NBA Finals Became My Worst Fear

Since there are about 5 uninteresting baseball games tonight, and I can't get into watching Arena Football, I thought this might be a good time to put up my first post.

About a month ago I feared a Detroit Pistons - San Antonio Spurs NBA Finals. Like in 2005, when every game was horrible, I thought that these Finals would be just as unwatchable with two methodical teams going head to head. Then Lebron James took over the Eastern Conf. Finals climbing the Cavs out of an 0-2 hole, and bringing relevance to the casual NBA fan. However, I regret to say that I vastly underestimated how inept the Cavs are compared to San Antonio. It's not even close. It's like watching the Florida Gators play a college basketball team from the Big Sky conference who has one superstar that makes everyone thinks they have a chance at an upset. However, James can't score 40 on the best defensive team in the league. And his supporting cast in the starting 5, would all be coming off the Spurs bench; if they would even be playing at all. Starting point guard Larry Hughes has 2 points, 2 assists in the first two games combined. He has played 43 minutes, and has covered Tony Parker the majority of the time, which might explain why his counterpart has scored close to 60 in the first two games. I know he's banged up, but if he is that ineffective, then Coach Mike Brown should maybe think about sitting him down. What made the Warriors so much fun to watch, (besides their style of play) was that Don Nelson rolled the dice and played whoever was playing the best (What a concept). He never hesitated to insert Matt Barnes into the starting lineup and sit down Al Harrington. Monte Ellis had his playing time cut down significantly when he struggled, so Golden State always had their best 5 out there always giving themselves a puncher's chance.

However, the Cavs head coach doesn't seem to realize this until it's too late. He waits to play his best players together until the game is out of reach. They get down by 27 in the fourth quarter, then let Daniel Gibson play a little more with other shooters like Donyell Marshall that can occasionally make an open shot after James kicks it out. I know I stated before that the Cavs have absolutely nobody besides Lebron that is consistent, but Coach Brown could atleast put a respectable 5 out there that will maybe keep a game in single digits. I know it's hard to get on a guy that is completely overmatched, but give me a break. Mike Brown's coaching is the worst I've seen since Tommy Donovan walked the sidelines at Beverly High School (and calling timeouts to stop his own team's 8-0 run). Brown's 2nd best player has been rookie Daniel Gibson, who subsequently plays point guard and could probably slow down Parker's penetration to the hoop. Yet he refuses to start him, so Larry Hughes can limp around and be less productive than Julio Lugo in the leadoff spot.

Heading into the Finals I was hoping the games would be somewhat close, that Lebron could maybe do something special. But after watching these first 2 games (in pieces I admit due to lack of quality), that almost doesn't matter anymore. The Spurs are in a completely different league than their Leastern Conference counterpart, and even if Cleveland wins a game now, we all know that they have no shot to win the series. San Antonio is just that much better. The players, the coaching, their execution, everything. And while I was planning on boycotting a Detroit-S.A. final for the past month based on boring basketball, (which I thought was my worst fear), watching a quality team beat down a JV opponent is just as bad.