NBA – And then there were Six?

By Dave Wiley

Ahhh, the joys and bummers of writing a weekly column. The bummer being deadlines. And since mine is Monday around noonish, six teams remain in the NBA finals hunt. After tonight there will only be four. Yes, Tuesday would definitely be a better deadline. Well, it does leave me with the distinct advantage of a cliffhanger ending for the column, except by the time you sports enthusiasts read it, you’ll know who the four are.

Two teams are in Miami Heat moseyed into the Eastern Championship finals first, by trouncing the New Jersey Nets. The highlight game was the closer, with Miami eking out a 106 – 105 capping score. New Jersey opened the series with a win, but the Heat lived up to their name and won the next three by ten or more. Finally, New Jersey tried to answer, but came up one point short in the finally.

Miami enjoyed a nice respite from basketball only to find they’d be playing the team that has dominated the East the last few years, the Detroit Pistons. Detroit ended their seven game series with Cleveland just like they began it, by shutting down Lebron and Co. with good defense and an offensive flurry that proved insurmountable. The Cavs, after going down 2-0 in the series, appeared done, but unfathomably pulled out three very close wins to take the series back to Cleveland for a game six with a 3-2 lead. Detroit being one of the most difficult places to win in, Cleveland had to win game six at home. They came up just shy, and that I wrote series over on a piece of paper, bunched it up, and threw it in the garbage. The Cavs did hang tough with Detroit for a half until the defense clamped down on James and the rest of the Cavs did nothing. Personally, it appeared to be a lack of coaching that took out Cleveland in this game. After going down by five, Lebron took shot after shot while being double and triple teamed, and Coach Brown did nothing to change it. The hole just got deeper and deeper until, roughly six feet down, the Cavs were buried. May they rest in the peace of their couches. This killed my, and all Cleveland fans hopes yet again. Cleveland is a great sports town for futility.

And so the Eastern Conference final shaped up. Miami vs. Detroit. Had you bet on this at the beginning of the NBA season, you’d still be working your day job; both were considered favorites to be here. In the West, four teams still vie for the two spots in the Western Conference Finals. Both are down to a game seven. Both are tonight. Should I watch 24 or basketball…. Hmmm.

First game on tap is the Spurs and the Mavs. Texas has really whupped up a rivalry between these to teams. Reminiscent of the Michael Jordan Era when the Cleveland Caveliers would have there hopes dashed year in and year out by Jordan, the Dallas Mavericks have had a similar fate at the hands of Tim Duncan and the Spurs. Will this be the year that Dallas prevails? Tune in Monday night for the sixty minute cliff hanger that will last three hours. My hunch is Dallas will once again be riding the couch, all because of home court advantage. It belongs to the Spurs, and probably so does the series.

I am rooting for Dallas, as like all Americans, I like the underdog, plus I bet two marbles and a box of chocolates on the Spurs.

The Semi Final finale will feature the second fame seven of the night. Phoenix hosts the L.A. Clippers. I still can’t get used to typing that this deep into the NBA playoffs. I probably won’t type if after today. In any event, it doesn’t really matter who wins this series, other than the fact they can say they won the series. They won’t be going to the finals.

So boldly I go where all other sports predictors are heading and feel San Antonio will play Detroit in the finals, with the winner liking the taste Dairy Queen ice cream much better than the losers, and way better than the officials.

 

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