In the 2017-18 season, the Green Army met James-led Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. It was also James' final season with the Cavaliers. In the Eastern Conference Finals series, the Green Army led the Cavaliers 3-2, but eventually lost to their opponents in the G7 and failed to reach the Finals.
After more than three seasons, Smart, one of the members of the Green Army, still has a word about it. During his appearance on "The Old Man and The Three," Smart said he believed the Greens would beat the Warriors in the Finals if they could beat the Cavaliers in the East.
"We think we have a big chance," Smart said. "To this day, we still think that if we had gone for the championship in place of James and those guys, we would have definitely beaten the Golden State Warriors that year."
That season, the Greens had a record of 55 wins and 27 losses, with key players including Irving, Al Horford, Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown and, of course, Marcus Smart. They were a tough team to deal with at the time, and were likely to pose a greater threat to the Warriors than the exhausted Cavaliers.
Still, the 2018 Warriors are widely regarded as one of the greatest teams of all time. With Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, it's hard to imagine how a younger, less talented Green Army could beat them in a seven-game series, especially since they couldn't even beat the Cavaliers led by James.
Of course, there's no way to really predict who they'll win. Both the Green Army and the Warriors are pretty good, and unfortunately we never saw them head-to-head at their peak.
But it may not be too late to see them decide in the playoffs. If the Greens can maintain their recent dominance, they could end up shining in the playoffs. Hopefully, this time it won't let Smart and the Green Army assume the Finals again.