R.I.P. NBA Finals

Someone forgot to give Orlando the memo.  We wanted Kobe vs. LeBron in the NBA Finals.  We wanted the best player in the NBA versus his heir apparent.  Heck, we even really liked the idea of Carmelo versus King James – two players forever linked by the ridiculously talented 2003 NBA Draft – squaring off in the championships.  Those scenarios conjure up drama and scream, “Where amazing happens.”  Instead, on the brink of getting an NBA Finals for the ages, the basketball gods delivered us Kobe vs. Dwight Howard.  The whole situation reminds me of 2003, when a potential greatest-World-Series-in-the-history-of-baseball between the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox (two popular franchises looking to break title droughts older than Felipe Alou) became the Florida Marlins against the New York Yankees (a thrifty organization with a history of self-imploding taking on a team with more rings than a Mr. T look-a-like convention).

Don’t get me wrong; Dwight Howard’s got a ton of game.  The man won the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year and deserves the title of “game’s best big man.”  Yet, a Lakers vs. Magic Finals feels less like “Where amazing happens” and more like “Where alright happens.”  Kobe and D-Ho just lack that “marquee match-up” feel that exists between the Black Mamba and King James (or to a lesser extent the King and Melo).  Kobe won the MVP award in 2008; James won in 2009.  People call Bryant the “best closer in the game” and James “the chosen one.”  Meanwhile, Dwight Howard lost to Nate Robinson in the Slam Dunk Contest (you think Kobe or LeBron loses to a 5’9” guy in a green Knicks jersey) and sort of goes by the self-given nickname Superman (sorry, but Shaq will forever be the NBA’s original “Man of Steel”).  

Most importantly, Kobe and LeBron play similar positions.  A Finals between them (or Bron v. Melo to a lesser extent) meant watching the two best players in the game battle each other head-to-head on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.  A huge appeal of last year’s championship revolved around Paul Pierce shutting down (relatively speaking) King James/the Black Mamba, then taking them to the hole seconds later.  Dwight Howard plays center (really, really well).  Sure, seeing him send weak shots into the upper mezzanine will be cool, but we’ll never get the eye-to-eye, either-you-beat-me-or-I-beat-you showdown of Kobe guarding LeBron and vice-a-versa.  

So, instead of a potential G.O.A.T. Finals, we get a good, but kind of disappointing consolation prize.  Hopefully Kobe vs. LeBron plays out next year and the basketball gods give us “amazing.”  For now, however, we’ll have to settle with the NBA, “Where Could Have Been Better Happens.”  Bummer.  

Ok, in order to make today’s blog not such a downer, here’s three things to cheer you up now that LeBron versus Kobe has gone the way of Freestyle music.

1. The Hangover Opens Friday: Ummmm…a movie about Vegas by the guy who directed Old School???  Check out the trailer and get ready to laugh…

2. Summer Has Started: How can warm weather and vacations not cheer you up?

3. The Most Valuable Puppets: Sure, the Los Angeles/Orlando Finals most likely means the end (at least for the time being) of the hilarious “Most Valuable Puppets” Nike ad campaign, but the commercials live on forever thanks to the glorious powers of YouTube.  Enjoy!