I haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to the NBA playoffs so far this year, but now they are starting to get interesting. The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers were swept by Dallas in a shocking upset, and the Mavericks, who blew a 2-0 series lead in the Finals a few years ago and lost the title to Miami, now have put themselves front and center as a legitimate championship contender. The Mavs are now a more experienced team than when Miami stole the title from them, and they have been getting great contributions from their bench, which is always a plus in a long, physically draining series. Dallas will now face one of two up-and-coming young teams, either Oklahoma City or Memphis, in the Western Conference finals. The Thunder, with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and the addition of big man Kendrick Perkins, were a chic pick to advance to the Finals, but Memphis’ upset of San Antonio in the opening round has propelled the Grizzlies into the picture as contenders, and they are giving Durant & Co. all they can handle. In the East, Chicago and Atlanta are battling in a pretty evenly-played series. The Bulls had the best record in the East in the regular season, but the Hawks seem determined to erase some of their past playoff shortcomings. The other Eastern series is one that I wish neither team would win, because I’m not a fan of either of them. The Miami Heat lead the series 2-1, but after LeBron James “took his talents to South Beach” and joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form a Superstar Triumvirate, then proceeded to guarantee multiple championships, I joined the legions of fans who root against them. The problem is, in this series, their opponent is another team I’ve never been a fan of – the Boston Celtics. I should be a fan of them because they are one of the few teams in the NBA who play an old school style of game that emphazises team play and unselfishness, but I just roll my eyes at the antics of these guys. From Paul Pierce being carted off the court in a wheelchair a few years back, only to return to the court later in the game and lead them to a win, to Rajon Rondo dislocating his elbow on Sunday and returning to play with one arm and also helping them to a must win, these guys always seem to be writing these Hollywood ending scripts that seem to be just that – scripted and contrived. They are the Drama Queens of the NBA. My only hope for whoever wins this series is that they get buried by whoever wins the Chicago/Atlanta series.
NBA Playoff Update
09
May