It has to be said: this is the most predictable/least
competitive NBA playoffs ever.
The Cavs-Warriors trilogy was preordained the moment KD
joined Golden State in July 2016. The bookies knew it. The league knew it.
Objective fans knew it. The only people who would say otherwise are (1) the media—it’s their job to keep the season interesting; and (2) legacy-conscious
fans of LeBron or the Dubs—they wouldn’t be historically great if they keep
playing the Washington
Generals, eh? Between them, the two teams have 7 of the 30 best players in
the NBA today,[1] each of whom made the
All-Star team this year. No other team has more than two. If you’re keeping
count, the Warriors have 4 of the 7, so naturally, LeBron wanted another
all-star. Unfortunately, he had to settle for former all-stars Kyle Korver and
Deron Williams. Needless to say, the
King wasn’t pleased.
It’s not yet the last week of May[2]
and we’re almost there. We are getting the rubber match… that we knew we’d get
for almost a year. Yay…??? For non-LeBronites and non-GSW-bandwagoners, sorry,
but you just wasted your time watching 82 games and three playoff rounds. This
is the product the NBA is selling, and it’s more predictable than WWE’s
storyline. The predictability stemming from the lack of competitiveness is
highlighted by the teams’ playoff records: Golden State is 12-0, Cleveland is
10-1. To be fair, Cleveland made it interesting during the regular season by
finishing second to Boston in the East. But nobody seriously believed that the
Celtics are the better team. Actually, I don’t know what to make of the Cavs,
with their three all-stars, in a weaker conference, not even coming close to 65
wins. If MJ played with two other all-stars… I’m sorry, I digress.
Special shout-out to the Spurs, the second-best team in the
league which had the unenviable luck of playing in the same conference as the
video-game-cheat-code Warriors. They looked like they had a puncher’s chance of making the the Dubs sweat… until Kawhi’s ankle got Zaza’d.
But would have they won the series at full strength? I think not, and Vegas
agrees.
Boston fans hope that LeBron gets Olynyk’d, except that
LeBron doesn’t get injured, he just gets cramps. Marcus Smart
will not hit seven threes again, Avery Bradley will not get the same lucky bounce, and I
haven’t even mentioned that the Celtics are already without their best player
for whatever remains of this short series. Besides, they already won the draft
lottery, so imagine how much more insufferable Celtics fans can get if they
actually pull off the upset.[3]
Predictability and lack of competitiveness make sports dull
and uninteresting. And I don’t mean it from an aesthetic point-of-view. The Warriors
can be fun to watch, but basketball isn’t performance art. It’s not theater, it’s
a sport. Where’s the thrill in regularly watching a 20-point beatdown in the
playoffs?[4]
The essence of sport is competition. You take away the competitive aspect and
you’re watching something entirely different: professional entertainment. I
outgrew wrestling 15 years ago, and the NBA is sadly headed in that direction.
The worst part is that the league might not be able to do
anything about it. How do you change the mindset of the current generation of players who value winning easy rather than winning on equal terms? When the media normalizes such behavior, what can
you do? KD has an idea: “If
you don't like it, don't watch it.” He’s right, of course. That’s exactly
what I’ve done all season. I haven’t watched a full game since the
Warriors-Spurs on opening night—almost exactly 7 months ago.
Thank God for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Go Pens!
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