. If he wanted to get to the basket he got there. Then, to get the strip on Karl Malone, and bring the ball up and hit that jumper, I mean, there is no better way to go out than that. I know he came back to play for Washington, and some may say he pushed off Byron Russell, but I will always look at that jumper as his last moment. That personified his greatness. That sequence proves for the billionth time that he is the greatest to ever play basketball. I have a piece tomorrow about current players calling him out, Channing Frye I'm talking particularly to you, and they are all full of nonsense. But I will save all that for tomorrow. Jordan proved time and again, when he wanted to win, he was going to find a way to win.

Then the aftermath of that, what followed after the 98 title was wild. Everyone wanted this team back, they wanted to see if they could go for four straight, to win seven in nine years. And I think they would have. If they were able to pull it off, they could have done it. And to see Jordan's reaction to Jerry Reinsdorf's explanation as to why they had to split this team up was something else. Jordan said he didn't agree, and laid out a scenario where they could have done it all again. We were left thinking, what if, but what we got from the 90's Bulls, and Jordan himself was witnessing greatness that we may never see again.

This, and I will keep saying this, is the great documentary series that has ever existed. It is, by far the best sports doc ever, and dare I say, the best documentary ever made. "The Last Dance" is a rare achievement we don't see that much today, and that is being a perfect movie being perfectly told. I love this and I cannot recommend it enough. I will rewatch this maybe a billion times. It's the best. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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This New KD Injury Sucks Again

I stated yesterday that I was going to talk about the many things I enjoyed about my recent vacation unless something wild happened in other pop culture stuff that I write about, and we had the KD incident during game 5 last night. I have to give my thoughts on this today.

First off, I was one of the people that did not think he was going to play at all in the Finals, and I still thought the Warriors would win, with ease I might add, without him. After he grabbed at his calf, without being touched by anyone, I just assumed it was much worse than a strained calf. I had feared for him that he tore his ACL. You usually don't see an athlete grab at a part of their body, untouched, and it is as simple as a strain. That is usually a sign of something much worse. So, when he missed the rest of the Rockets series, and didn't play at all in the West Finals, I just assumed they were going to sit him out, and that he would sit out to save himself for free agency. The Warriors were also clicking insanely well, as I wrote about after the West Finals, and I just assumed this was going to be the end of the KD Warriors as we knew them.

Well, the Raptors had other ideas. They came out like a wrecking ball in game one of the Finals. They looked locked and loaded. Kawhi was, and still is, playing at a whole other level. The Raptors beat the Warriors, but Golden State came back and won game 2. Then they looked really, really bad, at home, in games 3 and 4. Steph was trying to draw fouls instead of just shooting the ball. Klay would come and go, and his defense was inconsistent. Draymond was a turnover machine. Kevon Looney, who was playing well, broke his clavicle I believe. Boogie Cousins was even more inconsistent than Klay. And their team defense was just horrendous. They didn't just get beat in games 3 and 4, they got schooled. The Raptors were beating them at their own game, and they were making it look clinical.

So, after game 4, in which the Raptors simply destroyed the Warriors, especially in the third quarter, the rumors started to swirl that KD may play. Then, he was cleared for practice on Sunday. When I saw that I was kind of stunned. I mean, he hadn't played in over a month, all the reports that were coming out prior had said that he couldn't fully participate in all the drills, he wasn't playing 3 on 3 or 5 on 5 games. It was all bad news. So, when he got cleared, I shook off the initial shock and I then realized he was going to play in game 5 no matter what. I assumed this was going to be the modern Willis Reed moment, look it up. But, he came out and he made his first 2 three pointers. He then dove on the floor for loose balls. He was playing okay defense. He didn't look fully healthy, but he looked a hell of a lot better than I expected. He scored 11 points in the first, and I just assumed he was back. Then, while making a simple move early in the second, he immediately lost the ball and clutched at the back of his already injured leg. This time though, it was higher up. I said out loud, "OH NO". This was the absolute worst possible scenario I could think of for the Warriors, but more importantly, KD. This was the biggest fear, and it was coming clear to all of us watching the game that he was hurt, and he should not have been out on that court last night.

Now, I do want to say, for all the guff I have given KD since joining the Warriors, I take it all back. For him to come out and give it a go last night was amazing. He sacrificed himself for his team. He knew that they needed him, and he went out there, even though he wasn't even close to being healthy. You could see the lift he gave the Warriors just by being on the floor. He is a true basketball player. I gained so much more respect after seeing him out there last night. I don't blame him one bit for wanting to play. He went there to win titles, and when his team had their backs against the wall, he played even though he knew he wasn't fully ready. This is the case with most high caliber athletes. They want to play, and if they feel ready, good luck telling them no.

Who I blame for this horrendous, and preventable injury, is the Warriors team doctors, front office and Steve Kerr. Kerr, above anyone else, should have known that he wasn't ready. He was a former player. He has been around KD for three years now. He knows the toll winning multiple titles takes on the body. Yet, he still let him play last night. I think he has gotten so greedy with his titles that he was willing to look past his best overall player clearly injured, and he put him in the game knowing he could further injure himself. Kerr has also been wildly outcoached in this series, and I think he supposed putting KD in might mask that. As far as the owners, I think they realize this is probably the last shot with this current team, so they threw caution aside, and safety, and told the team they needed to play KD last night. They too are greedy, they are leaving Oakland, and they are most likely losing KD. So, they decided that they needed to throw him out there for one last hurrah. They don't play, they are just rich Silicon Valley guys, and I'm sure they figured he has had enough time off. They had to have had a say in him playing last night. Also, the fact that team doctors cleared him to play last night is appalling to me. As I said, he was making shots and diving her and there, but you could see he wasn't fully right. He wasn't slashing and cutting to the rim. He was shooting set shots. He couldn't move very well laterally on defense. He was clearly not even close to 100 percent. It is disgusting that team doctors cleared him last night. I cannot believe, at this high a level of basketball, that some people with their PHD's decided that he was okay to play high level NBA basketball. I hope those doctors are losing sleep now that this has happened.

This is a real bummer. This is so much worse than what happened in the series against the Rockets. This was on display for all to see last night. Again, I do not blame KD one bit. He is a basketball player. But, for all those other people I mentioned, to put him out there, that is a drag man. He now, and there is no official word yet, has probably a year of recovery time before he gets back to being KD. That is a shame. I wish him a speedy recovery, but it didn't have to be like this. This didn't have to happen. What a bummer.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

How the Rockets are Beating the Warriors

Last night the Rockets took a 3-2 series lead on the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.

I have to admit I was wrong first of all. After game one I wrote that the Warriors were locked in, and that should run away with the series now that they were actually trying. Well, the Rockets have muddied up the game, James Harden and Chris Paul, and the Rockets bench, are playing much better, and they have total control of the series. They can close it out on Saturday night, and it would not surprise me. I know that Chris Paul is officially out of game 6 with a hamstring pull, but I do not think it will matter much. I also realize that the game is in Oracle, but again, I don't think it will matter much.

The problem, after game one, the Warriors returned to how they have played this entire season. They have only really showed up when they need to, and they have played bored and careless almost all season. It is all coming back to haunt them now. After game one, they have only played one other game, game 3, where they have looked like the team that they are supposed to look like. In games 2, 4 and 5, the Warriors have looked helpless and lost. They are playing way too much isolation basketball. They are playing right into the Rockets hands. They are doing everything that the Rockets want them to do. The Warriors are letting the Rockets shoot threes. They are letting Harden get to the hoop unimpeaded. They are letting Clint Capela constantly burn them on pick and rolls. Their bench, or lack there of, is hurting them. Their old school centers are pretty much unplayable. And the Rockets are taking total advantage of all this, and more. Props to Mike D'Antoni for letting his team play like they have all year, and letting Harden run the show. Props to Harden for getting the playoff choking moniker off his back. Even if the Warriors wake up and win the series, Harden has been very solid. Props to Chris Paul for going out there, playing his game and not letting the moment get to him. I'm actually a little bummed that he is out of the next game because I want both of these teams at full strength. This series has gone the exact opposite of how I thought.

Maybe I should have seen this coming. As I said, the Warriors have lacked the killer attitude all year long. They do not seem to care, no matter how big the moment. Steph is playing better, but he is still getting exposed on defense. Every night there is a highlight of him getting shook by Harden or Paul. Klay Thompson is hurt, and has gone ice cold from the field. He cannot hit the ocean, and he is getting torched on defense. KD has been scoring a ton, but that is really it. He has a very small amount of assists. Besides game one, his defense has been mediocre at best. And he is playing far too much iso ball. Dare I say, he has become the Warriors version of Russell Westbrook. Draymond Green has been horrendous in this series. He cannot score, he is getting dunked on every night, and he keeps talking shit as if he is doing something. Even his own mom called him out on Twitter for his poor play.

The most egregious performance, at least to me, is Steve Kerr's coaching. He is being wildly outcoached by D'Antoni. His willingness to let his players play through big runs is shocking. His decision to not call timeouts has been Andy Reid bad. Then his attitude, for example his, "I feel like we are in a great situation" quote after last night's game, has shocked me. This team is on the brink, and he is acting as if it is game 30 of the regular season. And I say again, that has been the problem all year. They just do not seem to care. They look like they will be just fine going on vacation after tomorrow night's game, if they do not win. They just seem disinterested. And the Rockets are taking full advantage of it all.

Hopefully the Warriors find their mojo again, because I'd love this series to go 7. But, the way the Warriors have come out the last 2 games, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Rockets end it tomorrow night. We will just have to wait and see.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on all the internet.

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Ty's Look at the 2016 NBA Finals

The two teams we all thought would be here.

As I did last year, and I will do every year, I'm going to preview and predict the NBA finals. But first,

GOOOOOOOOOOOOD DAMMMMMMMMMMMIT. 

OKC should be playing in these finals, they blew it big time. They had a 3-1 lead, and they should have won game 6, and they had an excellent shot last night, but they went ice cold from the field and they reverted back to blaming each other and playing hero ball. They stopped doing what had worked so well for them throughout the first two rounds and the first four games of the conference finals and blew a huge lead against the Warriors. The Thunder lost, and that is a fact.

Okay, I got that off my chest, now lets get to the preview and my prediction.

We have a rematch from last years finals, but these finals will look very different. Last year, the Cavs were without Kevin Love going into the finals, and they lost Kyrie Irving in game one. This time, the Cavs are at full strength and may make this series very competitive. The Warriors, they are at full strength, but they look tired and this historic season looks to be taking a toll. But, they came back from a huge deficit against OKC, and they look like they may have gotten their mojo back. Klay Thompson and Steph Curry are absolutely on fire right now. The Warriors also have a ton of momentum and home court advantage going into the finals. 

Lets look at the starting lineups first. The Warriors have Curry, Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green. The Cavs will put LeBron, Kyrie, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson and JR Smith out there. LeBron is the best player in the world, but he is older and has played in 6 straight finals. That's a ton of minutes on his body, but he is the best player on the floor. When you look at the other four Warriors starters, when opposed to the other four Cavs starters, I think the Warriors are much better. Case and point, who is going to guard Klay Thompson? The Cavs may try LeBron for a minute or two, but he will not be able to keep up the hustle it will take on defense to stop Thompson because he will be running the offense. So, that leaves guys like Kyrie Irving and JR Smith. Kyrie Irving, while a wizard dribbling the ball and a great shooter, he is a garbage defender and Thompson will destroy him. JR Smith is a better defender, but he is a hot head and he will get angry and start making dumb fouls when Thompson makes a few jumpers on him. Advantage Warriors.

Then there is Steph. No one on the Cavs can guard Steph. That was proven during last years finals. Irving will, once again, get destroyed. JR Smith is too slow. LeBron won't be able to keep up with him. It's a no win situation for the Cavs. Once again, advantage Warriors.

As far as Harrison Barnes goes, I think the Cavs would be best fit putting JR Smith on him and keeping him there. They are pretty much equal, as far as ability on both ends of the floor, and I think that would be a good battle. I would actually give the advantage in this head to head to the Cavs. I think JR Smith has that irrational confidence and Barnes thinks way too much when he plays. Advantage Cavs in that matchup.

In the front court we have Kevin Love guarding either Bogut or Green and then the Cavs will put Tristan Thompson on the other guy. This matchup one hundred percent favors the Warriors. If the Cavs want to put Thompson on Bogut, they will cancel each other out, but Bogut is a good rebounder, just as good as Thompson, and he is a better defender and a much better passer than Thompson. Then, there is the Kevin Love question. He is a great scorer and rebounder, but he is a terrible, god awful defender and he lets his mood affect his play. When he doesn't get touches or shots, he sulks. His defense, once again, is some of the worst in the league. Bogut would eat him alive in the low post and Draymond Green can take him outside, drive on him and he will get in his head. Kevin Love has become a liability and he will not be on this team next year. I'm about 99 percent sure of this. So, while Tristan Thompson may cancel out Bogut, Draymond Green can beat up Kevin Love and out rebound Thompson and Bogut would eat Love alive in the post and cancel out Thompson. Advantage, big time, Warriors.

That leaves us with LeBron. The Warriors starters will be hard pressed to stop him, but they have secret weapon on their bench, who I will get to in a minute. LeBron is a beast and he will get his on this Warriors starting bunch. Just look at last years finals. He is un guardable. Any team that has LeBron has the advantage of having the best player on the floor.

Now, the benches for each team. While it may look like the benches are compatible, they are not. The Warriors bench is so much better, younger, faster and play much better team defense and offense. The secret weapon to guard LeBron that I spoke of on the Warriors bench is Andre Igoudala. He won finals MVP last year for his defensive performance against LeBron. He can bang with him and force him to be a jump shooter, which is exactly what you should want LeBron to do. Igoudala may once again be the X factor in this series. Then the Warriors bring in guys like Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, Festus Ezeli, Mareese Speights and Anderson Varejo. Each one of these guys brings exactly what they need to for the Warriors in their limited minutes. Livingston is a huge point guard and a decent scorer off the bench. Barbosa is instant offense and a lightning bolt. Ezeli and Speights provide great low post scoring and Ezeli is a pretty decent defender. And Varejo will want to show the team that gave up on him that he is still a good player. The Cavs bench has guys like Matthew Dellavedova, Richard Jefferson, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov. Mozgov is a non factor. He barely sees the floor anymore, so he doesn't matter. Dellavedova is one of the most overrated bench players in all of the NBA. He is dirty and a much, much worse version of Draymond Green. Dellavedova is garbage. Iman Shumpert is an excellent defender and a decent three point shooter, but he has been hurt all year and he has lost minutes to JR Smith. And that leaves us with Richard Jefferson. I think Richard Jefferson may be one million years old. He won't be able to keep up with anyone on the Warriors and he will be a non factor. The Warriors bench is lights years better. Advantage Warriors, by about a million percent.

That leaves us with coaches. Steve Kerr has been here as a player and a coach, winning multiple titles with the Bulls as a player and winning the title last year as the head coach of the Warriors. He has made this team a juggernaut. Tyron Lue is the "coach" of the Cavs, but I think we all truly know who pulls the strings and makes the decisions for the Cavs and his name is LeBron James. Lue is a figure head. Yeah, the Cavs went on a historic playoff run, but it was against the Pistons, Hawks and Raptors. That is, by no means, a murderers row. The Warriors weren't tested in the first two rounds of the west playoffs, beating the Rockets and Trailblazers, but they were tested by possibly the second best team in basketball in the conference finals, the Thunder. They have been pushed and rose to the occasion, like a champion, and a lot of that comes from the coach. Steve Kerr is a better coach than the two headed monster of Tyron Lue and LeBron James. It's a fact. Advantage Warriors.

I bet everyone assumes that I have the Warriors in a sweep after reading this, but that is not the case. I think this series will be much more competitive than last year. If the Cavs make shots like they have been, it may go seven. But, the Cavs haven't faced a defense this good, not even close, in the playoffs. The Cavs defense is also very mediocre and that will hurt them against the Warriors. The Warriors also have home court advantage and they are historically great. I think the Warriors will win, once again, in 6 games. The Cavs will get two because LeBron will win one on his own and they will out shoot the Warriors in one game, but what it all comes down to, the Warriors are a better team that plays much, much, much better defense. They will find a way to shut down everyone else not named LeBron and the Cavs cannot win that way. The Warriors will cap this 73 win season with another title. I think someone like Curry or Thompson will be named the MVP of the finals, but we could also see Igoudala win again if he locks down LeBron, or Draymond Green if he stops playing dirty and just dominates Kevin Love. The Warriors are a better team and they should win. They have momentum and they have home court.

(ed note:) Warriors in 4. No doubt

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His wish for next season is a soft spoken, business like, shooter for the OKC Thunder. They need it. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Luke Walton Needs to Stay Far, Far Away from the Knicks

If you approach the Knicks, you will get burned

It has come up in sports news lately that the New York Knicks are going to try to hire Golden State assistant coach Luke Walton as their new head coach. I've actually heard that it's down to Walton and Kurt Rambis.

First off, Kurt Rambis should never, ever, ever be a head coach in the NBA. He's shown, with the multiple chances he's had, that he is not a competent head coach. He makes one baffling decision after another. He's incompetent. He was a good player, but he is a terrible coach. Luke Walton proved that he can take an already established, great roster of players and win a ton of games. It happened at the beginning of this season when Steve Kerr had such bad back problems he couldn't coach the team. They gave that duty over to Walton and he shined. Sure, he looked good, even great at times as the "head coach", but I think I could do pretty well with guys like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and on and on. That roster is absolutely loaded. It wouldn't be that tough to take the plays and pointers that Kerr already has in place and tell the players to continue to do that. It worked so well last year that they won a title. So yeah, the Warriors won their first 27 games and started out incredibly hot with Walton as the head coach, but I think any of those assistants would have been equally as successful.

Now, that's not to say that Walton won't be a good head coach in the future, but I don't think the Knicks is where he should get his feet wet. That team is a dumpster fire being run by an incompetent front office and a GM, Phil Jackson, that clearly doesn't want to be there. They also have a pretty bare cupboard when it comes to future draft picks and young players on their roster. Yeah, Porzingis looks to be pretty good, and I am a fan, but who do they have, that's young and ready to compete and keep that team stable for the next couple of years? They do have Robin Lopez, but big men break down quick in the NBA. Just look at Roy Hibbert. Jerian Grant is young and an explosive athlete, but he is wildly inconsistent. Other than those guys, the roster is old and ready to break down and filled with mid level role players at best. Guys like Tony Wroten, Jose Calderon, Aaron Affalo, Derrick Williams, Sasha Vujacic, Kyle O'Quinn and Langston Galloway are not near the players, nor will they ever be, the caliber of the role players on the Warriors bench.

There is one huge problem with the Knicks roster. The star player is a 31 year old, broken down ball hog that's more interested in his brand that winning titles, Carmelo Anthony. I loved Anthony when he was playing in Denver. He was a great scorer, a competent defender and a decent teammate, for the most part. But, since joining the Knicks, he seems to only want to gripe about the team, the coaches and the surrounding players. He openly opines to play with stars. He had that chance this offseason when he could have signed with the Bulls, but he chose the money and resigned a max deal with the Knicks. His contract is almost as bad as the one Kobe Bryant signed two years ago with the Lakers. Now, Anthony just complains and misses way too many games to injury. His prime is most likely over.

So, I ask, why would Walton want to start his head coaching career with the Knicks? Sure, it's a humongous market, I think LA is the only other city that rivals New York, but that means expectations are through the roof, no matter how poorly constructed the team is. The roster leaves so much to be desired. And even if he is given three years, that team is still five or six years away, even in the East, from being a legit playoff contender. I just don't think it would be a good fit for Walton. He does know the triangle from his days of playing for Phil Jackson in LA, but the roster in LA back then was so much better than this Knicks roster. The current roster has proven the past two years that they cannot properly run the triangle. It doesn't work for this team. The triangle is also a pretty ancient offense in the new NBA. Everybody wants to run and gun, but the triangle is built on slowing the game down and using your big men. I like the triangle, but it's not good for the current state of the NBA. It's too complicated and too slow. It also kind of stinks that their only decent young player is still getting his feet wet and did hit the rookie wall near the end of the season. Porzingis is good, but he still has a ways to go before he is a multi all star. I keep saying it, but the roster is not good and I think it would be a bad decision by Walton to take the job.

I also don't think that he will take the Knicks job. I think he will stick around Golden State a couple more years and wait for the perfect opportunity and good enough roster, much like Steve Kerr did. Kerr could have taken the Knicks job two years ago, but he weighed all of his options, realized that the Knicks job and team was a dumpster fire and told his former coach thanks but no thanks and took the Warriors job. The Warriors were a better team that played great defense. They just needed an offensive minded coach, and that's Kerr's forte. Mark Jackson did a very good job turning that team around, but he couldn't get them over the hump on offense. Kerr came in, realized how great Curry was, and gave him the greenlight and Curry's star was born. He won the title last year with the Warriors, as I said earlier, if you forgot. Had he taken the Knicks job, he would have been lucky to be a .500 team and the Warriors may not have turned into the juggernaut that they are now. But, Kerr waited and picked properly. He didn't just take an open job in a big market, he went somewhere he knew he could win and win now.

I hope Walton does the same thing and, as I said before, I think he will. If he takes the Knicks job, he will be looking for a new job in 3 years. But, if he waits and finds the right team, maybe the Pelicans or the Timberwolves or the Bulls in a couple of years, when the younger players get older and better and those teams bring in good free agents, he can take one of those jobs. That's what his mentor Kerr did and I think that's what Walton should and will do.

Don't take the Knicks job Luke Walton, you will be miserable. As the old saying goes, "good things come to those who wait".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is available, and willing, to coach the Knicks if they run out of options. The best way to find Ty is to follow him on twitter @tykulik.

The Warriors may be the best team in NBA history

Steph Curry would average over 60% on these rims

As you all know by now, I'm a HUGE NBA fan. It is on my TV whenever possible. I wrote a ten part season preview. I love the NBA almost as much as college football.

NBA basketball is getting back to the good ole days. Sure, teams don't shoot the midrange jump shot as well anymore, and if you turn on ESPN, all they show are Clippers highlights and the men's college game is becoming borderline unwatchable, with all the one and done players, but the NBA has gotten a wee bit better. It's more enjoyable to watch games now than it was 5 or 6 years ago. Most of the teams have become pretty competitive, save for the 76ers, Lakers and Nets. The East has even improved from last year. The West is still much better though and will continue to be for awhile. The Spurs signed LaMarcus Aldridge and resigned Kawhi Leonard. They also still have Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Tim Duncan. When the Thunder are at full strength, Durant has missed the past 10 days, they're as competitive as any team in the league. The Clippers look bad right now, much to my delight, but they will fix things and still win in the 50's. The Mavericks have played surprisingly well 15 games into the season. Dirk is still Dirk, and Wes Matthews, coming off a torn ACL, looks pretty good. The Pelicans had a terrible start, a possible playoff hopes crushing start, but Anthony Davis is back completely healthy, and they've won their past two, beating the Spurs in one of those games. The Rockets are a mess, I'll give you that. Firing Kevin McHale may prove to be a huge misstep. It's not his fault that Dwight Howard doesn't care about basketball that much anymore. And what in the world has happened to James Harden? He was the MVP runner up last year, but this year, teammates are griping about playing with him, calling him a diva and a ball hog, and he spent the entire offseason partying and not staying in shape. It's gotten so bad with him that even Bill Simmons has cooled on the Thunder trading him being the worst thing that ever happened in the NBA, and he hasn't shut up about it for five straight years. The Grizzlies and Jazz are .500 teams right now, but they, much like the Clippers, will figure it out.

All these teams pale in comparison to what the Golden State Warriors are doing right now. As you all know, the Warriors beat the Nuggets last night and tied for the best start in NBA history at 15-0. Sure, they've had some close calls to inferior teams, the Nets, but other than two or three games, they've been blowing out teams. Each win seems to be by at least ten, and the starters rest almost all of the fourth quarter. Steph Curry has been unbelievable to start the year too. He's averaging something like 33 or 34 points a game, shooting almost 50 percent from three, 60 percent from two and 90 percent from the free throw line. That's incredible! I don't know that there's ever been a 60, 90, 50 player ever. It would be astounding if Curry can accomplish that this year. He's also stepped up his game on defense as well this year. Sure, he won't be first team all defense, but second or third team is a real possibility. But, it's not just Curry winning these games. You're probably thinking, well it's him and Klay Thompson scoring in bunches. Nope, Thompson has, I don't want to say struggled, but he hasn't been scoring like he normally does. He still is playing absolute lock down defense though. That part of his game has never wavered. He's one of the best, if not the best, maybe a step behind Kawhi Leonard, the best defender in the NBA. Harrison Barnes, who turned down an extension, betting on himself, has been a beast so far. His numbers may not show it, I think he's a 14 point per game and 5 or 6 rebound per game player statistically, but what he's doing for the Warriors is awesome. He's already had two of the best dunks of the year, he's is getting to the line more frequently, and he's hitting midrange and floaters on a regular basis. He's going to get paid this offseason if he keeps this up. Draymond Green is proving that he's an elite defender, rebounder and he's becoming a pretty good scorer. He's also a total pain in the ass with the opposition, and the Warriors love that about him. I've never seen a guy under 6'8 that can guard centers like he does. It's amazing. He made the right decision to stay in Golden State. This is the perfect team for him to be on. The other players on the team are doing whatever they need to do to help this team to continue to dominate. Andrew Bogut is protecting the rim and grabbing rebounds like he has his whole career. Andre Iguodala is knocking down open threes and dominating on defense like he has his whole career. He's also taken to being a sixth man better than anyone who used to be a franchise player that I've ever seen. He clearly just wants to win. Shaun Livingston is still a point guard in a 6'7 players body. He has command of the second unit and he finds the open man every time. Festus Ezeli is still crushing it on defense for the second unit and he seems to have found a bit of a scoring touch lately. Mo Speights and Leandro Barbosa still play out of control at times, but they are both instant offense off the bench for a team that has a ton of offensive weapons. The only other bench player that kind of contributes is James Michael McAdoo and in his limited playing time, he hustles his ass off. That's great for an 11 or 12th man off the bench. You usually don't see a lot of hustle from guys that deep on the bench.

The main reason I'm singling out the Warriors today is, I feel like I didn't give them enough love in my preseason preview. I had them as the second best team coming into this season behind the Spurs. Time will tell, but the Warriors, right now, are far and away the best team in the NBA. They may be historically one of the greatest teams of all time if they continue to play like this. I never thought, not only would I say it, but see a team that has a chance to win as many games as the Chicago Bulls did in the 95-96 season. That was the team that went 72-10. That was unreal to watch that team play because they could've won 75 or 76 games that year. The Warriors won't win all 82 games, that's impossible, but I think they have a real chance to tie, or even surpass the Bulls team that won 72 games. Their schedule will get tougher and players will get injuries, it's a long season, but they seem to have a goal in mind. This offseason a lot of people said that they didn't earn the title, they didn't have to play all the tough teams, they faced teams with key injuries and so on and so forth. The thing that was said that really got to them, in my opinion was, that they were "lucky", and that they weren't "true" champions. First of all, that's bull shit. Any team that's won a title in any sport needs luck, be it with health of their players, bounces going their way, a player on a hot streak, any kind of luck has been involved with every champion in every sport. But saying they weren't "true" champions, that just gave a team that won 67 games and a title last year, a chip on their shoulder. Now, they don't just want to beat you, they want to destroy you. That's the killer instinct that people talk about when it comes to champions. Sure, they won last year, but they want to continue to win and they want to crush you while doing it.

I'm not a Warriors fan, I'm indifferent when it comes to the Warriors. They're a ton of fun to watch, and Steph Curry has surpassed LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the best basketball player in the world, but I'm a Thunder fan, so that's who I root for.

Oh, they are also doing this without Steve Kerr. Luke Walton has been the interim head coach while Kerr's back heals. That's crazy.

I just want to apologize to the Warriors fan base and the Warriors organization for not ranking them as the preseason number one team in the NBA. They're doing something magical right now, and this could be a historic season. Just sit back and realize when you watch the Warriors this year, you could be watching a historically great NBA team. Maybe the greatest of all time. The rest of this season will be the judge.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has seen one team go 82-0 in an NBA season, his Oklahoma City Thunder on NBA 2K13. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.