Theres no pretty introduction but just to say it…NBA playoffs are the best playoffs of all the sports. There. Ive finally admitted it and you should too. As the first round of the NBA playoffs are winding down down I am realizing this epiphany more than ever.
Basketball is an exciting sport. You put five players on a court against five other players and they play offense and defense. No disrespect to the other major sports but when it comes to the playoffs NBA got this. NHL. Who watches it? Baseball. Dont have the time. NFL. You work one weekend and you can miss basically the whole show. But not the NBA. The first round has at least 2 games every night. And ever since they moved to the best of 7 format, it’s gotten even better because the matchups play out more. Another thing about NBA playoffs is EVERYONE is playing. In the NFL the top 2 teams from each conference take that first weekend off while the bottom playoff teams duke it out. Now for injury reasons NFL won’t do 7 game series but at least make the top seeds play that first weekend that well. Recent years have shown them get beat in their first game anyway. The NBA has shown no real favoritism to its top seeds either. Last year the Spurs were the 1 seed in the West but got beat by the 8 seed Grizzlies. Even as I speak, the Bulls are on the verge of elimination (granted Derrick Rose is injured) after being the 1 seed in the East. Speaking of Rose, it brings up my last point. NBA superstars bring a different excitement to fans than other sport superstars. Im watching this Lakers game right now as Kobe is hitting all these 3’s back to back; Sunday Carmelo Anthony had the whole Madison Square Garden electrified when Knicks fans thought the season was over. Maybe the latter had something to do with him taking on NBA’s consensus poster child Lebron James head on. Imagine if Eli Manning could ever get in the face of Tom Brady or if Josh Hamilton could go actual head to head with Derek Jeter on every play.
So first round of the playoffs are just about over and there is still more to come. Unfortunately for the NBA, Derrick Rose is out and the Eastern Conf playoffs may be a bore this year since no team can challenge the Heat too much. But then again it is the NBA and it is playoffs time and EVERYONE is PLAYING.
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