NBA's Warriors overcome obstacles just like Harvick did in run to title
Back-to-back days this week saw two champions crowned in the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.
The NHL's Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup on Monday night, while the NBA's Golden State Warriors won their first title in 40 years on Tuesday night.
The Blackhawks have been something of a modern dynasty, winning three titles in six seasons, while the Warriors have been an emerging team in the Western Conference. Golden State had made the postseason the previous two seasons but had missed the playoffs the five seasons before that. The last time the Warriors made it out of the conference semifinals was when they had won their previous title in 1975.
Last summer, the team made a coaching change, firing Mark Jackson, who the players loved and bringing in Steve Kerr, who nearly took the New York Knicks coaching opening.
Kerr took a team that had pretty much the same roster the season before and won a league-high 67 games in the regular season. He then led his team to overcoming two 2-1 series deficits in the Western semifinals against the Memphis Grizzlies and again in The NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yes, the Warriors had league MVP Stephen Curry, but the tide shifted against the LeBron James-led Cavaliers when Andre Iguodala was inserted into the starting lineup for Game 4.
Iguodala, who came to the Warriors in the summer of 2013, had been a starter for most of his NBA career and was a member of the 2012 Gold Medal winning USA Basketball team in the Summer Olympics. This season, with the Warriors he came off the bench, doing a variety of little things to make the sacrifices to help his team win. Iguodala performed admirably as a starter in Games 4 through 6, all wins for the Warriors and he was named the MVP of The NBA Finals.
Getting to the mountain top in any sport is extremely difficult. It requires sacrifice and buy-in by all members of the collective. And like all good drama, there is also usually a pivotal moment that has to be overcome.
We saw that last year with Kevin Harvick. Harvick left Richard Childress Racing after 13 seasons for Stewart-Haas Racing. He and his new crew chief Rodney Childers won at Phoenix International Raceway in just their second race together.
There were some trouble spots though, as Harvick had some engine issues, tire trouble and pit crew woes that hindered him and cost him valuable position in a few races.
Prior to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, SHR swapped pit crews with Tony Stewart's over-the-wall crew becoming Harvick's pit crew and vice versa. Stewart's pit crew had several members that had been with him for his 2011 championship.
In the Chase, Harvick seemed to fine another gear as he won at Charlotte Motor Speedway to lock up a spot in the Eliminator Round.
After a crash with Matt Kenseth led to a 33rd-place result at Martinsville Speedway, Harvick had his back against the wall. He scored a runner-up finish at Texas Motor Speedway before scoring the victory at Phoenix to advance to the Championship Round. As it turned out, Harvick had to win to advance to have a shot at that elusive title and he did.
The California native came to Homestead-Miami Speedway confident in the task at hand and used a late stop for four tires to be able to get by several championship hopefuls for the lead and held on to the take title.
In 2015, Harvick has picked up where he left off this season with two wins, a series-high 10 top-five finishes, including eight runner-up finishes and the series points lead.
Perhaps, his strong start following a championship bodes well for the Warriors next season, who like Harvick will see competition come at them from everywhere.
While Harvick has to fend off six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and several others, the Warriors face a similarly tall order.
Their challengers will include a healthy Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder, a rested and veteran group in the San Antonio Spurs, James and his Cavaliers and a potential surprise team that much like the Warriors could come out of left field to surprise everyone.
But for now, the Warriors can let the championship tonic overtake them because after all, you don't get to the top of the mountain all the time.