Posted by
Madeline's Dad on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 11:06:44 AM
I was watching bits and pieces of two basketball games last night. First, it was Boston v. Atlanta in Game Four of their series. Boston was leading 2-1, and came into the playoffs as the team to beat. An informal poll of my basketball fan friends generally led to the same conclusion-the best games would be played in the West, with Boston waiting patiently to sweep whomever was left standing.
The Hawks were seen as cannon fodder, lucky to make it into the playoffs in the first place. Two easy losses into the Series, the Hawks appeared to be living their destiny, but then something changed. They came home. Atlanta took Game Three to make things interesting. Would they show up for Game Four? Did they wake up the Three Headed Monster from Boston?
Atlanta indeed showed up for Game Four, and won it in front of an incredibily supportive, vocal home crowd. Watching the game, it felt more like a college game (in terms of atmosphere) than the NBA Playoffs. THe Atlanta fans were on their feet most of the game, were chanting "Let's go Hawks!" non-stop, and cheering every bit of effort put forth from the hometown team. It was neat to watch, and obviously had an impact, as the Hawks evened up the Series 2-2.
Compare that to the Nuggets game, where the hometown fans seemed to know the inevitable was going to happen, no matter what. There was polite cheering, a few chants of "Deee-fense", and another Nuggets loss and first round exit. It was painful to watch.
I said to my neighbor yesterday if there is a loser in this year's playoffs, it's the Golden State Warriors. They had a better record than a few of the teams in the East that made it in, yet the Warriors had the misfortune of playing in the West. You would be hard pressed to convince me that Golden State wouldn't have put more effort into their games with the Lakers. I would be willing to say they would have won at least one game.
Instead of getting swept.