Let me start this off by saying, I love the game of basketball. When I was younger, I played in a recreation league. To this day college basketball is one of my favorite things in the entire world. There is nothing better than the road to March Madness, until we get to the tournament itself.
However, I have absolutely zero interest in watching the NBA or the NBA Finals that are coming up. Throughout this entire NBA season, I may have seen small bits and pieces of about 10 games in total. The main reason I even bother checking in on anything related to the league is to see how the guys I enjoyed watching in college are doing.
That leads me to Kevin Durant. Durant was only in one college for one season. But for that 2006-2007 season, I made sure to tune into any Texas game that was on television. He was just so smooth and fun to watch. Unfortunately, KD and Texas would fall to USC in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, ending his collegiate career.
He would go on to be drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics. Then the team would relocate to Oklahoma City after his rookie campaign, thus making the Thunder my favorite NBA team. Throughout his run with James Harden and Russell Westbrook, it was always Durant that I would want to see if I turned on a Thunder game.
But even back then, I was not a die-hard NBA guy. But I certainly paid more attention to the sport than I have in recent years. Why is that you might ask? Well simply put, the sport has become way too predictable. In other words, I have zero interest in spending a few hours of any given day when I know what the ultimate outcome will be.
This past offseason, one of the few players I try to follow, KD, signed with the Golden State Warriors on the 4th of July. This was a Warriors team that had been to the NBA Finals the previous two seasons, winning it all in 2015. Their roster was already loaded with the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green to name a few.
With this signing, the Warriors, who were already the team to beat in the West, sealed their fate as undisputed favorites. So it came as no surprise that the team had the best record in the NBA this season, besting the San Antonio Spurs by six games and the closest team out East coming within 14 games. This all with Durant missing a handful of games during the year.
Then over in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers still had LeBron James. Like the Warriors, LeBron and the Cavs had been to the Finals the last two years. While the Dubs took it in 2015, last year the title went to Cleveland.
While he has had some great support the last few years (especially Kyrie Irving), that has not always been the case. Yet with LeBron, it does not matter. He is hands down the best player in the NBA right now. I may not follow the sport, but even I know that. How else can you explain the fact that he as a player has now been to seven straight NBA Finals?
This brings me back to this matchup being so predictable. While the NBA season did not begin until October 25th, 2016, I could have told you this would have been the Finals matchup back on the 5th of July. Sure the Cavs did not finish the season with the best record in the East. Yes, things could have turned bad after KD got hurt. But guess what? We are still here awaiting the Finals to begin next week with round three of Cleveland vs Golden State.
To make matters worse, there has been zero competition this postseason. Through three series thus far, the two teams are a combined 24-1. The Warriors have not lost a single game since the regular season, making their opponents look silly in the process. Meanwhile, the Cavs dropped one game to the Boston Celtics. Outside of that, they too have been beating opponents with relative ease.
Let’s break it down by sport. Counting this NBA Final, there have been only two different NBA teams represented in the last three Finals. In the NFL, there have been five different teams in the last three Super Bowls. As for MLB, five franchises have been represented in the previous three World Series. Same thing in the NHL (five teams) if you count the upcoming NHL Finals.
Sure, a three-year window may not seem like a lot. But in sports, it is. We only get one champion a year for any given major sport. So I do not want to see the exact same matchup year in and year out. Sure the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup last year. But at least a year ago they faced the San Jose Sharks, who hadn’t been in the Finals prior to 2016. The same can be said for this year’s Penguin opponents, the Nashville Predators.
So if I am not all that excited to see Curry vs James round three, there is a reason for it. Had the Celtics actually beaten Cleveland, I may have tuned in for a game or two. If it was the Washington Wizards, I certainly would have checked out some, as John Wall would bring a new face to the party.
Just because this is the tie-breaker does not make it exciting for this sports fanatic. I’ll be over here watching MLB and the Stanley Cup Finals.
What are your thoughts on the topic? Do you like seeing the Cavs and Warriors dominate the sport, or does it make things too predictable? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!