Title-Town, not for Chicago or DC

I stayed up to watch the end of the Heat/Bulls game last night and it was well worth it.  Throughout the series, Derrick Rose, the MVP of the league and Chicago’s only actual player has had the weight on his shoulders.  He was no match for Dwayne Wade or Lebron James, sorry Chris Bosh, one good game does not a superstar make.  However, it seemed eerily familiar, like the Lightning/Capitals series, one good player, Ovechkin against a team that was stacked with stars.

Statistically, Ovechkin and Rose are very similar, great defence, better offence.  Also similar, they attract some talent, but since the team is ‘theirs’ what’s the likelihood another star would really want to come and play.  The Pittsburgh Penguins were lucky to get both Evegni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, already acquiring one championship; the same can be said, however prematurely, about the Miami Heat.  Bring in great players, who understand the compromise they must make, and the winning will come. 

Chicago has the same problem that Washington has, one great player, and no one to stand by that player.  As with Alex Ovechkin, the captain did all he could, but he wasn’t on the ice for a full 60 minutes, the same can be said about Derrick Rose.  He can only play so many minutes before the lack of talent and killer instinct of other players catches up to the team.

This is another reason that hockey, basketball and baseball are fairer in their playoffs than football.  If someone is having a bad day, in football, one game and you’re done.  In the other three, one bad game and you have at least three more games to fix the mistake.  But with both Rose and Oveckhin, even ten games wouldn’t be enough to help them.

Now the game is set for the NBA Finals: my Dallas Mavericks are playing the Miami Heat.  I’m sad to point out that the Mavs lost to the Heat in the 2006 Finals, so this is a rematch.  In the pivotal Game 3 of that series, Dwayne Wade was gifted 40 free throws (fouls against the Mavs) and this turned the series completely around.  I am hoping and praying that the Mavs can keep pace, but what I saw in the last week from the Heat is a little concerning.  I think this is a much more even game than people are giving them credit for, but only time will tell.  Tip-off is Tuesday night in Miami.  Tonight we have Game 7 between the Lightning and the Bruins, which I will try to watch, but have been playing LA Noire like crazy, and can see that getting distracting again.  We’ll see.  I’m predicting the Lightning to win in regulation. 

Next post, look for something I’ve been thinking about and should start putting pen to paper on about a popular series that is coming to a close.