A good friend who has covered the NBA beat for decades called me recently and we talked about the usual things. You know, important stuff, like where to find good BBQ joints on the road, politics, and, of course, the ongoing NBA Playoffs. He asked me if I thought professional basketball fans were getting tired of seeing Cleveland and Golden State in the league finals and if I was bored with the same story line. I chuckled, and then asked him if he was serious and he suddenly he became adamant. We talked about it for awhile, and as we were hanging up, he told me I should think about how the league was in trouble and why fans were getting tired of the same old match ups.
Yes for the fourth consecutive year, the Cleveland Cavaliers are meeting the Golden State Warriors for all the marbles, and I for one couldn’t be happier about the opportunity to watch the best players in the league go at it again.
Forget about the fact that the Warriors have the better team in terms of talent, and just allow me to revel in the fact that I get to see LeBron James who’s still the greatest player in the world, go up against Kevin Durant, the second best player in the world, in multiple games. Oh yeah, there’s that Stephen Curry guy as well, and when you throw in the bad blood that has developed over the past few years between these squads, watching them go at it again is what every NBA junkie dreams of at night as they sleep in their official team pajamas. Sure the television numbers aren’t as gaudy as 2016 when an estimated 44 million people watched the last five minutes of a superlative Game 7, but the first two games came in respectable by ratings standards, still drawing 17 million to the tube after a great Game 1 and a easier win for the Warriors in Game 2. Those numbers aside, this match up is for the basketball connoisseurs, not for beginners or bandwagon hoppers, and it clearly offers everything you could want to see.
In one corner, there are the LeBron haters, still seething about the fact he beat their team in the Eastern Conference, and in the other corner, the pessimists who declare Golden State to be a super team, one that should win it all, and thereby downplaying the significance of their accomplishments. Throw in those who haven’t watched any NBA games all year until now, and it’s a rather eclectic and somewhat toxic mix of so called basketball purists.
What I can’t understand is how someone can watch it and not appreciate the competition, athleticism and flat out brilliance these teams bring to the floor each night. I mean, how can you not want this thing to go seven games?
Great moments like this in sports do not come along that often and to not appreciate the tear that James has been on in the playoffs seems more than just bizarre to me. What is being showcased in these games is 100-proof stuff, and should have a warning on the label denoting the euphoria one will experience by partaking. Yes, it is all that and then some, so don’t try to tell me it’s boring and repetitious for these two to be getting it on again.
Take that silliness somewhere else, because a true basketball fan can sniff that out like a hound dog at a butcher shop. Just stop that nonsense and sit back and watch what we all hoped for at the start of the season, which is the two best teams to meet up in the final round. If you do that, you enjoy hoops at their highest level, and hopefully appreciate the magic that transpires every time these two clubs get under the same roof. If you enjoyed all those classic battles between the Lakers and Celtics, and then Michael Jordan versus whoever dared to come out of the West to face his Bulls, then you must take interest in the superb brand of basketball that is upon you now courtesy of the aforementioned stars on both squads. Watch closely, as this is beyond special and it won’t last long. After all, greatness in sports is fleeting and I for one think you’ll regret it when it’s gone. So do whatever you have to do to be in front of your television for the balance of this splendid series, and look at the unbelievable level of talent on display.
Watch closely on how it unfolds, and I promise that if you are indeed a true student of the game, you’ll enjoy it. There are only a few opportunities to witness something special and this is one of them. Experience it before it’s gone and you will see how great it is. Tune in. I guarantee you wont regret it.
Danny Bridges, who got hooked on the NBA Finals for the first time in 1971 and has not missed one since, can be reached at (317) 370-8447 or Bridgeshd@aol.com.
