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Is it bad for the NBA if Kobe Bryant and LeBron James don't face off?
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Kobe Bryant. LeBron James. They are the household names that people respond to. You know the types of players that people idolize, even in other sports. Watching Cleveland’s victory led by the triple-double of King James you get a glimpse of New York’s own baseball team in the Yankees. When LeBron is making clutch shots you get a camera angle of a cheery Alex Rodriguez, an ecstatic Mariano Rivera. The attention that super stars merit and most notably deserve.
On a night where winning was the only option LeBron James played like the King. If you want to be the best, you have to win. The only thing missing from James’ shelf of success is the NBA championship. I would also be bold enough to say that if he won the championship, he would be the MVP. While LeBron has two games to go to reach that hierarchy of success, cross coast rival Kobe sits one game away in a better position.
At this point the puppet commercials of Kobe vs. LeBron have been seen by all basketball fans. So now I pose the question; is it bad for the NBA if Kobe Bryant and LeBron James don’t face off in the NBA finals?
As a Syracuse native I have been rooting for Denver. Carmelo Anthony is one of those great players that no one talks about as much as your LB’s and KB’s because he’s simply not as good. Which is an understatement in itself, but this is just for argument. In Denver also is a point guard in Chauncey Billups that may be one of the most overlooked players in the NBA this decade. He has been to seven straight conference championships and possesses two rings. Yet no one talks about the excitement of watching him play.
Then you have the Magic and Dwight Howard. Howard is arguably the most dominating center in the game today, and has had his way throughout the playoffs this year because no one can matchup with his size and athleticism. Yet no one wants to see the Magic in the championship game.
All eyes are on #23 and #24.
I have heard chatter from friends that don’t particularly care for basketball that if Kobe and LeBron face off in the Finals, they will watch the series. It’s the type of thing that dreams are made of, and the people know it. So is that to say if one of them doesn’t make it ratings spike? Or if both don’t make it does that make the championship boring?
Knicks fan like myself are probably facing a dilemma in knowing who to root for. If LeBron wins does that hinder the chances of the Knicks signing him following next season? Conversely, if LeBron loses that does draw his interest of moving on higher?
As Jay-Z smiles as his bromance for LeBron grows, does he get upset if LeBron doesn’t represent the New Jersey Nets as they push for the opening of their move to Brooklyn?
There are many fallacies and questions to consider that go beyond just the game. This is a business let’s not forget. With the questionable calls that the referees give to the super stars in the league every game becomes more teeth clinching as you hope that leads stay the way you want them to. Or that the teams that the league wants to see in the Finals becomes more a reality.
So now the ball is back in Kobe’s court. The Lakers are up 3-2, the Cavaliers trail 3-2. Will the blockbuster pay-per-view final really happen or will one, or dare I say both find a way to lose when they need to prove themselves the most?
Stay tuned. It has been as wild a conference championship as it could be.
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