Homecourt Disadvantage...and I Still Love This Game!

Assalamu Alaikum w.b.t.

The unbelievable MVP (probably the most unbelievable awardee of the century), Steve Nash, and the Suns lost Game 1 of their Western Conference Finals series against the Spurs!

AND

The unbelievably ONE-TIME MVP Shaq (he deserved at least one MVP for every other year during the past 13 years) and the Heat lost their Game 1 against the defending champs, the Pistons!

...both those teams are top seeds in their respective conferences. And now, they just lost their homecourt advantage against two former champeens. AND I LOVE IT! This season has been unbelievable (I'm getting accustomed to that word).

I mean, who would have guessed that Steve Nash would ACTUALLY win the MVP award. During the first few weeks of the season, Nash already had my vote (and all you non-believers out there know what I am talking about). But c'mon... I couldn't believe it until I saw it on nba.com (where the news came about a few days earlier than the Mavs-Suns game where Stern handed the trophy). He beat out Shaq for crying out loud (whose former team stinks like feet...like Kobe Bryant's feet to be more exact). He beat Iverson. He beat Duncan. and he bested former teammate Dirk Nowitzki. He also bested Lebron, who COULD be the next coming of MJ, and Dwayne Wade, who is arguably the best player in a Heat uniform this season (sorry Mr. O'Neal, but Wade was sadly overlooked in the MVP race).

Great season, and an even greater playoffs! A lot of memorable stuff has happened during the past few weeks. Miller and the Pacers beating Pierce and the Celts in a Game7 in Boston. Steve Nash doing it all against the Mavs (almost two triple doubles in the series). The Jordan-less Chicago Bulls back in the playoffs WITH HOME COURT ADVANTAGE IN THE FIRST ROUND! The Washington Wizards beating that very same Bulls team lead by an amazing Gilbert Arenas. The Miami Heat sweeping the first two rounds against the Nets and the aforementioned Wizards (and then losing Game 1 against the damning defense of the Pistons). The Sonics ALMOST showing signs of life against the Spurs (but the injuries just kept on coming... better luck next year, Ray). And that last game of Miller in Indiana was reportedly a tearjerker (according to my favorite cousin, Albir).

Yep, without a shadow of a doubt, I love this season. I mean, I've always had love for the game. But this season, it's almost up there with the Jordan-led Bulls era, not just because of the things I've mentioned as memorable, but also because of things that I wish I could forget (hint: Ron Artest).

But now we're at the Conference Finals, and a couple of games away from the Show. And damn, the drama just got better. Shaq is playing with a bruised thigh (and possibly bruised ego). The Suns don't have the starting 5 of the regular season and I hope Joe Johnson can get back soon ( 'coz Nash may be MVP, but someone has to guard Tony Parkay). The Wallaces are bad as ever (I don't mean that in a negative bad way, but in a pre-child-molestation-case-Michael-Jackson bad way). And to top it all off, Manu Ginobili is hitting half-court buzzer beater shots! Well, just one so far in the series, but I am veritably pissed off with that Andy Garcia lookalike. I almost hate him as much as I hate Bruce Bowen. If Bowen ever gets Defensive Player of the Year, that would be like Rudy Distrito or Senator Robert Jaworski Sr. winning the award (and I'm not sure if they did or not hehehe). Bowen is probably to the NBA what Ric Flair is to sports entertainment. Manu and Bruce are given way too much credit (Ginobili gets away with flops, and Bowen gets away with almost everything). Foul-counted my @$$...

But it's all cool. I can't wait for the Game Twos. Too bad I only see the live feeds during weekends, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, I catch the box scores during work.

It's your taxes at work, my fellow Filipinos.

Hehehe.

Wasallam.