If you haven’t checked in to the 2017 NBA Playoffs yet, don’t worry about it, as you haven’t really missed anything. Also, there’no rush on checking in, as you won’t need to until the NBA Finals begin June 1st. Maybe, if you want a warm-up, a preview show of sorts, you can half-heartedly consume the conference finals, and you still have a few days, almost a week until that gets going.
While these points are very debatable, the first two rounds being a pointless waste of time is something almost everybody can agree on.
With an 82 game grind, and a postseason which is WAY TOO LONG, it would be great if the NBA just cut straight to the chase.
Even with the most prominent talking heads for the television broadcast partners, i.e. networks which are completely in bed with the league, are telling you the 2017 NBA Playoffs are something that’s worth fast forwarding.
“There are two teams that are unbeatable right now… These guys are blowing people out.” TNT’s Kenny Smith said Monday about the playoff dominance of the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
His teammate on the desk, Kevin McHale elaborated on the Warriors playing at an extremely high level through two rounds:
“I’m not sure there’s a team in the NBA Playoffs playing better than Golden State. There’s a guy in Cleveland playing better basketball than anybody in the NBA in LeBron James, but this Golden State team in really hitting on all cylinders.”
It’s going to be Cleveland vs. Golden State in the Finals; period. You all knew that; long before the 2017 NBA Playoffs even started. You can take it a step further and predict the NBA final four as well. That’s exactly what we’re going to get too. The San Antonio Spurs will finish off the Houston Rockets tonight, and the Boston Celtics will eliminate the Washington Wizards Friday night.
It will be all chalk when all is said and done, just like it’s been almost all chalk thus far. You’ll have #1 vs #2 in both conferences. This round you’ve had #1 vs #4 and #2 vs #3 in the East, to go with #1 vs #5 and #2 vs #3 in the west- BORRRRRRRRRRRING!
Credit the Utah Jazz though for pulling off that HUGE #5 over #4 upset! WOW! What a March Madness type shocker that was.
EXCITING!
I really, truly care, just so much, because this is all so enthralling.
This is why the 2017 NBA playoffs won’t end up as exciting and interesting as the 2017 NCAA Tournament. You can of course say the same exact thing every year, because the NBA made every round best of seven and now drags the whole thing out as long as possible. It seriously begins in winter like weather and ends in summer hear. Because it’s not single elimination, upsets are extremely rare.
Remember when the #8 seed Chicago Bulls, a team as unworthy of a postseason bid as we’ve ever seen, won the first two over the Boston Celtics, and we all….no, we didn’t actually genuinely believe. Nor should we have.
At least I found the idea laughable!
At least we are going to have a very special NBA Finals. It could really be “epic” (I’m not being snarky now).
ESPN Analyst Jeff Van Gundy put it out there close to a month ago. He even said, you know who’s going to win.
“It would be a great time-saver if we just gave (the Warriors) the trophy now,” Van Gundy said back on April 17th.
“The playoffs are over — we just don’t know it yet. I mean, we haven’t seen the results, but if they avoid an incident this year and they are healthy, the playoffs are over. I don’t think the Warriors will be challenged. … They are that much better than everybody else. I’d be surprised if any series went to a seventh game.”
Van Gundy even took it up a notch, and told you who’s going to win.
“Golden State is your champion. It won’t be close,” said the former Knicks and Rockets coach. “No one is gonna push them. It’s over. It’s over.”
Maybe we don’t need to watch the NBA Finals after all- perhaps just the last five minutes of game 7.
Ok, maybe not, but the point is…you can take a sabbatical from the 2017 NBA playoffs until the NBA Finals.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud, LinkedIn and YouTube.