Who Let the Brooms Out?! - Sweep…Sweep-Sweep-Sweep! That was the Tune stuck in my head earlier last week as the Denver Nuggets secured a sweep in Lala Land at the Crypto.com Arena on South Figueroa Street, Monday night 22nd day in May. I thought I would be posting this amateur reflection last Thursday, with the heavy anticipation, expectation that Miami would follow up with their own sweep the following evening, Tuesday May 23rd. Hearts all over South Beach must have dropped into their guts when Boston decided to show up, winning game 5, game 6, forcing game 7 on the historic parquet floor at Boston Gardens, oh, I mean TD Garden. I felt I was experiencing the opening theme of Wide World of Sports repeating over and over again after game 5 and 6 between Boston and Miami - “The Thrill of victory! Or, the Agony of Defeat…” We as fans are part of the spectacle gleaning off the ‘human drama of athletic competition’. Zaza Pachulia also showed up streaming through my mind at the end of game six, echoing his sentiments, “Game 7! Game 7 Baby!!! Nothing easy… NOTHING EASY!!!’ Ahhh… the great NBA and sports memories through the years… Priceless!
The sexy NBA matchups of our past are becoming as antiquated as the boomer generation that revelled in the cliche East Coast versus West Coast rivalry over the last two generations, Los Angeles Lakers versus Boston Celtics. There’s a new kid in town, Mr. Gen Z, and they are not intimidated or swayed by their intentions to overcome the ‘I’m special!’ helicopter doting upbringing. The Gen X generation are raising a class of thick-skinned athletes ready to take over a league once dominated by few teams. If you haven’t been paying attention in the past two-three seasons, or wearing blinders (only paying homage to your favorite team), there’s a paradigm shift emerging in the NBA, and it favors every fan.
No one predicted the Los Angeles Lakers would look two-steps stale, and cough up four games in a row to the prime seed, Denver Nuggets. Not even the referees could dissuade the mile-high franchise from bouldering over everything the Lakers attempted to throw up against their game plan. LeBron, even with his 40+ points performance could no longer carry the City of Angels and their squad on his shoulders to attempt the impossible- overcoming an 0-3 series deficit. King James needed perfection performances from ‘Cowboy Kobe’ Austin Reaves, ‘Unibrow’ Anthony Davis and stealth accuracy from Rui Hachimura. Fans and professional analysts alike were thinking the series would go at least six, seven games for the eyes to feast on. Nope, the dudes in purple-and-gold were gassed. They attempted to put on as best possible a show as their seventh-seed exposed. After being defeated in division play-off series two years in a row as one of the western conference top seeds, the Denver Nuggets were adamant with themselves, and their fan base to not let that opportunity to represent the West in the NBA Finals for a third time. Coach Michael Malone has a bulldog mentality and has obviously rubbed off on his players. Nikola turned in another triple-double performance and teammates Murray, Porter and Gordon have been showing up game in and game out to create frustrating defense scenario situations for Los Angeles.
On the other coastline, Miami has walked over the line drawn in the sand by expert analysts, and league assumptions. Coach Eric Spoelstra along with team leader Jimmy Butler are not backing down striving for a crash course with their west coast nemesis Denver and Jokic. Of course, nothing came easy for the eighth-seed Miami going into game four at home versus Boston. The following three games last week became a roller coaster of abject to thrilling performances witnessed on both sidelines. In my own opinion, I felt if Miami did not win game six at home and had to go back to Boston for game seven, we may experience the first NBA playoff series comeback by Boston, winning a series after trailing 0-3. Little did I know, the grit and determination that showed up from Miami blew the Celtics fans to dismay and impressed me that Monday night on the 29th day in May. Miami is only the second team in NBA history to make the NBA Finals as the 8th seed. The last team to make it to the Finals from the last playoff spot were the 1999 New York Knicks. The Knicks ultimately lost in the Finals to the San Antonio Spurs in five games (4-1). Miami has an opportunity to make history as being the first 8th seed to hoist the Larry O’brien Golden Layup Trophy. On the other end, Denver has an opportunity to park the Larry O’brien for the first time 5.280 feet above sea level in their NBA history. Another dynamic between the two franchises is their lack of respect for one another; this series has the potential of being physical and explosive! For anyone thinking this matchup between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets, as ‘Meh’, or ‘Borrrrring…’ Those reflections couldn’t be farther from the truth. The 2023 NBA Finals are going to be fireworks, and I am here for the show! Get your popcorn and soda pop ready! I know what I am doing tonight at 17:30 PST, what about you?!
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