NBA Playoffs 2012: Injuries and Poor Play Makes Postseason a Yawn for Fans
If you still haven't watched a full game between the Chicago Bulls and the Philadelphia 76ers, you aren't alone.
Nor should you feel the least bit of guilt for eschewing a series that's been an excruciating bore by even the most charitable standards.
Some will retort that these kind of series are something of an acquired taste, a veritable gift to fans who appreciate world class defense. These teams are at their best on the defensive end to be sure, but there's more to this picture.
Namely, some ragged offense.
The 76ers scored just 26 points in the first half of Game 5 against Chicago and finished the game shooting just 32 percent from the field. All-Star Andre Iguodala was the worst offender, connecting on just four of his 19 field goal attempts.
Yes, good defense will make a team miss some shots, but it's poor offense that results in a guy like Iguodala taking 19 shots. He's a great all-around player, but he's no longer the go-to scorer some might have once envisioned.
For Chicago's part, the stagnant offense has obviously had a lot to do with losing Derrick Rose in Game 1 to a torn ACL.
Backup point guard C.J. Watson is shooting just under 26 percent for the series, proving that no matter how good you look during the regular season, rising to the occasion in the playoffs isn't so easy.
Injuries and all-round mayhem have done their parts to derail other series as well.
New York's anticipated campaign to upset the dominant Miami Heat was a non-starter without the likes of Jeremy Lin or Iman Shumpert to anchor the Knicks' backcourt. And the Orlando Magic weren't about to make things interesting against the Indiana Pacers without Dwight Howard around.
The Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz might not have had injuries to blame for their early exits, but that didn't make their unceremonious exits any easier to watch.
Dallas couldn't execute its offense for 48 minutes, and the Jazz looked outmatched in all but the waning minutes of Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs.
While the Memphis Grizzlies are still hanging around for the moment, they'll struggle to live down their unforgivable forfeiture of a 27-point lead in Game 1 against the Los Angeles Clippers.
What was to ostensibly be an evenly matched series has all but gotten completely out of hand.
Until the Western Conference Semifinals get rolling, expect more of the same.
If you find yourself unable to stomach much more of this first round, it might just be time to check out a baseball game or two—and that's when you know things have reached a whole new level of bad.
