Party in South Beach
Well, the Miami Heat are the champs of American pro hoops for the asterisk season of 2011-2012. We're happy for Juwan Howard, Pat Riley, Dwayne Wade, Portland boy Erik Spoelstra... pretty much everyone on the Heat team, except you-know-who.
As for Oklahoma City, they weren't as hot as we thought they were. Granted, the referees made their lives difficult, but they didn't come close to rising to the challenge. They've got so much talent, but the chemistry seemed a little off. Westbrook and Durant are a fantastic one-two punch, but they're not sufficiently in sync to go all the way. At least not yet.
NBA commissioner David Stern seemed a little scattered at the post-game trophy ceremony. At a couple of points, it almost seemed as though he was losing his place on the script. Wonder who will succeed him.
Except for the really hard-core hoops fans, who will now obsess about such trivia as draft picks and trades, it's time for a couple of sleepy, shining months of baseball, soccer, tennis, and the Olympics. England swings like a pendulum do...
| Posted at 6:41 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (12)
This will be a learning experience for OKC. They are a young, talented team, with players signed on for the long term.
Yes, Game 5 was a blow out, but Games 2, 3 and 4 could have gone either way.
The loss will sting, but the Thunder should learn from it.
I liken it to the Detroit Pistons in the late '80's with that heart breaking 7th Game loss to the Lakers in the '88 finals, only to come back and win the next two Titles.
I see no one in the West to challenge the Thunder in the near future.
Posted by PDXileinOmaha | June 22, 2012 7:09 AM
Thank God we didn't draft Kevin Durant. What a loser.
Posted by Bill McDonald | June 22, 2012 8:01 AM
Jack, why do you resent Lebron so much? How bout just graciously letting he and his team enjoy their victory. Whatever your reasons for disliking him (yes, he may have seemed arrogant about leaving Cleveland), he IS arguably one of the greatest overall players around and destined to go down in the books as such too. He's been Rookie of the Year, 3-time NBA MVP, and an All Star every year since 2005.
Re. the Finals series: You posted a few days ago about the series being a sham of sorts and the league being determined to give Lebron a ring. Aw c'mon...Maybe you could elaborate for us on this conspiracy theory. Officiating aside, the Thunder just were not able to deliver in many instances, especially Game 7. They had the talent and the opportunities. It was there for them to win, with nobody pulling strings against them to prevent it -- unless you can show us such evidence.
Posted by Jestagame | June 22, 2012 8:10 AM
It'll be interesting to see if the Heat can win a Championship in a regular 82 game season.
Posted by Justin | June 22, 2012 8:25 AM
Bill McDonald: Durant's a loser because he didn't single-handedly win the title for the Thunder? And such a loser that the Blazers are lucky not to have him? Love your black and white logic Bill. Let's see, Rookie of the Year, 3-time All Star, 3-time All NBA 1st Team, 2012 All Star Game MVP, and more. Yeah, the Blazers gots lotsa guys with those kinda stats, just can't recall their names right now before my 1st cuppa Joe.
Posted by jestagame | June 22, 2012 8:26 AM
Jestagame,
Are you kidding? That could have been us in those Finals getting our butts kicked by the Heat. I think we dodged a major bullet here.
Posted by Bill McDonald | June 22, 2012 8:30 AM
Pretty sure Bill was kidding there.
Posted by Not that "Steve" | June 22, 2012 8:32 AM
...but I don't know him, so maybe not.
Posted by Not that "Steve" | June 22, 2012 8:56 AM
I'm also glad that an uptight community like South Beach finally has an excuse to party a little bit.
Posted by Bill McDonald | June 22, 2012 9:05 AM
Welcome to the blog, Jestagame. Here's a helpful hint for you: No Bill McDonald post shorter than four lines is ever to be taken seriously.
Posted by Roger | June 22, 2012 9:09 AM
And my Zag alum Ronny Turiaf also gets a ring. Depending on how badly Tony Parker's eye is injured, the French Olympic team might be pretty fun to watch.
Posted by umpire | June 22, 2012 2:23 PM
Officiating aside
The mystery calls and noncalls against OKC, particularly in Games 2 and 3, were remarked upon by the TV commentators and the talking heads at the desk on several occasions. Sorry you missed it.
This tends to happen more often than not in the NBA playoffs, although this year it did not become obvious until the finals.
NBA refs often have an agenda, and they get messages from the league. Just ask Tim Donaghy.
How bout just graciously letting he and his team enjoy their victory.
As I wrote, I'm happy for everybody on the Miami team but Mr. Arrogance. I'm starting to dislike hm as much as I do Kobe (Acquitted on All Counts) Bryant. He's a great basketball player, but he's also a jerk.
Posted by Jack Bog | June 22, 2012 2:48 PM