If the Golden State Warriors win tonight, and go on to crush Cleveland in the NBA Finals, let's remember what it felt like in the first quarter of Game 6 -- or before we knew the severity of Chris Paul's hamstring injury. A Golden State title will not stand as proof of its own inevitability.
Injuries happen, to stars and key role players. New superteams emerge. Core players age, late-round draft picks don't pay off in time, ring-chasers calcify, natural tensions between star and system plunge teams into a two-game haze at the worst time. The Miami Heat (semi-jokingly) promised five, six, seven titles after gathering three superstars, and at their highest highs, those promises didn't seem outlandish.