If you have a chance to speak with a living legend, you jump.
Julius Erving takes a quick break from kindly posing for smartphone pics with fans during the Toronto Blue Jays victory over the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday night to talk basketball to a hockey writer at a baseball game.
The 67-year-old Dr. J discusses where the NBA Finals went wrong for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Adam Silver’s superteam nightmare, and the state of the dunk.
In six minutes we asked six questions of Number 6.
SPORTSNET.CA: What are your thoughts on Golden State winning the title?
JULIUS ERVING: You could see it coming. There’s no way there was going to be another comeback like last year.
The third game was the pivotal one. I think the Cavaliers had a good grasp of that game and elected to continue to attack offensively from beyond the arc and it cost them the game and probably the series. It takes a lot of air out of you when you get down 3-0. Personally, I’ve never experienced going down 3-0 in a playoff series, but I’ve experienced losing four straight games after being up 2-0.
The contributions of LeBron [James] and Kyrie [Irving] weren’t enough against a well-oiled machine like the Warriors were this year. They had a one-two-three punch that was second to none. [Andre] Iguodala came in and did yeoman’s work, and Steve Kerr did an awesome job the last two games that he coached.
[pullquote] “As long as the players are running the league, you’re going to have superteams.” [/pullquote]
16-1. Is this the best team we’ve ever seen?
I think 16-1 is the best. The [1996] Bulls were 16-3. The [Irving-led 1983] Sixers are 12-1. This [Warriors] team didn’t lose at home. To have a 17-game win streak to end your season and start your playoff run, that’s pretty impressive. That means they got the players rest they needed, and they still had a great record. They secured home-court advantage. They did all the things they needed to do, and at the end of the day they performed very well. I take my hat off to them.
What did you make of Kevin Durant’s decision to leave Oklahoma City?
Everybody’s chimed in on it. As it turned out, I guess he was right. He has quieted the skeptics and the naysayers. His contributions to what the Warriors did were pivotal. Cleveland is probably a better team than Golden State without Durant, which is what they showed last year. With Durant, the West is the best.
Where do you stand on the NBA’s lack of parity and the creation of superteams?
It’s never a good thing to have a lack of parity. It’s a commissioner’s nightmare. So I think they’ll continue to strive for it. The players are running the league, not the administration. As long as the players are running the league, you’re going to have superteams.
How do you view the state of the dunk contest?
I think it’s an important part of All-Star Weekend. The Dunk King show, which is trying to find the best dunkers from around the world, has kept dunking interesting. I’m always interested in it. I’m always looking for what’s coming down the pipe. Who’s going to be next? Who’s going to be better than the mascots? Because the mascots seem to be the best dunkers right now. [laughs]
Where should the Toronto Raptors go from here? How do they ever overcome the Cavaliers to get out of the East?
A year ago they were two games away. This year, they were not so fortunate, but they had injuries to key players. They just gotta keep plugging away at it. The Cavs that we saw lose 4-1 to the Warriors are bound to make some changes. How that shakes out remains to be seen, but change is a certainty. Death, taxes and change.
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