Can't Please Everybody.

Add me to the chorus of people who have found the latter part of these playoffs almost completely unwatchable. It started with so much promise. The Nuggets opened strong against the Spurs. and the Warriors showed no fear against the Mavericks. The Rockets even jumped out to an early lead. But San Antonio put the wheels down, like they do, and took Denver out of their game from then on. Then, the Rockets predictably went retarded, and the Warriors wild ride came to an end. And then, there was the horribly tragic bloodbath between the Spurs and the Suns. Things didn't get better. The Pistons lost to Cleveland in spite of themselves. They have better balance and more experience. But, they were foolish and played down to the competition. Now, Detroit's laziness and San Antonio's soul crushing brutality have given us this mess of a Finals. One of the most ugly and unbalanced series we could ask for.

It's not a slap to San Antonio or Cleveland. This is the flaw of having to play the games. You could end up with an exciting story and something truly memorable. But because of the structure, there are no guarantees. San Antonio wins games because they know exactly what they do and do it consistently. That, and Tim Duncan is a machine. Hard to watch, but one of the best basketball players of all time. LeBron might be there one day too. But I think it's a sad state of affairs that this was the best that could come out of the Eastern Conference. Again, not LeBron's fault. And, good for all the fans that are getting a thrill out of this. But, when you look at the numbers, you're in the minority. This has been an iffy year. The NBA is loaded with talent, but David Stern seems to have lost his golden touch. Maybe it's just that he's so used to being bulletproof that it's hard to keep his head straight. But, wow, this has been a middling season. We get a fresh injeaction of some world class talent in a matter of weeks, so it's not anything that can't be overcome. It just sucks to love basketball but have no reason to be watching it this week.