Despite Finals, Did 2013 NBA Playoffs Signal Changing of the Guard?
I am both a National Hockey League and National Basketball League fan, so come playoff time, I often feel myself torn. Both leagues have their postseasons at the same time and, unfortunately, my two favorite teams—the Minnesota Wild and the Minnesota Timberwolves—have only one combined playoff appearance since 2007-08.
That means that I will watch whichever league offers the most excitement.
Over the last 10 years, the Stanley Cup playoffs have been more entertaining than the NBA postseason for the sole reason that there was significantly more parody.
In the NHL, the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference were defeated in the first round back in 2010. Last year, the Los Angeles Kings won as a No. 8 seed, and in the past nine seasons, there have been nine different champions.
On the other hand, the NBA had gotten kind of stale before the rise of the Miami Heat. The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics pretty much dominated the competition (and the conversation). One is a team that was moved from Minnesota in the 1960s, while the other features a player that was near and dear to my heart (which was entirely the Wolves fault, don’t get me wrong).
The rise of the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder caught my interest, but as a Midwesterner, I wanted to see LeBron James stay in Cleveland. Meanwhile, as a person with friends in Seattle, I could never root for the Thunder.
That pretty much just left me with the San Antonio Spurs, which really isn’t a small-market team like my Wolves (San Antonio is the seventh most populous city in the United States), the Dallas Mavericks, who were fun for about one year, and a Detroit Pistons franchise that topped out in the mid-2000s and then sputtered out like an engine on an old beater after that.
So for a guy like me that really had no rooting interest in any of the relevant teams, the NBA playoffs were a bit dull.
That all changed after this most recent postseason run.
The argument that NBA fans always used against the NHL was that the result was random, but that is kind of true in all sports. Even LeBron James told Magic Johnson, Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons after Game 7 that winning takes a little bit of luck. Beyond that, the past five NHL champions were the last five teams to be eliminated.
Coincidence? I think not.
I think we’re going to see a similar run in the NBA and, trust me, it’s good for the league.
The Miami Heat have won two championships in a row, obviously, but not without the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs giving them a run for their money. Beyond that, while LeBron James is in his prime, on top of his game and clutch (yes, I said it: clutch, C-L-U-T-C-H), Dwyane Wade has looked older than Uncle Drew at times and Chris Bosh might be spending a little time with Jim Robinson in Overtown these days—that is to say, like Heat fans at the end of Game 6, sometimes he’s not there when you need him.
It looks like the Duncan era is coming to a close in San Antonio, which means that between the aging Spurs and the crazy cast of characters in Miami, the door is open for new teams to get in on the winning in the NBA.
Here are three I found particularly interesting in this year’s playoffs.
Golden State Warriors
I lived in the San Francisco Bay area for four years while I attended Santa Clara University, which is located near San Jose. The first game I attended was in Oracle Arena, which is located next to the Network Associates McAfee Oakland-Alameda County O.co Coliseum in beautiful a kind of sketchy part of Oakland.
When you enter the building, it looks like the roof is going to cave in. I think the jumbotron is literally weighing the ceiling down. As a resident of a place where our sports facilities occasionally collapse, I am very wary of entering a place that has a concave ceiling.
The game I went to was against Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. I was in the nosebleeds and could barely see the whole court because the ceiling was caving in so much. I was with two friends from Chicago that were not leaving under any circumstance, so I sucked it up and hoped for the best.
As soon as the game started, though, I didn’t want to leave. The people there are so into it. It was absolutely amazing. Not only did I think an aircraft was departing SFO every time the Warriors scored, but I literally could not move because people were packed in so closely.
It would be one thing if this was a Lakers or Celtics game. Those teams win, but the Warriors absolutely suck. They’re miserable. They had one year where they upset the No. 1 seeded Mavericks, and for some reason, everyone in the Bay Area pretends like this team is a perennial contender.
So when the Warriors were actually good this year, when they actually built a team around Stephen Curry with guys like Klay Thompson, David Lee and Jarrett Jack, I was absolutely glued to the television watching them in the playoffs.
Yes, I’m well aware that the Wolves passed on Curry and took Johnny Flynn, but that didn’t even bother me. I wanted so badly for the Dubs to win.
It’s unfortunate they lost to the Spurs after beating a solid Denver Nuggets team, because the Warriors may have to reconstruct their team again to be considered true contenders. Still, with a guy like Curry on your team, and the possibility of a new stadium in San Francisco on the way, it doesn’t take much to get a few of the best free agents to don the sleeved unis and put a great product out there for what I believe is the most loyal fanbase in all of the NBA.
Chicago Bulls
I’m also blessed to say that I have been to a Bulls game in Chicago.
One of the coolest experiences in all of sports is to hear Derrick Rose’s name announced at the United Center. This is already a rabid fanbase, right on par with Golden State’s. When they hear their hometown hero’s name over the loudspeakers, the place absolutely erupts. It is called the Madhouse on Madison for a reason.
Here is the crazy thing about the Bulls this year, though: Chicago not only made the playoffs, but won a series against the Brooklyn Nets without Mr. Rose.
This was probably the hardest working team in the league. Head coach Tom Thibodeau preaches defense and his disciples listen: Joakim Noah was absolutely banging bodies throughout the series and gutted it out with plantar fasciitis and, at least to an outsider, appeared to lead this team by example.
The best part of all this? The Bulls—a gritty, blue-collar team—wholeheartedly supported Rose’s decision to sit the series out and come back next year completely healthy. They realized that his desire to win did not trump his concern for his long-term health. In short, nobody in red wanted to see him become the next Grant Hill—a franchise player derailed by injury.
Not only does this team support him on a personal level, but oh man are they going to be great when he returns.
The Bulls look like a bona fide threat to the Heat next season.
Indiana Pacers
After coming off a series that revived an old rivalry with the New York Knicks dating back to the Reggie Miller days, the Indiana Pacers did not appear ready to call it a season. While few saw the defensive-minded, less talented Pacers beating up Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks, a combination of fundamental basketball and J.R. Smith’s decline in play—which may or may not be related to hitting the club every night (just ask Rihanna about that one)—allowed the Hicks to beat the Knicks in six (Hey! I made a rhyme).
I absolutely love Roy Hibbert’s press conferences, even if they got a little R-rated at times (I don’t care if I get fined!). Lance Stephenson really made a name for himself this season, and head coach Frank Vogel really has a great core of guys to instruct going forward.
A defensive-oriented team that focuses on fundamental basketball doesn’t always fly with the average NBA fan. But when it comes down to it, nobody cares when you are winning.
It looks like the Pacers will be doing a lot of that in the near future.
Conclusion
Of course, I hope to see Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and Co. in the playoffs next season, but no matter what happens, the NBA as a whole has suddenly become a lot more interesting.
For years, the thought process was that if the Lakers and Celtics weren’t competitive, the league would flop. Instead, I feel that LeBron and the Heat, Rose and the Bulls, Curry and the Warriors and even Hibbert and the Pacers are rejuvenating once proud teams and bringing new fans into the game with their success.
The Heat may have just pulled off a two-in-a-row, but don’t be surprised if they have a little trouble pulling off the three-peat next season.
Tom Schreier covers Minnesota sports for Bleacher Report and is a contributor to Yahoo! Sports.
