I didn't really know what to blog about this month, so let's blog about sports!
The 2020-21 NBA season was an interesting one, coming out of a global pandemic where arenas around the country had 0 fans. Players missed a lot of games due to being in health and safety protocols. And the season was even cut short from 82 games down to 72 games.
Nonetheless, I still had fun watching this past season, spending most of my time watching Philadelphia 76ers games and as usual, I still made my yearly bet for them to win the NBA championship, putting down $75 on 14:1 that would have paid $1050.
But of course, we know what happened in the playoffs in the East, with the Sixers getting eliminated in a 7-game series with the Hawks. One of my favorite Sixers players (Ben Simmons) was the major scapegoat for the series, many blaming him for his extremely poor free throw shooting and offensive tentativeness. I have to agree, because the games are still won by scoring points, something that Simmons just didn't do in that series when we all know he's capable of averaging 15 a game throughout the year.
With the Sixers out, that basically destroyed my interest in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, the Phoenix Suns had managed to blow through the entire Western Conference, easily knocking out formidable teams like the Lakers, Nuggets, and Clippers. Granted, each of those teams had a major player out (Davis, Murray, Kawhi), they still were able to take care of the matchups they played in.
I've lived in Arizona my entire life, but the Suns haven't really been good since the Barkley years. I still remember watching games on channel 45 growing up as a kid. My dad loved watching the suns and one of his quotes he'd always tell me is "When the Suns run, the Suns win!" Also, I remember Al McCoy with his "Shazam! Another 3-pointer! Suns donate $50 to charity!" I even had a chance to meet Kevin Johnson as a kid and I was so nervous that when I went up to him, I looked away and couldn't make eye contact.
That was almost 30 years ago, and the Suns had finally made it back to the NBA finals. I even won my NBA pool because I was the only one who picked them to do it, netting a modest $200 for my confidence in them. But after Tuesday, you all know how the finals went. The Suns, after taking a 2-0 lead, fell up way short by losing the next 4 games, a disappointing turn to the series.
Kudos to the Milwaukee Bucks, who in their own right had not won a championship in 50 years. Giannis is very deserving of a title. Maybe the Suns get another chance down the road, but hey, that's just the way sports go sometimes. Now I patiently wait until next year, to see what players end up where...
