Not only did the Warriors upset the #1 seed, they did so in a seven game series (never before done by an 8 seed) and they won the clinching game on their home floor (also never before done by an 8 seed). There have only been two previous 8 over 1 upsets in NBA history since they moved to the 16 team format in 1984. The first was Denver over Seattle in 1994, which likely could've been the Sonics' back-to-back championships instead of Houston's if they had a best of 7 first round like they do now, but I guess we'll never know. The second one barely even counts because it was in the shortened season due to the lock-out in 2000. In both of those cases, they came down to the last possession of game 5 to be decided, in the first case there was an OT in game 4 that Denver edged out to force game 5, then another OT game in to allow Mutombo to scream on the floor holding the ball. The other one was decided by Allan Houston's shot that seemed to bounce around forever as the buzzer sounded.
This series was much different. Not only did the Warriors beat the Mavericks 4 times instead of 3, but they seemed to look like the team that had 67 regular season wins. No time in this series did I ever think, "Dallas is really the better team here." I don't blame it on Don Nelson's big brother syndrome (you know, the big brother always wins no matter how much better the younger brother is) either. I do give Don Nelson a lot of credit, even though I've complained about him ruining the Warriors forever in the mid-90s. He's completely redeemed himself in my mind--just by treating his players better he gets better production from them. Read what Matt Barnes has to say about his coach. So not only did Golden State beat the Mavs with a game buffer (4-2 in the series) but they did so in a 111-86 blowout. This will mark the first time that an MVP will have to take a break from vacation to receive his award since the 16 team playoff format started (assuming Dirk gets MVP).
I also think something should be said about the officiating in this series. Mark Cuban has been known to complain about the refs, but I don't think he can say with a straight face that the refs favored the Warriors. Just looking at the first half of this game, it seemed to obviously favor the Mavs. In the only two games that the Warriors lost the refs seemed to favor the Mavs. Baron Davis got thrown out of game 2 for a combination of two bogus technicals. The first was for trying to play peacemaker in a mild confrontation between the two teams. And the second was for clapping, not saying a word, just clapping. Then in game 5 Baron Davis was given his 6th foul while GS was only down by 1, because the ref thought Davis was trying to foul. But when you look at it, Davis didn't even touch the Mavs player. The refs getting rid of the leader of arguably the most dependent and emotional team in competitive games is the only reason the Mavs got a win.
Nobody gave the Warriors a chance going into the series even though they proved they could beat the Mavs. Even after a surprising game 1, many still predicted the Mavs in 5. After proving they belong and going up 3-1, still people were saying the Mavs would show they are the superior team and come back to win in 7. Now the Warriors move on and the Mavs go home for a long summer.
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