Let me begin my post by stating that I am a basketball fan. I spent hours of my youth watching March Madness, Jordan dunking over Ewing, Malone & Stockton running pick-n-roles, and The Dream and Mount Mutombo blocking shots. I remember watching press conferences where Larry Legend explained that he had given his heart and soul to the Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson explain that he had contracted the AIDS verse, and Jordan retiring not once but twice. So keep that in mind as you reading the following:
Chris, your love for the “TBA” (Thug Basketball Association) is dually noted, but simply put this league just is difficult to connect with. Don’t believe me? This week’s ESPN SportsNation Poll ask people what they were most looking for too this weekend: 1) NBA Playoffs, 2) Yanks vs. Red Sox, 3) NFL Draft, 4) NASCAR (a subject for another day), or 5) the NHL playoffs. After 4 days and over 100,000 people voting the results of April 23rd where: 1) NFL Draft 30%, 2) NHL Playoffs 24%, 3)Yanks vs. Red Sox 23%, 4) NBA Playoffs 22%, 5) NASCAR 1%. I can understand the NFL Draft, with its endless promotion, dominate league, and one time a year status defeating the NBA Playoffs, but the rest?!?!?!? The “Yanks vs. Red Sox” will take place 19 times this year, and that’s during the regular season. How can that overshadow an entire league’s dramatic climax to its season? Here’s why:
1. There is no “drama”.
I have watched, and I am not exaggerating, 12 announcers predict who will play in the NBA Finals. ALL, and that’s A-L-L, of them have predicted the Lakers vs. the Cavs. Out of those 12, ten have predicted the Lakers to win it all. Where’s the excitement /drama in that? When things seem like a foregone conclusion or fact, there’s no point in watching. Chris, it’s when you Tivo the American Idol results show to watch it the next day, and then some babbling know-it-all comes into your office the next morning and say’s “man I can’t believe Anoop got eliminated last night, can you?” You then spend the next few hours trying to convince yourself that you should still watch when you get home. You come with reasons like: 1) That guy is pulling my chain, 2) maybe, they came up with the “Seacrest Save” save and Anoop was brought back into the competition, (side note: American Idol has come up so many different ways this year to make sure the judges favorites never get voted off, it is ridiculous. Anyway…) or 3) Nobody would be that dumb to just come in and say that. Eventually you get home pop in the tape, and in the end see Anoop singing as tears roll down his face, and you think to yourself man I just wasted an hour of my life. The NBA Playoffs are the same thing. Why waste the next 2 months, watching something that you know the conclusion of? Which leads me to number 2:
2. The NBA Playoffs take longer to complete than a ZZ Top bread takes to grow!
Seriously, these playoffs start in mid to late April and have the potential to not finish until mid-June. That’s longer than some people’s marriages (sadly). The reasoning behind this being that games as spread out with 2 to 3 days between contests. Why is is that every other sport doesn’t have this problem? Both baseball and hockey conduct their playoff series within 9-10 days if the series goes the distance…in basketball a 7-game series takes 2 weeks! Do you want to watch the Spurs bank shots off the glass for 2 weeks?
3. No complying rivalries this year.
Chris, I know you remember those epic Bulls vs. Knicks series of the 90s, or the Blazers-Lakers, Pistons-Bulls, Pistons-Celts, Bulls-Cavs, even the early 2000’s with rivalries like Lakers-Spurs and Spurs-Mavs. Now, with the injury to KG, there are no interesting “I think they may brawl,” every game comes down to the last shot rivals. Even if The Big Ticket was healthy, we still would only have 1 series out 14 that would draw that type of interest. Personally, seeing whether Kate will pick Jack or Sawyer sounds more interesting to watch.
Anyways, until June, I’ll get my TBA highlights while watching SportsCenter every morning while eating a bowl of Fruit Loops. You want a bowl?
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