“the Finals were trash”
That’s the word or phrase that’s been going around this year. Actually, it started last summer when Kevin Durant took his talents to Golden State. But I read an article (cause sometimes, I do that) where they basically said the Playoffs this year were garbage because there was no parity. Golden State basically steamrolled their competition. Even though, I’d like to believe San Antonio would have given them more of a fight without key injuries, but, injuries in sports happens. So, were the NBA Playoffs garbage? Depends on who you ask. The Golden State fan will say “no”. The casual fan will say “no”. But, the NBA purists, will say “you g’damned right they were garbage!!”
I feel like sometime during Chicago Bulls’ second Three-pete, the ‘Association started polling fans. Not die hard fans. Rich (white) people who would probably go to a game if it wasn’t so filled with cursing, and the threat of fighting. Remember the Malice at the Palace? Remember the Knicks-Heat rivalry? The Knicks-Pacers rivalry (post Jordan)? The Knicks-Bulls rivalry? Those were games. A test of will, clash of titans and such. Those games live on only in memories of now 30-somethings and NBA archival footage, that they probably won’t show much.
But alas, these Finals were boring. Here you have 2 of the best all around players in Lebron and KD, and there are images of them looking like a scrum is going to break out. But it’s actually frustrated speak. I miss my NBA when dudes would occasionally knuckle up!
These dudes look too happy to be rivals. Like they’re discussing where they’re going to meet up after the Finals for family vacation. The game has no grit. There aren’t any Charles Oakley’s, or Charles Barkleys. No REAL team enforcers. I mean, you could consider Draymond Green of Golden State, but truth be told, he seems real douchey to me. But, maybe he’s supposed to be. Right??
But this is the watered down (read “Global”) product David Stern wanted…..
1 Comment
My thing about it is that I have been able to see some real competition. It used to take a great TEAM to make it to the championship, not a collection of the most incredibly talented individuals that you could pay for. You had play makers, role players and stars. This boolshet they serving up now with NO DEFENSE is just not good basketball. Entertaining to people who don’t know shet about the game, but to anyone who knows how to actually play basketball or has no vested interested in the NBA, it’s put and unadulterated trash.
The NBA’s problems are deeper than KD running to the greatest opportunity to win a championship (the team that blew a 3-1 lead to LeBron and ’em the year before), most of the players coming into the league don’t know how to do anything other than either shoot the 3 or be athletic. There’s no low post or mid range game anymore, the sport is soft, but it lacks finesse, which is paradoxical. Everything has been slanted to the benefit of the offense because it’s a better show, and to add insult to injury, instead of making the players adhere to the already bent rules of the game, they now charge up the officials.
But back to the playoffs, last year the “greatest team in nba history” got their asses whooped on national tv by the the only player in the NBA that can elevate any team to finals level contention. Another great player of his generation abandons his team in search of a ring and gave the warriors the only thing that could have helped them beat LeBron, Another former MVP who instantly turned that team that got embarrassed into the prohibitive favorite. So as the playoffs went along, everyone knew that the only thing that could stop the warriors was injury and since they were healthy it was a foregone conclusion. What’s the fun in that? Seeing the rich not get better themselves and try again, but to add a ridiculous piece of weaponry that no other team can fook with? It’s on some video game shet. It’s fun idea in theory, but in practice is boring. Just like these playoffs and finals.