NBA Playoffs Just Right
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Posted by Mark Barnes May 4, 2006 |
Cavaliers-Wizards are Under Review
Did I say the NBA playoffs are too long? Was it me who called first-round playoff action boring? Well, I take it all back.
After watching Cleveland and Washington wage war on one another for five games, I must admit I was wrong to suggest that a first-round NBA series should be any less than seven games. In fact, I don't want to see this epic battle end.
Like a comfortable recliner or a fine cigar, the NBA playoffs are just right.
The only game that wasn't a nail-biter was game one, when LeBron James posted a triple double, and the Cavs held off a torrid fourth-quarter shooting performance from Gilbert Arenas to maintain their home-court advantage.
A few days later, though, the Wizards took LeBron out of the game, forcing him into 10 turnovers, and Washington stole away home-court advantage.
Like any good fighter, though, the Cavaliers and their Wunderkind bobbed and weaved and Kayoed the Wiz in the nation's capitol in game three to reclaim the advantage. Washington evened the series in game four.
With King James and Arenas fighting a battle within the war, in game six, these two mega-stars carried their teams on their Herculean shoulders.
The Wizards closed regulation with a 7-0 run, sending the game to overtime, and when Arenas nailed his second free throw for his 44th point, Washington took a 120-119 lead, and things looked bad for the hometown Cavs, with just three seconds left in the overtime.
Then LeBron James fired the shot heard round the NBA. No, it wasn't a desperation three at the buzzer. Much better than this, it was an encore of a move he'd made all night - one Washington intended to take away, coming out of a timeout.
With former Wizard Larry Hughes inbounding from the sideline, LeBron curled around a screen from under the basket; he took the pass near the corner, glanced up momentarily as if to fire a shot, then he meandered his way deftly past Antawn Jamison, danced precariously close to the baseline, backed his way in front of the basket and leaped between two defenders (one of them an outstretched Arenas), and rolled the ball into the hoop for the game-winning bucket with .09 seconds left.
For a millisecond, time stood still. Every fan, whether of Washington, Cleveland, basketball in general, or just sports, had witnessed one of the truly remarkable moments in the sports world this year.
The Cavaliers took a 3-2 lead, and I can't wait for the series to get back to Washington for game six.
And if it goes to game seven, so be it. And if the great minds of the NBA decide to extend the series to best of 11, I'll be that much happier.
Let these two teams with their superstars go toe-to-toe indefinitely, I say, because the NBA playoffs, at least the Cavs-Wizards series, are just right.
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