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The reigning NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors returned to the mountaintop after beating the Boston Celtics in six games. But they may not be satisfied after captured their fourth championship since 2015.
On ESPN's "First Take," sports media personality Stephen A. Smith said he believes Warriors owner Joe Lacob is hungry for more success. Despite Lacob winning his fourth championship since buying the team, Smith insists that Lacob is trying to hunt down the LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Smith said:
"People need to mention the name Joe Lacob, the owner for the Golden State Warriors. He ain't playing. This man wants Jerry Buss numbers. He wants to surpass the Lakers and the Boston Celtics. This is not a man sitting around and saying, 'I got four now, and I'm good.'
"This is a man saying, 'I've got four. We going to get five next year,' like, immediately, the night they won the title. He's coming, and he's willing to spend the money. Beware."
Lacob certainly isn't afraid to splash the cash as the Warriors are set to have more than $210 million on the books as salary for next season. Their 2021-22 luxury tax bill was over $56 million. With an extension on the horizon for Jordan Poole, the Warriors will have to continue spending dough if they are to keep this roster in tact.
Golden State Warriors' route to their fourth championship
The Golden State Warriors took on the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals in a battle between scintillating offense and stellar defense. The Celtics possessed the league's best defense, while the Warriors had arguably the greatest shooting backcourt in the history of the game.
Game 1 justified that this was a battle of contrasting styles, with the Celtics defense producing stops when it mattered most to take the lead in the series. However, as the series progressed, the Warriors grew stronger. Draymond Green and Klay Thompson took time to get going but eventually hit their stride. Until then, Steph Curry held the fort for the Warriors.
The Warriors defense also improved tremendously as they clamped down on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Andrew Wiggins shone in Games 4, 5 and 6 while picking up the defensive assignment on Tatum along with grabbing rebounds as the former No. 1 pick bagged 16 and 13 rebounds in Games 4 and 5 respectively.
The above factors, coupled with the Warriors managing to make key buckets, ended up being the difference as Golden State won four of the last five games to bag the series.
Guess the Lakers players!
