The Cavaliers took the Warriors to Game 6 in the 2015 NBA Finals despite injuries to Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
Flash forward to this season, and Golden State is healthy and rolling. Irving, Timofey Mozgov, Iman Shumpert and Mo Williams are sidelined for Cleveland.
That has someone else – intentionally or not – sounding bitter about the Warriors’ success.
LeBron James, via Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:“They’ve been the most healthy team I’ve ever seen in NBA history and they have great talent,” James said Monday following Cavs’ shootaround, in preparation for tonight’s home game against Orlando.
“They’ve just been consistent,” he said. “Think the most impressive thing is the way they just they’ve been playing at a high level for so long. I think it comes with a lot of health.”
Important: The Warriors health is not luck.
They’re proactive about monitoring fatigue and resting players. There’s no foolproof way to ensure players remain healthy, but Golden State gives itself a better chance than many teams.
To be fair, LeBron isn’t necessarily insinuating the Warriors are lucky. He praised their talent and spoken highly of their drive. It’s just that many view health as a matter of chance.
Regardless of LeBron’s intent, you can bet the Warriors will use this as motivation.