Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Ring a Bell for the NBA Playoffs 2016


You all have most likely figured out by now that I generally grow relatively silent on the internet when playoff season for the NBA starts. Also, that I'm not likely to emerge from my sequestered niche when I'm keeping right in on the action until it is over or almost over and a champion team has emerged. This year is a ringer for sure. Besides the fact that they have produced a unanimously voted MVP, broken long-standing stat records clear back to the 70s and risen to the top of the heap in an incredibly short period of time, the Golden State Warriors can add one more credit to their rep. They have changed the way any pro basketball game looks- from start to finish- forever
     I have watched basketball games from a very young age up to the present and the best action
I've ever seen on NBA courts has been within the past year and a half. Anyone who remains uninterested in pro basketball in the present time is missing out on some of the best sports action to be seen in the known world. I have become a true believer in this new basketball era since watching all the GSW vs. 'anybody' since the playoffs started in April. Right after the first game started with the Houston Rockets, Stephen Curry was seriously injured twice- ankle, then knee- and the MVP was out for the count of four consecutively missed games. One might think that GSW would get creamed and tossed away but the whole team is so in sync that it was almost as if Steph was still in the paint ! I have been wowed by every single member of the team whether I knew them before or not. Even
Green has grown on me and he always seemed to be talking even in the middle of a 3-point shot. Shall I sing, "Getting to know you" right here or what ? I hate that and you know it.
    
They all make three-pointers and alley oops like they've been doing them in their sleep since they were three and that's unbeatable. What has really blown me away during the regular season, however, is their superior defense. I noticed that during these playoffs against the Trailblazers, Rockets and Thunder that their defense seemed to be just not working that well. When I watched the games with the Trailblazers over again I realized that they were mimicking GSW's style. I started backtracking to several games I had recorded during the regular season and could see that nearly every team was mimicking their style. It has been said by many that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so GSW players have been doubly flattered by almost every NBA pro and that speaks well of this particular style. It's called basketball and it isn't new but it has definitely taken on a new life since last year and I hope these games continue to look as exciting and fresh as it has been since 2015.