Not This Year

The NBA regular season ends in a few days, Wednesday I believe, and the playoffs start either Friday or Saturday, something like that. I hope I'm sounding half-hearted about this, because I really couldn't care less. In case you're wondering why, I'll tell you. And no, it has nothing to do with the NBA not being as fun to watch as college hoops. It doesn't involve NBA games meaning nothing until the final few minutes. It doesn't even have anything to do with the Knicks and Nets, both New York metropolitan teams, not being involved with the playoffs this year. [I hope that made it sound like they could be involved, but choose not to be, because let's face it, regardless, they cannot be involved, no matter how much they want to be.] No, the real reason I couldn't care less about the NBA playoffs this year is because the Golden State Warriors are not in them.

For those of you that watched the playoffs last year, particularly the first two rounds of the Western Conference, know that the Golden State Warriors put on a show. Their house, the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA, was always rocking. The hometown fans wore yellow shirts that said, "WE BELIEVE." Bill Simmons did a piece on how the Warriors play in one of the few cities in America that still has true basketball fans. New York was another, but that's not for this post. Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson took control of games, and for those of you that don't know, Baron Davis has a Rick Ross-esque beard. Although I'm beginning to think Rick Ross has a Baron Davis-esque beard. Either way, I want facial hair like that, but likely never will due to my whiteness.

To say more about Stephen Ja... Stephe... Stephen Jackson [big ups to whoever got that one] he has had a remarkable recovery with Golden State after the mess in Detroit that he was involved with. Indiana didn't necessarily want to get rid of him, they simply had to. To his defense, and to speak on behalf of him defending teammates the way he does, his brother was killed years ago, and he wasn't there to defend him, which is why he will always rush to his teammates defense, no matter the conflict. Most NBA fans just right him off as a trouble maker. I love the guy.

Then ya got Don Nelson patrolling the sideline, a new man after leaving Dallas. Throw in Al Harrington, who played alongside Jackson in Indiana, Austin Croshere, another former Pacer, and a few token foreigners, and you had a team last year that as a No. 8 seed, and going up against the Dirk Nowitzki-MVP Mavericks in a David vs. Goliath match-up, saved the NBA for me.

I watched all of their games on the edge of my seat. I assumed E-40 was at every game, and I got all sorts of Hyphy when Baron Davis threw down a dunk, or when Stephen Jackson hit a three. For the first time since Michael Jordan, I actually cared about the NBA. It made me a Warriors fan, and when they lost in the second round to Utah, it made me not only hate the Jazz even more than I already had from when Malone and Rodman feuded, but it made me very excited for this year, when the Warriors would return to the post-season.

There will be no such return. With one game left, the Warriors are one game back from the final playoff spot in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. They lost in a drunken driving contest to Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets. It's a shame because basketball in general--not just the NBA--needs what happened in the Bay Area last post-season. If nothing else, I need it. Instead, I get to hope for next year.

Click on the title of this post. Take a good look at that picture, because that won't happen this year. Sniff, sniff.