Sports Reporter
Blah, bleak and boring. That’s the hype surrounding the NBA Playoffs. Even after the NBA tripled the NHL’s TV ratings last year, hockey will be the most entertaining championship race this summer.
What does the NBA even have to offer this summer? The second-most prolific scorer is sitting out of the playoffs because the Knicks’ chemistry was worse than Jesse Pinkman’s before he met Walter White.
The Eastern Conference is a joke. The only matchup that might pull ratings is if the Pacers’ late-season collapse might be so bad that the Hawks, who struggled to decide if they wanted to be a playoff team or a tanking team, can pull off a not-so-glamorous, eight-versus-one seed upset. There’s a reason that the NHL can sell out stadiums better than the NBA. How many Bobcat fans are really going to pay for playoff price tickets to see an almost assured elimination?
The only thing stopping the Heat vs. Bobcats from airing every game on NBA TV is the assurance of an ally-oop fest, highlight-reel excuse for a game.
Primarily a basketball fan in the spring, I’m bitter about the Nuggets collapse this year. Not to be put on the shoulders of Brian Shaw, it was Ty Lawson’s most injury-prone year. Throw in two backup point guards lost to broken egos (not as broken as his game) and shambled knees, not to mention three starters (yes, I’m saying Hickson should be over Faried) were lost, the Nuggets will be back next year, but the stadium they occupy won’t be without a postseason.
The Avalanche are a beautiful story for the playoffs and are more than capable of mending the Denver championship woes that were smashed during the Super Bowl. The first Avalanche playoff game packed more entertainment than an entire Bulls vs. Wizards series will produce.
The Avalanche did it by the book. They struggled for years, building piece by piece, waiting for the one final brick to lay on the mortar. Russian goalie Simeon Varlamov, doubling as a brick wall, and the Avs are heading into the playoffs as a first seed in the Central Division. From worst to a potential first, that is a playoff story.
In the NBA?
Teams dropped their assets like a hot potato for not a promise, but a chance at a lottery pick. That chance slowly shrank as the year went on as more teams jumped on the sinking ship, bringing the league down to a low that was almost inconceivable. Congratulations, Toronto, your franchise-record 48 wins earns you the third seed in the East. In the West, they would be outside looking in at a bracket that doesn’t even seem to be from the same sport.
If we were to rank the teams regardless of conference, fourth-seeded Houston would be a half game above the Heat and below the Pacers. Houston had to grind though other legitimate competition the entire season while Indiana and Miami should have feasted on Andrew Wiggins hopefuls. But they didn’t, and the West won 63 percent of its games against the East.
It’s hard to decide whether the playoffs or the lottery system is worse in pro basketball. The Avs built through the draft, and the Bengals for better or worse were able to in football. Then there are the Cavaliers. Built behind Kyrie Irving and with three other top-five picks, they’re five games out of the playoffs and five spots away from last in the conference.
Four times they’ve tried to get the immediate game-changer akin to Anthony or James that immediately hoisted their teams to the playoffs their rookie year.
After watching March Madness, this game-changer that teams forgot their season ticket holders for has yet to stand up and make noise. The Nuggets (picking around 10th) are in great position to get a player that matches the pick. This draft is incredibly deep but far from producing any immediate change.
We all fear what some say is the inevitable, but is it not just fantastically realistic? It’s not the six, nor the seven, rings that Lebron called for before he even put on a Miami uniform, but it is a possible three-peat Miami is going for. The Pacers looked poised to be title favorites until Larry Bird broke two cardinal sins in basketball. He broke up a streaking team’s chemistry by shipping Danny Granger just after signing Andrew Bynum. All I can do is sigh.
Across the way, the West has seven 50-win teams, but, looking at the four really elite West teams, can they seriously do it? Miami has split against San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Houston while sweeping the Clippers.
The Spurs own the league’s best record, but they are no younger than last year when Miami capitalized in the fourth quarter to win the Finals.
The Rockets have a bit of a youth problem and lack chemistry, especially with two starting big men that can’t be on the court at the same time.
The best chance far and away comes from the Thunder. Westbrook can’t hinder Durant’s touches, Kendrick Perkins must play less than 15 minutes a game and Reggie Jackson must play well.
Alas, I hope I’m wrong. The NBA hopes I’m wrong. A Durant-featured championship, and, more importantly, a Lebron-less championship is the only way to keep this season from being a complete failure for its fans.
brjthomp@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
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