There are certain instances in life when you just have to accept the inevitable. As hard of a pill as it is to swallow, I've reached that point (once again) in my sports world. Thankfully, in the bigger picture of life, it is meaningless. Nonetheless, it is painful.
I've come to realize that all my praying, pleading, and begging to the sports Gods has gone unheard. The... The... The Mi... The Miami Heat are going to win the NBA championship. There... I said it. It was hard. I tried to make the statement as inconspicuous as possible. I thought typing it in light gray would ease the pain, as if whispering it ever so softly would make it less real. But in a way, it's actually therapeutic.
The Heat is playing the best basketball of any team when it matters most. And it appears that the veteran, championship-quality teams from the past few years are on the decline. In the West, the Spurs are already on vacation, eliminated by the upstart Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers are doing their annual playoff sleepwalk... but this year just seems different to me. I don't know if they can flip the switch like the last two years. Maybe the Mavericks can give the Heat fits? But it is the Mavericks... I've seen them underachieve one too many times to feel any bit of confidence. Moving to the East, it appears the Cavaliers (as only a team in Cleveland can do) caught the Celtics one year too early, as Father Time seems to have finally caught up to the aging Leprechauns. So who's left? The Hawks are playing well, but I can't see them beating Miami in a seven game series. And the Bulls don't appear to have "it" either. If newly crowned league MVP Derrick Rose is hurt, they don't stand a chance.
My friend, and CST contributor, SamVox did his best to ease my mind by reminding me how dominant and unbeatable the Cavaliers looked two years ago - going 8-0 in the first two rounds of the playoffs, up 25 in the first game of the Conference Finals, only to succumb the buzz saw that was the Orlando Magic. I appreciate that, but this is Cleveland. That stuff only happens to us.
With that, I leave you with this statement from our ex-King following the Heat's Game 2 victory last night when asked how this year is different from past years against the Celtics.
"Having options... It takes a lot off myself... In the past, if I didn't bring my A+ game, there's a good chance we wouldn't win that game... That's not taking anything away from my previous teammates. We worked hard everyday to try to be really good."That's not taking anything away from my previous teammates? Really? Basically you guys weren't good enough (but at least you worked hard!), but no disrespect or anything. As Jim Rome often says, the minute somebody says "no disrespect" you know they are about to disrespect someone.
Oh well, I'll say it again... this time louder... The Miami Heat are going to win the NBA championship. It gets "easier" every time. If you haven't accepted it yet, you might want to try it. Come on Celtics. PLEASE!