I hate to admit it, but the Golden State Warriors are the Patriots of the NBA. Steve Kerr is the best coach in the game. They just plug dudes into that system, and they become stars.

I’m not saying Jordan Poole isn’t talented or anything, and I’m not saying he doesn’t work hard. I’m just saying this Warriors system is ridiculous–at identifying talent, at developing talent, and at making it all work on the floor. It’s like everything Steve Kerr touches turns to gold.

Now, of course, I’m fully aware that it might be jumping the gun to say Jordan Poole is already on the level of Steph and Klay–he’s got a lot more to prove before he’s on their level. But he has been incredible in these playoffs so far.

It really does feel like this Warriors team is back to their 2015-2016 ways.

People were down on them because of how they finished out the regular season. They lost 7 of 8 before rallying to win 5 in a row to close it out. But Steph missed basically the last month of the season–he got hurt pretty early into the March 16 game against Boston, and then missed the next 12 games. I think people may have been too quick to write off the Warriors–including myself.

That said, they are playing a severely overmatched Nuggets team. The Nuggets have no chance in this series. I feel bad for Joker right now–he’s got basically no help. Aaron Gordon isn’t doing anything, Will Barton isn’t much better, and you can tell Jokic is getting frustrated.

Nobody can hold this against him, though. Yes, he is still the regular season MVP even if his team is getting waxed in the playoffs. He carried that team without Jamal Murray and Michael Porter to 48 wins. That team would have lost 60+ games without Jokic.

News flash: basketball is a team game. Even if you have an MVP-level player, if the other team has 4 of the 5 best players on the floor, you are going to lose 99 times out of 100.

The Warriors are obviously so much better than the Nuggets I don’t quite understand why people are hating on Jokic right now. The Warriors have an MVP-level player of their own in Steph, so he’s close to Jokic’s level, and then the Warriors have at least 4 more guys who are better than anyone the Nuggets have behind Jokic: Klay, Draymond, Poole, Wiggins, and arguably Gary Payton II.

Nobody should be surprised that the Warriors are running Denver off the floor. Could Denver play better? Sure, I guess so, but we have to be realistic about the nature of the game of professional basketball: great teams beat great individuals virtually every single time. The Jokic hate is weird.