With the last series of the NBA conference semifinals starting tonight and the Los Angeles Clippers eliminated it is now looking like I might be caught between a rock and a hard place come the Finals in a few weeks. Both the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors have advanced.
Miami is up one game to none with Game 2 starting shortly after I post this.
I’ve had a few conversations recently with friends and complete strangers about the playoffs. My friends understand that I am rooting for the Heat to advance because former Chicago Bull and home town product Jimmy Butler is there without LeBron. Thank you to LeBron being on the Lakers that makes my live very easy here in the conference semi-finals. Root against LeBron because I would be doing that anyways and I want Steve Kerr to get another ring!
Now, let’s discuss the other two matchups. On the we coast we have the Denver Nuggets up two games to none. On the east coast we have the Philadelphia 76ers up one game to none with Game 2 tomorrow night. It would be amazing to see both the Lakers and Celtics be eliminated. Neither of those organizations need another ring.
Since my teams in the Eastern Conference have always been the Bulls and the Heat and I have not really been clocked into sports much of the last ten years this means legions be with any team that has a former member of the Bulls and any team left that has fewer than 17 titles. Therefore I am rooting for Miami/Philly in the Eastern Conference Finals.
You’re probably wondering who I am rooting for to face the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals… aren’t you? Well, at the end of the day, I’d be fine with either team in the Nuggets series facing the Warriors because I am of the belief that the Warriors will be sweep the conference finals and face the Heat for the title.
To wrap this up let’s look at Steve Kerr’s career really quick. He won five championships as a player, three with the Bulls in 1996, 1997, and 1998. As a coach he has been with the Warriors since 2014 and he walked into a position where he did not have to beg to keep the face of the team because they just needed a coach who knew how to win. He will retire from caching with at least five rings as a coach. In fact, he is young enough that we might be on the verge of seeing the next Phil Jackson. That all depends on what his plans are with his coaching career.
With that… it is time for tip off in New York! Let’s go Heat!
If you cannot play with them, root for them!