“Jordan Bell from Long Beach, California propels the Golden State Warriors to the NBA Finals.”
That’s what the headline should’ve read after the Warriors beat the Houston Rockets 101-92 in Game 7 for their fourth straight NBA Finals appearance. I mean, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson get waaaay too much credit for their roles in the NBA playoffs. And don’t even get me started on Draymond Green…you can find eight Draymond Green’s if you walk over to San Martin Park with Darryl Polk Jr. tomorrow. Also, Draymond Green is such a Lakewood guy it’s not even funny.
Curry, Durant, and Thompson are the greatest shooters of all-time, so there’s no reason for them to miss wide-open three-pointers. They make hundreds of them in practice every day. If you or I could shoot or dribble like Steph Curry, we’d be in the NBA Finals too, so I’m not impressed. All they need is a solid screen to give them some space and the rest is automatic. Enter: Poly High School alumnus Jordan Bell aka the TRUE MVP of the Western Conference Finals.
Bell made history in the series as he tied Trevor Ariza of the Rockets, and multiple others, for the least amount of points scored in a Game 7 in NBA history with zero. He also set a rookie-record in a Game 7 with most effective screens set per minute ***May not be an actual stat or even true for that matter*** While the Rockets missed 27 consecutive three-point attempts, Bell took advantage and set some phenomenal screens to get his teammates wide-open shots, making it tremendously easy for the Warriors to score points.
There was chatter from some folk that some of the screens he set were fouls, but he was just being smart if you ask me.
First of all, no player born in the millennial generation was taught how to set a screen, which can be seen if you go to any Long Beach park or watch any high school game ever. So when a referee sees a screen being set by a millennial, their jaw drops and the whistle can’t be blown. Also, it’s the Warriors, and they can do no wrong in the league’s eyes. Bell recognized the loophole and executed to perfection. Curry, Durant, and Thompson caught fire with the help of Bell’s screens and the Warriors went on a 58-38 run to end the game.
Is Jordan Bell the best player on the Warriors? Well, the stats don’t lie. He led the team in plus/minus, as the Warriors outscored the Rockets by 17 when Bell was on the floor in Game 7. He’s also been to one NBA Finals in just one season as a professional basketball player. Bell goes to the NBA Finals 100 percent of the time, a higher percentage than Curry, Durant, Thompson, and the entire Warriors’ so-called superstars. He’s the greatest player of all-time so far.
No professional athlete reps Long Beach harder than Jordan Bell, and the city has repaid him by showing a ton of love on social media after his performance last week. It’s cool seeing so much support for a guy like that, but why does it only happen for famous professional athletes who make a splash? I fixed a leaky faucet at the 908 office earlier today during a drought, probably saved gallons of water, and got no love for it. Who’s more heroic? It’s debatable, to be honest.
Jordan Bell and the Warriors host LeBron James for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, May 31 on ABC. I HATE the Warriors but love Jordan Bell and when Jordan Bell gets a ring, Long Beach gets a ring. Long Beach vs. Everybody. Good luck, JB.