So on the real, I think we have all been sleeping on the greatness of Boston sports in the past decade. This region has been dominating all over the professional map. Did you realize that since 2004, the New England Patriots have won the Superbowl, the Boston Bruins have won the Stanley Cup(2011), the Boston Celtics have won the NBA Championship(2008) and the Boston Red Sox have won the Word Series twice(2004 & 2007) and can clinch their third in 10 years tonight??!! Crazyyyyyyyyy. Boston is one of those cities that seems to be real laid back. That is just me judging from afar since I have never been. It does not get the shine that cities like LA, New York, Atlanta and Miami do. It is not a flashy town but I do love, love, loooooove the city for giving me New Edition and New Kids on the Block. Oh and Mark Wahlberg. I cannot forget about Marky Mark. Let the Sox get this ring, you can betcha by golly wow that I will be getting me a Boston Strong shirt.
Last night, with 20.1 seconds left in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, I tweeted that “Twitter is about to meltdown in 20.1 seconds.” At that point in time, it was clear that the San Antonio Spurs were about the clinch their fifth championship and the crucifixion of LeBron James was about to occur. Then the unthinkable, the inevitable, the unimaginable happened. What I thought was going to happen did not happen because what I thought was going to cause what I thought would happen did not happen. Let that sink in for a minute.
With 20.1 seconds left, the Spurs had a commanding 5 point lead. The celebration rope had been brought out, the Larry O’Brien trophy was in the tunnel and the James slander had begun to commence. With Tim Duncan on the bench, the Miami Heat was able to rebound a miss and kick the ball back out to James who buried a three to cut the lead to two. Ut oh. Next, a young Kawhi Leonard to fouled and was sent to the line with the Mount Everest task of nailing two free throws to put the Spurs up four and ultimately clinch their fifth championship. That is a lot on a young man’s shoulders. Leonard hit one of two free throws. Then that unthinkable, unevitable, unimaginable thing that I talked about earlier happened. James missed a three pointer, Bosh grabbed the rebound and kicked it out the the greatest three point specialist of all time, Ray Allen. And what does Allen do? What he normally does, drains it!!! Just like that he sends the American Airlines into a frenzy and gives us some free basketball.
Wait a minute!! What just happened?? How did this just happen?? And why was Duncan on the bench, again, during that sequence?? Normally I do not question Gregg Popovich because like I said yesterday, he is a genius but he made two questionable decisions down the stretch that may have cost him his fifth ring. Manu Ginobli had a horrible game!!! This guy was a walking, raging turnover machine all night. Yet, Pop left him in the game. Then, you have the undeniable questions surrounding your best player, your best rebounder, your franchise player, Duncan, riding the pine at such a crucial time. Makes absolutely no logical sense whatsoever. Pop, you have some splaining to do.
Game 6 was without a doubt one of the best NBA Finals games I have ever seen and it will be hard to top if on Thursday. As much as I want the Spurs to win, I am not sure they have enough left in the tank to grab the championship they let slip through their fingers last night. However, I know from experience that when your body is tired, your heart takes over and the Spurs have enough heart on their team to will them to victory. One thing is for certain, around approximately12am Friday, someone’s Hall of Fame resume is going to another line added to it. Will it be Duncan or James? We shall soon find out.
I have always been a fan of LeBron, since his days at St. Vincent’s. He was a young man among boys in those days. I also enjoyed watching him in Cleveland. I loved the passion he played with as he tried his best to bring a championship to his home state.
As much as I enjoy watching him play, something about the South Beach LeBron just does not work for me. I have tried to figure out what it is. He is still one of, if not the best, players in the league. His game now is on a whole ‘nother level than where it was when he was in Cleveland. His basketball IQ is through the ceiling. And yet, I do not enjoy watching him as much anymore. Baffles me. Maybe it is the whole big 3 thing. Maybe it is because he plays for the Heat. Maybe I just have not really given him a chance.
For as much as I love to see him succeed, especially so he can quiet the naysayers, I am pulling for the Spurs. Most of you know I am not a fan of today’s NBA. I like that old school NBA. You know where players played as a team. Where fundamental skills were necessary. Where you typically only had one star, maybe two and a great supporting cast. The Spurs give me that old NBA and then some. As good as they looked last year, the Spurs look even better this year. I really think they can beat the Heat. It is going to be tough but I know Pop has them ready. Speaking of Pop, dude does not get enough props. Hey, that kind of rhymed. Pop is niiiiice on the sideline.
I am excited about this series. Shocking, right? New school meets old school. The Big Fundamental’s team meets King James’s team. Spurs meet the Heat for a showdown. Who will come out on top??!! Oh, the suspense.
Until next time….TOODELLS.
P.S. I really want Timmy to get another ring. Love his game!!! Plus I used you see him all the time in the mall And I still have his autograph :-}. GO SPURS!!
Kassie Nette's Korner 