Free agency in the NBA is by far the most exciting amongst all of the major sports in the United States. Much like the draft is for the NFL, the free agency period is a production all its own, with analysts and fans alike playing mock GM for their favorite team. While the NBA Draft offers the prospect of a better tomorrow, free agency gives a team’s fan base the hope of a better RIGHT NOW. Add in the greatest player of the modern generation to the game and the hysteria gets taken to levels that Avicii couldn’t even obtain.
The old cliché is that revenge is best served cold. An ironically fitting phrase given how the San Antonio Spurs cooled down the Miami Heat’s attempt at the rare and dynasty defining “Threepeat”, without the help of their AC unit of course. And while winning the rematch series of last year’s Finals may have invoked the sense of revenge being served, last Sunday’s win was more about redemption for San Antonio.
When it comes to movies, it’s often regarded as fact that the sequel will be much worse than the original story, and with good reason. Most sequels are simply money grabs; a chance for whatever big named studio that produced the film to cash in as much as they can while the general public still gives a damn about the characters and/or plot line. In reality though, most fans end up leaving the theater underwhelmed with $12.50 less than they had before, as the sequel just couldn’t capture their imagination the way that the original did. Instead it more or less has the “been there, done that” feel, while you’re dragged through the same punchlines, special effects, or fight sequences that you’ve already seen before.
However, while you’re most likely to sit through dull two hours of a Hangover II, Next Friday, or The Lost World, every now and then a sequel will come out that not only enhances the storyline of the first, but is actually a better film all together. Classics like Terminator 2, The Dark Knight, and Aliens, took the greatness of their respective storylines and propelled them to iconic levels. I know what you’re thinking; this has absolutely nothing to do with sports. Go get stoned and write your movie reviews elsewhere! That’s where you’re wrong, for another groundbreaking sequel in the same vein as the ones mentioned above is about to be hit the screens all across America. From the NBA studios, comes Spurs vs. Heat Part Deux!: The Riverwalk to South Beach.
Man oh man; it’s been a long time since I’ve been featured on my own blog, huh? Admittedly I go through erratic phases where I churn out content only to have them followed by even longer phases of complete and utter laziness (cut to shot of me eating French fries off my stomach on the couch). Whatever though, it’s my process. Don’t judge me.
Anyways. I took a while to get into a preview for the NBA Conference Finals for a couple of reasons. Number one, the most obvious, my aforementioned laziness and need to binge watch Netflix when I should be writing. Number two, I wanted to give myself a little bit of time to come up with a well thought out prediction rather than just going with my heart as I have been since the opening round. The Western semi’s I got right for the most part, with San Antonio and OKC prevailing. My predictions in the Eastern semi’s were made more with my heart and less with an eye of objectivity. I had given up on the Pacers along with everyone else outside of Indiana, and totally expected the young, upcoming Wiz kids to send them fishing. Of course the Pacers continue to screw with the minds of basketball fans by showing up just enough to make it out of the round. I still think Washington lost the series more than Indy won it, but that’s neither here nor there at this point.
In the Brooklyn-Miami series, I had totally sold myself on the idea that the Nets could push Miami to the brink. They matched up well in the small ball game. On paper, there was equal star power on both sides, and if anything else I thought the personal rivalries between the Heatles and the zombie Celtics would be enough to make it go the distance. That thought process allowed me to overlook the facts that LeBron James is the best player in the world whenever he really decides to be, KG is done and it’s sad to see, Kidd is not a good coach yet, there’s no home court advantage playing in Brooklyn (unless Rhianna sits courtside braless again, but then everybody wins), and oh yeah, LeBron James is the best player in the world. Twice for emphasis. Add to the fact that Deron Williams devolved before our eyes this year and the Nets never really stood a chance.
To steal a quote from Will Ferrell’s Anchorman, that escalated quickly. This year’s opening round to the NBA playoffs was by far the most entertaining it has been in recent memory. Five of the eight series when the distance to seven games, with each individual game making it more difficult to predict who would be left standing to advance to the next round. I was personally affected when I realized that my predictions from round one were basically useless after the first few slate of games. Seriously though, did anyone expect the Pacers end of season hangover to carry over to the playoffs against the Hawks?!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Yes, I realize that it’s the middle of spring, and no, I’m not crazy. My reference the late, great Andy Williams has absolutely nothing to do Christmas or snow flakes and everything to do with the upcoming NBA playoffs. I’ve always loved NBA basketball. I simply can’t get enough of it. From the stars that headline each arena, to the pace of the game play, even down to the almost pointless dance teams that fill in the void during time outs and half time, everything about the NBA brand has always drawn me in as a fan of basketball. (I actually need to take back that last sentence. The dancers aren’t pointless and I can’t thank Danny Ainge enough for bringing the Celtics Dancers to Boston.) So with my expressed love for the Association , it goes without saying that when the playoffs tip off this Saturday, I’ll be as inseparable from my TV set as a girl during the latest episode of Scandal. During my time in college I had the opportunity to meet many people who transplanted over from the West Coast. Begrudgingly leaving behind family, friends, and the California sunshine for an education in the often blizzard stricken Northeast, many of them would unimaginatively refer to their new home as the “Least Coast”. And while this would almost certainly garner the response of an “eff you” from me when defending my region, I have to admit that the moniker fits perfectly for most of the teams making up the Eastern Conference this season. Save for Miami and Indiana, many of the teams hurt themselves by playing uninspiring basketball earlier in the year, having to playing catch up after All-Star break. The bottom four teams of Brooklyn, Washington, Charlotte, and Atlanta wouldn’t even make the post season in the West. Atlanta epitomizes that sentiment by locking up the eighth seed with a record below .500. That actually kind of stinks for ATL, given the loaded draft class coming into the league this summer, one would think that tanking with the rest of the bottom dwellers would be much more beneficial to the franchise instead of being a four-game target practice in the first round. Never the less the show must go on and someone has to fill these slots, so without further ado here are the first round matchup previews for the Eastern Conference:
This week’s play of the week has already been decided and we don’t have to wait til the end of the week to see it. In last night’s Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Heat forward Lebron James comes up with a great defensive play and blocks Spurs center Tiago Splitter as Splitter attempts to dunk. Usually, it is the other way around with these types of plays and you see someone getting posterized on a slam. Here, we have a unique play where we have a posterization for a great defensive play. It is one of the best blocks I have ever seen. I can’t recall anything that closely resembles it. It was truly an amazing play. Lebron James is the best player in the league and of this generation, that block is just one example of his talent and he is doing what ever it takes for the Heat to win another championship.
UNDRAFTED 