LACK OF DRAMA DOESN’T MAKE NBA PLAYOFFS BORING
Super showdown in Finals remains compelling storyline,
The only thing more predictable than this NBA postseason has been the reaction to its predictability.
Those who bellyached last July over Kevin Durant’s decision to join the Golden State Warriors’ funhouse are snarling and belting out “I told you so!” at every chance. After nearly seven months of “competition,” the season will end the way everyone knew it would end: with Part III of the Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers.
Hibernating bears have experienced more suspense.
There’s one thing I, as a passionate defender of dominance, must say in reaction to this boring reality.
So what?
Give me two super powers marching indomitably toward a rubber match over mediocrity disguised as parity any day. I’d even take it over a more balanced playoffs that resulted in just a couple pretty good teams playing a seven-game NBA Finals. Sure, the ideal scenario is to have balance and greatness, but that’s craving the exotic.
This is the NBA’s state: Seven of the league’s top 25 players reside in the Bay Area or Northeast Ohio, for a variety of reasons. And so be it, for now. Actually, so be it, for as long as the NBA has existed.
I’m not flippant about the NBA’s competitiveness issue. There are problems that require deep thinking, especially during a year in which the playoffs have been all chalk except for No. 5 seed Utah beating the No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers, which hardly rates as an upset. Even worse, many of the 14 series we’ve watched have been lopsided. There have been just two Game 7s. Both conference finals have been a haze of blowouts. Until Boston went to Cleveland and won without Isaiah Thomas on Sunday, it was assumed the Cavaliers and Warriors would both enter the Finals with unbeaten post-season records.
But it’s too reactionary to demand sweeping changes to the playoff model and the NBA’s overall structure. Just a year ago, the post-season provided fantastic drama, with five of the 15 series going seven games, intriguing storylines across the field and a historic finish.
There’s one thing about basketball that can’t be litigated: It’s the team sport in which a single superstar can have the most dramatic influence. To be one of the all-time greats, you’re expected to win multiple championships. To be considered among the top 10 ever, you’ll likely have to win at least three. Why? Because that’s the way it has always been. The great players suffer, then they crack the championship code, then they are slow to fade.
There’s always a Mikan, a Russell or an Abdul-Jabbar. There’s always a Bird, or a Magic or a Jordan. There’s always a Shaq, or a Duncan or a LeBron. And they always find a way to partner with another legend or two, and that’s when them ass championship collecting begins.
It’s likely if you were to make a well-thought list of the top 10 players in history, only one of them — Oscar Robertson — would be without multiple titles. The Big O won only one title: in 1971, with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
In NBA history, the Boston Celtics (17) and the Los Angeles Lakers (16) have won 33 of the 70 titles, nearly 50 per cent. Twelve current franchises haven’t won a title. Seven of them haven’t even made a Finals appearance.
Let’s compare it to baseball, another 30-team league. The top-two title-hogging franchises, the New York Yankees (27) and St. Louis Cardinals (11), have combined to win 38 of 112 World Series crowns, a little more than one-third. Six current franchises haven’t won a title. Two haven’t made a World Series appearance: the Seattle Mariners and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals.
Right now, the NBA is LeBron James’ league. Two years ago, the Warriors beat LeBron’s Cavs in the Finals, setting the stage for James to return the favour last season by rallying from a 3-1 series deficit, beating his recordsetting, 73-win nemesis and delivering Cleveland its first pro title in 52 years. Now the Warriors have Durant, giving them four all-stars and arguably the second- and third-best players in the game in Steph Curry and Durant. If either team can figure out how to raise the stakes again, the NBA is going to be forced to separate them into their own league and make them play each other 82 times next season.
Durant doesn’t care about the lack of parity.
“The fans always want to see a tight game; they always want to see a buzzer-beater every game, but it’s not like that,” Durant said. “You have your years where you have your great playoff series, four or five Game 7s. Then some years you have what you see in these playoffs. As players, you want to go out there and win by as much as possible and play as great as you can. Whatever happens with the score happens.
“Relay that to the fans who feel upset. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.”
Durant could have been nicer to consumers. He certainly would have avoided some of the warranted criticism he has received for the strong remarks. But he shouldn’t have to apologize for dominance, though he joined the Warriors mid-reign.
At the end of these boring playoffs, there will be a Finals full of drama. It will be James’ greatest test. It will be vital to Curry’s pursuit of legendary status. It will be an opportunity to see Durant perform under mustwin, no-excuses pressure. And there’s the chance to complete the process of creating a true, cross-conference rivalry capable of carrying the league.
Great individual performances — Russell Westbrook, James Harden, etc. — interrupted the predictability during the regular season. Now the inevitable has taken over. And if the inevitable proves worth it, I’ll look back at the rest of the playoffs, shrug and come to the same conclusion I have now.
So what? Dominance can be compelling.