NBA Finals Game 1 Thread

I have no idea who is going to win these finals, but I am excited to watch them.

On one side, we have a very good Boston Celtics team, but a team without a true all-time great. So few teams can win a title without one of these guys. But they do have Tatum and Brown as big time leaders, with people like Derrick White and Al Horford and Jrue Holiday as a great supporting cast. Then there is Kristaps Porzingis, who has been hurt most of the playoffs. If Porzingis is your third best player, which he absolutely is when healthy, you have a hell of a team.

On the other side, we have the Dallas Mavericks, which seemingly came, well, not out of nowhere, but no one really picked them to go this far. But what can you say–Luka has proven his critics wrong (except for the fact that he is fat and out of shape compared to other NBA players, this is objectively true) and Kyrie has had the playoffs of his life. What a reminder of the player that Irving can be. He really is one of the most beautiful basketball players to ever play. Too bad he is so personally repulsive, which has gotten in the way of him having a legendary career. Kyrie has never won without LeBron. The Dallas supporting cast really isn’t as strong as Boston’s, but the midseason pickups of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford really were the perfect additions in a way that supporting cast players at the deadline rarely are. They really showed Minnesota that experience does matter. Also, Karl Anthony Towns is a bum when it counts.

I don’t know who to pick here. I guess I would say it depends on Porzingis. If he’s healthy or close to it, I think Boston has a definitive advantage by having so many weapons. If he’s not, then I think it’s a very even series. After two quick conference championship series, I hope we get a solid 6 or 7 game series here.

Two other issues in the hoops world I think we have to address.

First, I think the idea of the Lakers hiring UConn coach (and former URI coach!) Dan Hurley is a terrible idea. Hurley’s a great coach, I won’t question that at all. He’s also a huge asshole. He loves to yell at his players. This is who he is. It’s also just flat out not going to work in the NBA. I know the Lakers are saying they are making this coaching decision outside of LeBron and Anthony Davis’ preferences, but c’mon, we know they aren’t. I cannot see professional players putting up with Hurley’s Bobby Knight-like behavior. Hiring J.J. Redick based on his podcast with LeBron would also be a stupid idea, yes, but at least Redick’s personality wouldn’t obviously undermine his chances of success before he starts.

Of course I hate the Lakers and quite viscerally, so I look forward to watching this go down.

Second, I suppose we have to address the Caitlin Clark media frenzy over the cheap shots she’s been taking. All of a sudden, every NBA commenter has a hot take here, from Charles Barkley to Stephen A. Smith. I do think a couple of things can be true. First, the WNBA is a really physical league. For people who don’t watch the WNBA, they might think it’s these girls going out there and being nice people or whatever. But no, these are grown ass women and they beat the shit out of each other. It’s a very different game than the NBA. So if you never watch, seeing Clark get hammered again and again might shock you. It shouldn’t.

However, I can 100% believe there is a lot of racial resentment among Black players. Clark is so obviously the White Savior, and it’s not her fault. She just plays her game. But it’s always the white players who get the ads, whether Sue Bird or Sabrina Ionescu or now Caitlin Clark. Cameron Brink will be there soon too, based on both her look and her game. And gee, I wonder why the forthrightly queer Brittney Griner never got these kind of TV-based endorsements, hmmmm…… The WNBA is going all in on Clark being the white girl who will get other white girls to watch the game. And that probably makes sense for the finances of the league. But one can see why this would be frustrating.

Finally, I happened to be watching First Take at the gym when Monica McNutt called out Stephen A. Smith’s dumb ass for not covering the WNBA three years ago. His outrage over this was way, way over the top and is typical of any time a man with a gigantic ego getting called out for now being the righteous dude he thinks he is. Well, not only is McNutt right, but she’s also much better at her job than he is and I wish she was the host of First Take instead. Smith’s belief that he made her career and other women on the show a lot is way over the top. I grant that he does have a lot of women on the show and that’s good, but most of them are covering men’s sports. McNutt also got some official Ocho Cinco love for her work too, so it’s not like the entire male athlete world is with Smith on this.

In any case, Caitlin Clark is also very much a rookie who has just played a ton of college games, is tired, and has to adjust to the league. She might be a great player, but it wouldn’t shock me if she only ended up as a good player. That might not serve the league’s interest though.