A brief apology to the NBA

Dear NBA,

I recently made some dismissive comments about the 2009 playoffs on my blog, essentially describing this year’s playoffs as boring, predictable, and uncompetitive.

The playoffs are still predictable: we all know it’s going to come down to a LeBron-Kobe showdown in the end…and we all know that it would be the best thing for this league since Bird and Magic were center stage. It’s ok to admit it so we can dispense with the rest of these superficial storylines.

However, the other night I was in a bar watching Game 6 of the Chicago-Boston series and someone yelled, “THIS IS THE BEST BASKETBALL GAME EVER!”

At first, this man’s statement seemed like little more than alcohol-induced hyperbole rather than an informed observation. But this was before it got to the third overtime. Then I started to see his point.

This was one of those games where amazing meets fan-tastic and makes me wanna holler, “I LOVE THIS GAME!”

The game had everything you would want to see from a spectator sport: brilliant individual performances, game-changing plays, last second drama(s), an underdog taking it to the reigning champion, the emergence of young stars, and the solidification of a Hall of Famer who some refer to as “Jesus”.

Tell me how you could possibly outdo that…short of the Kobe-LeBron series (you’re planning).

So as a long-time NBA fan -- who has irrationally rooted for your Golden State Warriors for years -- I just want to apologize for my previous statements about the playoffs. I eagerly await Game 7 of the Bulls-Celtics series and am once again spellbound by your Kobe-LeBron showcase.

Thank you for your understanding,

Q.