NBA Finals Wrap-up

Well the Finals are over and now our lives get a little less exciting because the only sport left to watch on TV is baseball (which is slowly self-destructing). I haven't posted about sports in a while, so I just wanted to leave a few thoughts I had about the Finals and the NBA in general.

1)I have enjoyed the NBA more this year than any other year. It has passed college football in the race to be my favorite spectator sport. I can't really put my finger on why that is. I think part of it is due to the quality of play and maybe also because I spent more time watching games and reading about it this year than I ever have before.

2)I hate the Lakers. I hate Kobe Bryant. This does not mean that I do not recognize his outstanding athletic abilities and basketball skill, it just means I don't like him. I was really disappointed that the first season of the NBA that I've cared about since my childhood had to end with Kobe hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy.

3)Can we please stop hearing about how Kobe is so much better now and how he has come to realize how much he needs his teammates, etc. Look at his playoff numbers from last year and look at them from this year. They are EXACTLY the same. He didn't play any better, he just had better help. Do you realize how much better Ariza is than Radmonovich? Not to mention the fact that the Celtics from last year would've killed the Magic from this year. Bill Simmons gets into the nitty gritty of this in his latest column which you can read here.

4)Those Nike MVP (Most Valuable Puppets) commercials with the puppet versions of LeBron and Kobe are classic! Nike marketing does it again. This series of commercials is going to go down as some of the best advertising in history. I especially love the one with Dez:



Is it bad that during the one where the Kobe puppet jumps into the car that I was kinda hoping he'd get nailed by it?

5)Phil Jackson is the greatest coach ever. He takes some of the most difficult personalities (Jordan, Kobe, Rodman, Shaq, etc.) and wins championships with them. It's crazy how successful the guy has been.

6)I'm ready for the NBA Draft to start. I might do a running diary if I can find the time.