NBA Playoffs = Boredom

So I find myself these days really craving Indians baseball games. Yeah, they're losing an awful lot and many times, in the last 3 innings, but I still miss them. And of course, I miss the Blue Jackets. The playoff run was short but exciting nonetheless. Oh, and my Pacers, well, they're still a joke.

So what's there to watch? Well, I could watch the NHL playoffs but I tend not to really get into them until the Stanley Cup Finals. Plus, the hurt of not seeing the Jackets still playing is still there. So I've been watching the NBA Playoffs. And through 2 weeks, I have one word to describe them: BOREDOM.

Besides the Celtics-Bulls series, this has been the most boring first round of games ever. Every team that was expected to win did win. The Cavs disposed of the Pistons in 4 games, further proving my proposal of not allowing teams with under .500 records in. The Sixers gave the Magic a scare but as bad teams do, they folded in Game 6 when the Magic were without their best player. The Hawks/Heat series did go 7 games but seriously, every game was terrible. Trust me, I had to report on it.

The West was no better. The Lakers were never really challenged by the Jazz, who just seemed happy to make the playoffs. The Spurs are old and injured, so there was really no surprise to see them run out of the gym by a faster, younger and frankly better Dallas team. The Rockets/Blazers series had the potential to be good but that didn't pan out either. and the same can be said for the Hornets/Nuggets series that I'm pretty sure every Hornets players slept through.

Now, we're on to Round 2 and that should mean more intensity, better games and tons more action right? WRONG. Just look at these matchups. Cleveland vs. Atlanta is just laughable. The Cavs are healthy, rested and have the best player in the NBA. The Hawks are tired, injured and have a cast of role players. If this series goes longer than 5 games, it's just because the Cavs want to play more games. Orlando vs. Boston on paper should be good but think about it. Boston needed 7 games to beat a young Chicago team that had no business competing with the defending champs. As long as Dwight Howard keeps his elbows to himself, this series won't get past Game 6. With KG, Boston would have a chance but alas, he's not there.

Same goes for Houston and Tracy McGrady. With him, I give them a fighting chance against the Lakers. But without him, fuhgeddaboutit. The Lakers are on a mission and the Rockets are not going to slow them down. I'll be surprised if they win one game. And then the Denver-Dallas series. Really, does anyone care? Both teams will lose to L.A. in the conference finals. This series could go 7 and be won on a buzzer-beater by Chauncey Billups from 60 ft and I wouldn't care. It's just a formality.

Let's all be honest. The finals will be Cavs-Lakers. It's like the Eastern Conference playoffs in the 90's. It was never who was going to win the East. The only question was who were the Bulls going to beat in the conference finals. That's how it feels right now. All of us sports fans are stuck watching series that are just downright boring and melodramatic. They have no real meaning because the only one that matters in the last one, when the two truly dominant teams in the league will ultimately meet up.

So for the love of all that is right in this world, can we cut these playoffs down from 16 teams to 8? Or at least start playing games back-to-back to speed this process up? Extending the NBA playoffs into this 3-month marathon is not good for anyone, especially the fans who just want to be entertained. Maybe one day David Stern will wake up and figure that out. for now, just wake me up when the Cavs-Lakers NBA Finals start...IN JUNE! What a joke.