OAKLAND, Calif. _ Sick of seeing the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers in NBA Finals every year? Don't blame the victors, Klay Thompson said.
"I think the rest of the NBA has to get better," the Warriors guard said. "It's not our fault."
The Warriors and Cavaliers will face off in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday at Oracle Arena. This marks the fourth consecutive season that these teams have met in the Finals, with the Warriors winning in 2015 and '17 and Cleveland winning in '16.
So media day on Wednesday featured a familiar line of questioning. The shooting of the Splash Brothers ... the LeBron James legacy ... the Cavs as underdogs ... blah, blah, bah. Reporters could simply cut and paste stories from any of the three previous showdowns.
But Warriors forward Kevin Durant sounded happy to be part of the repetition.
"I mean, it may not be as suspenseful as a lot of people want it to be, or as drama-filled," he said. "But that's what you've got movies and music for."
James, who is appearing in his eighth consecutive Finals (including four with the Miami Heat), didn't seem bored at all Wednesday. He agreed with Thompson: It's up to the challengers to come and get them.
"If you want to see somebody else in the postseason," James said, "then you've got to beat them."
