The Warriors look set to make a 4^th consecutive Western Conference Finals as they took a 3-1 lead against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night. It was the first time this season that Steve Kerr had started with his “Hampton 5” line up of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. Named when Curry, Thompson, Green, and Iguodala all went to the Hamptons in New York in the summer of 2016 to recruit Durant to the team.

The list of accomplishments from this start line-up includes, 21 All-Star appearances, 7 All-NBA 1st team places, 3 MVP awards, 5 NBA scoring awards, 4 Gold medals and 2 finals MVPs. It might be the most talented starting 5 we’ve ever seen in the NBA. They are a nightmare for any defence because even if you stop KD and Steph, which is incredibly hard to do, Klay can go and get you 30 in a quarter. They have the best shooting back court in the history of the game, combined with a scorer like KD who might end up breaking the all-time scoring record one day. It’s a 3 headed monster and nearly impossible to keep even 1 of those players quiet over a 7 game series.

Draymond and Iguodala are no scrubs on the offensive end but it’s the defensive end where they make their money. Both are athletic enough to guard a number of positions and allow the Warriors to switch in the Pick and Roll. Draymond’s defensive abilities also allow them to play small ball with Draymond at the 5. Klay is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league while Durant has improved massively defensively since he joined Golden State in 2016 and has turned himself into a legitimate rim protector.

However it’s not just the accumulation of talent that makes the Warriors so unbeatable. They are also a fantastically coached team; Mark Jackson laid the foundations and Steve Kerr has built on it. As Brad Stevens has proven this season with the Boston Celtics, a great system and a great coach can take you along way. The Warriors have that. Their system focuses on ball movement and creating open shots.

We have seen this year in OKC that having an abundance of talent isn’t enough. While in Cleveland Lebron is the system. Almost every play runs through him which means that when he rests the Cavaliers don’t really have an offense. The Warriors have all made sacrifices to play in this system. Steph is no longer outing up the same numbers during his second MVP Season. He and Klay both accepted taking less shots to accommodate Durant. While one of the key factors in Durant joining the Warriors was to play less isolation basketball and not have to worry who takes the last shot.

One of the huge positives on focusing on ball movement means that everyone is involved. Players are not forced to stand out in the corner and wait for the ball to be kicked to them to make a shot. Each player has a crucial role in each play and its nightmare for a teams to defend and the offense never gets stagnant.

The Pelicans have done an outstanding job this series of trying to contain them. Jrue Holiday has made it as difficult as he possibly can for KD, Rondo has closely guarded Curry and limited his 3 point shooting. Yet they still find themselves 3-1 down heading back to the Oracle Arena and the scary thing is it still feels like the Warriors can still move up a few more gears .

The Warrior’s learnt their lesson from 2016, when they exerted so much energy in chasing the regular season wins record that they looked tired in the game 7 loss against Cleveland. They’ve learnt how to pace themselves even through the playoffs. Remember Steph Curry has only just come back from an ankle injury and doesn’t yet look 100 per cent.

I believe they’ll beat the Houston in 5 games and then dismantle the Cavs in the finals again. I hate to see another finals loss on Lebron’s résumé but I can’t see any other outcome against what might be the greatest team of all time.