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Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
With all the mismatches, low ratings and
anticlimactic basketball that took place during
the last four games, this year's NBA Finals can
only be summed up with one word: disappointing.
Around this time of year, I am normally enjoying
the long, exciting series that a dramatic
basketball fi nal should include. Not this year. I
approached this year's fi nals in the same way
that I might a root canal: better over sooner than
later. This series was just as painful to watch as
a root canal, but then so is every playoff matchup
that the Spurs take part in.
The San Antonio-Cleveland series lacked
everything a good series usually brings to the
table: drama, high scoring, endearing story
lines, good team matchups and - most of all
- ratings. Unless you reside in these teams' respective
cities, there was really nothing in this
series to get excited about - even for the avid
basketball fan.
The only superstar worth watching-Lebron
James-accomplished nothing spectacular against
the Spurs relentless defense. During San Antonio's
four-game sweep he averaged less than 35
percent shooting from the fi eld and turned the
ball over an average of 5.75 times per game.
James put up these bad numbers because of
the mismatch the series provided. Without another
prolifi c scorer to draw San Antonio's attention
away from James, the Spurs were able to
contain the superstar and exploit his offensive
weakness - his outside shot. This, along with
his relative inexperience, caused James' oncourt
debacle.
His ineffectiveness created a lack of visually
stimulating basketball and erased any excitement
the series could have had.
The most action that took place was Spurs'
forward Tim Duncan's incessant complaining
to the referees - that and the constant footage
of "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria
playing with her palm pilot or cheering for her
fi ancee, Spurs point guard Tony Parker.
On the other hand, can you expect a lot of
excitement from a team that is considered one of
the best of all time going up against a team that
was just happy to be there?
When Finals time rolls around there should
not be an obvious winner. But this year, the series
was over before it even started.
The only looming question was how long
would it take Cleveland to roll over.
The answer? Not long at all.
So short, in fact, that this year I decided I
would rather watch an episode of "Desperate
Housewives" than witness Cleveland's desperate
attempts to bring a championship home to its
fans whose only stake in the sports world thus
far are disappointing memories of "The Drive,"
"The Fumble" and the 1995 World Series.
Now another entry has been added to the
list of unfortunate collapses in Cleveland's history:
the San Antonio sweep. The sweep caused
the Cavaliers to score the fewest points ever in
a four-game series, gave San Antonio a 16-6 record
in the NBA Finals - which saw record low
ratings - and created at least one very disappointed
basketball fan.
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