I think you took a snapshot 3 years, but I dont think that snapshot accurately captured the state of the league. PHX was building something interesting, but the finals run was ahead of schedule and they still had a lot of work to do before they would be considered an established team. The Hawks run was fun but they started from the play-in and they were never an established team. The warriors did look lost and I was guilty as anyone else as exaggerating the state of decline, but it was a really bad run of injuries that derailed them for two years.
I think you took a snapshot 3 years, but I dont think that snapshot accurately captured the state of the league. PHX was building something interesting, but the finals run was ahead of schedule and they still had a lot of work to do before they would be considered an established team. The Hawks run was fun but they started from the play-in and they were never an established team. The warriors did look lost and I was guilty as anyone else as exaggerating the state of decline, but it was a really bad run of injuries that derailed them for two years.