By Justin Taylor
Until late this week there wasn’t much in the way of
surprises in these playoffs. It
was hard not to look ahead to the potentially great matchups rounding into
shape in the Western Conference and the unwatchable ones in the east. That’s when Pau Gasol went back to
sleep, Kobe got sick and Andrew Bynum got his “zen on!” Bay Area fans that can only root for the
Lakers to lose this time of year got a chance for a great weekend. Not only have the Nuggets shown a pulse
and pushed the Lakers to the brink but the Clippers (our perennial bottom
feeding competition with their bandwagon fans) are about to fly to Memphis for
a game 7 of their own.
Personally I was looking forward to seeing the Spurs take
out the Clippers and to the Thunder shitting on the Lakers. I admit that the conference semifinals
might not be as interesting with the Grizzlies and Nuggets (even though
Spurs-Grizz could be a great series.)
That being said it is impossible for me not to root for both SoCal teams
to get taken out in bone crushing fashion on consecutive days. The thought of all those Laker flags on
cars flying at half mast in bumper to bumper traffic (not to mention all of
those brand new Clipper hats and jerseys getting buried deep in closets) all
over LA has me genuinely excited.
That is a lot of weight to put on Kobe's aching knees
On Saturday Denver has a chance to send Laker fans into a
state of panic that will last several months and Kobe on another trip to
Germany. On Sunday the Grizzlies
can devastate Clipper Darrell, Billy Crystal and Penny Marshall while raining
on thousands of fair-weather fans.
Losing this weekend will almost guarantee an entire offseason of “will
Chris Paul stay in Lob City after next season; Will Kobe’s knees be able to
carry the weight of Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and RonMetta World Peace for one last run at a ring; and who will
coach them when Mike Brown is fired?”
I almost didn’t write about it because I don’t want to jinx it.
The Warriors season has been over for a loooong time and
normally I’d probably be half-heartedly be rooting against the Lakers right
about now. This season is
different though. Chris Paul has
carried the Clippers on his creaky knees (without booking any flights to
Germany as far as I know) into the mix so now I’ve got to pour an extra glass
of Haterade. It’s time for Bay
Area die hards to join up with the fans in Denver and Memphis and show them how
you really chant BEAT LA! Even if
one or both of the Staples Center tenants advance we can still be confident
that they will get mopped up against one of the squads already resting until
someone limps in to play them.
If I had to choose between the L.A. teams Chris Paul would
make it easier to choose the Clippers but I’m praying that the basketball gods
will just handle business for me in the next two days. If the worst case scenario happens and
the Lakers make it all the way to the finals I hope Boston is the team to meet
them there. For the 2010 finals match
up I went down to Staples Center to witness the most historical rivalry in
basketball history. Since the Lake
Show was clearly taking that game I had to high tail it out of there straight
to the airport so I could catch a flight out of there before being swept up in
a sea of purple and gold. I will
try to do the same this year but until then I’ll be hoping I don’t see LAX or
the 110 freeway for a long time.
No one will be smiling if Westbrook takes more shots then Durant
Picking another team to throw my playoff support behind is
another time honored Trapped in Golden
State tradition. This year I’m
having a hard time picking between Oklahoma City and San Antonio out west while
the only choice available in the east is Boston. KG, Pierce, Allen and Rondo deserve one more run at it
before it’s curtains on their chances at a ring. I can’t get behind the Heat because it is more fun to see
them implode then it is to see them win.
In the west I’m going with the Spurs but it wasn’t an easy
choice. Supporting the most
unselfish superstar in the league as he rides toward the sunset just seems like
the right thing to do. There’s
nothing more enjoyable than watching a team play the right way and Tim Duncan will make damn sure that’s what the Spurs
do. I love Kevin Durant for the
same reasons but he has a little less control with Russell Westbrook jacking up
twenty shots a game. If I’m a
point guard in Oklahoma City, no matter how confident I am in my own game, I’m
setting up the scoring champion and most versatile shooter in the league every
chance I get. If Duncan is The Big
Fundamental, Durant is the heir apparent.
Manu Ginobili is the deciding factor here because he makes me feel good
about my own male pattern baldness issues.
Manu gets the Spurs my vote by a hair!
Right now we are in our usual spot, watching other teams in
the playoffs while we wait for the ping pong balls to stop bouncing. The difference this time around is that
I truly believe that our new management group has made strides and taken the
chances necessary to make real changes. It won’t be nearly as infuriating when Joe Lacob and Mark
Jackson come out talking playoffs during training camp like it was this year
but I think they learned a valuable lesson about actions speaking louder than
words. Eight games and six losses
into the season I had officially gone from disheartened to being enraged. Next year it should be a legitimate
expectation that this roster make a real playoff push so long as we don’t have
ankle issues.
For the first time in years there is reason for true
optimism outside of a late lottery pick because this time some other things are
going to start going our way for once.
2013 will be the season that the Chris Paul and Blake Griffin contract
situations drag the Clippers back into obscurity. Kobe’s knees will stop
carrying the Lakers. Dirk may go
back to Germany in the offseason but he’ll come back to the Mavs without new
knees, Deron Williams or Dwight Howard. The Jazz will still be coughing teeth from their first round
ass kicking and the Spurs best players will be filing for social security and AARP
cards. Denver will lose a lot of
the depth that got them this far while Portland remains cursed and Houston
continues to have their trades vetoed.
By my calculations we need to stay healthy and have roughly half
of my predictions come true to leap well into the playoffs. We’re not talking 8th seed
this time around, our sights need to be set on the 4th or 5th
spots approximately 350 days from now.
Before we get into any of that we need to focus on the present. Go Grizz! Go Nuggets! Go
Spurs! Go Thunder! Go Celtics and go anyone else that has what it takes to
bring on the demise of the Staples Center!
I wouldn't mind the old guys getting one last shot at a second ring
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i need to stop watching clipper games. it cant be good for my blood pressure all the yelling and screaming i do when i watch flop city games. i cant wait for david lee and andrew bogut to show paul and griffin how to play basketball like men. i feel bad for caron butler, he has to play basketball with a bunch of actors. i just googled 'blake griffin' and a bunch of KIA commercials and a IMDb portfolio popped up.
ReplyDeleteseriously though. i just want the Grizz to kick their teeth in.
I'm right there with you, they are either ACTING tough or ACTING like someone just shot them...
ReplyDeleteAlthough the West is tough this year, a lot of the teams are on the decline while the Warriors are on the way up. Dallas, unless they get D-Will, will fade, and in a couple years the Thunder will lose Harden/Ibaka to free agency.We've already shown we can beat the Clippers and T-wolves ( especially when we're not supposed to, LOL) so that opens up another couple of playoff spots. We'll probably be a 5th/6th seed in two years if everything goes right
ReplyDeleteThe Lakers, Spurs and Mavs are all aging so as long as we progress we're trending the right way. I'll be happy to go to the playoffs next year but expectations a for at least a 6th seed. (IF HEALTHY which is a huge if)
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