It has finally come to an end. It was a great run by the Phoenix Suns in this year’s playoffs. Hats off to the team for exceeding expectations and helping the valley get through one of the worst stretches in pitching history. Looking back, I really should have stuck with my original thoughts going into the playoffs. Here were a few of my initial playoff thoughts (although undocumented, you should still believe me).
1. The Magic are not nearly as good as people think they are. I know, I know they swept the Bobcats and made the Hawks look like the 2004-05 version of the team. But, they looked horrendous in their first three games against Boston and no showed in game 6 too. Listen, I still think they are a good team, but when their two best players are two guys who aren’t even close to playing up to their potential, then you just aren’t going to win an NBA championship. We all know that Vince Carter hasn’t panned out to be the super-duper star that he could have been. He is every bit as talented as Kobe is, probably more. (As a matter of fact, there have been 15-20 guys in the league with Kobe’s physical talent in the last 15 years, but not one of those guys has come close to matching his mental effort and drive to be the best. He’s consumed by it. Even if that means doing that stupid thing with his lower jaw just so he has an answer to MJ’s tongue waggle. LeBron James is much more gifted physically, but probably won’t ever be the closer that Kobe is. He has other goals, like becoming a billionaire. We just have to take our hats off every now and again, when physical greatness and mental greatness meet.) Okay tangent over, now on to Dwight Howard. Question, and this isn’t just because I’m a Suns fan and possibly homer: Why is Amare ripped for not putting enough effort off the court on his defense, but Dwight Howard gets a free pass on his offensive game? The guy is not good. He’s a bigger, beastier Amare Stoudemire from 2003-04. When Amare came into the league all he could do was dunk. That’s it. He was a man-child, they said. Dwight Howard came into the league, bigger, stronger, and better defensive instincts. Newsflash, he’s still the same player. His free-throw shooting is terrible. His range is as far as his right arm can reach. He has as much polish as my sneakers. Until, the Magic can get a legitimate go-to guy in the fourth quarter, there is no way they are going to win an NBA championship. Sorry Orlando.
2. I might have mentioned this in an earlier post, but going into the playoffs, I didn’t think there was any way that the Suns could get past the Lakers. I wanted a consolation prize for having such a stellar and surprising season. I wanted that prize to be the San Antonio Spurs. Lo and behold, they fell right into the Suns’ laps. What did the Suns do? They embarrassed them. They finally sent them away with the empty feeling that we had felt so many times before. Everything turned out the way I had envisioned entering the playoffs. Now don’t get me wrong. After watching the Suns series with the Lakers, I definitely think they could have beaten the Lakers and should have in game 5. I felt that stomach-punch just as much as anyone else when Ron Artest of all people, threw in that prayerful put-back to beat the Suns in game 5. I just knew that the Lakers were more talented and the odds were in their favor. Mark it down. I’m picking the Lakers to win the series. How many games? I have no idea. I’ll say six.
There were a few other impressions that I had going into the playoffs, but they aren’t going to get the same attention as these two. I also thought the Cavaliers were the best team in the league and would handle anyone that got in their way. That was back when I thought that LeBron James was the best player in the league. Now, I’m on the fence. He was playing with a bunch of stooges, and it will definitely be interesting to see what he does this summer (Free Agency blog post coming soon after NBA Finals). I also had the Boston Celtics as overrated, over-the-hill over-achievers from 2008. I just didn’t see them as a very good team, with the way the limped down the stretch. Boy was I wrong. Although 2-4 isn’t so bad, eh?
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