*Congratulations to the Toronto Raptors winning the 2019 NBA Finals. Congratulations to the Raptors and Canada for winning their first NBA Finals championship.
*The win was fair. There was no diminishing value. The Warriors were injured. The Warriors were banged up. The Warriors played on fumes during Game 6. The gas tank went empty. The Warriors were the 2015 NBA Finals Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers played without two all-stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
*It's life. Good luck, good breaks, many chances, favorable timing, and best opportunities. Winners take advantage.
*It's a life clique. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. The basketball gods blessed the Raptors with the shooter's bounce, players passing and receiving the ball at the perfect place, and health.
*Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr tapped Warriors Stephen Curry's shoulders after a technical foul was called on the final play of Game 6 when the Warriors had zero time-outs. The action signified the game was over. Relax. We did our best. No regrets. We fought valiantly. We played sincerely. No surrendering.
*It's over. Someone must win. Someone must lose. It's ancient history. Smile. Relax. Take the stress out; in particular, Curry was seen mingling with family and friends during the KGO ABC-7 televised post-game show. He wore a white color sports jacket suit. It was a distraction. It was destressing. Fully recover. Get back to work afterwards. Solve problems. Fix problems. Find solutions. Discover answers.
*The distraction and distressing reminded me when I was a student at San Jose State University after finals were over. I smiled. I relaxed. I did something fun regardless of acing the final or flunking the final.
*Warriors DeMarcus Cousins experienced an epiphany how to be a good team basketball player before the playoffs.
*"All those talking heads that say we're better without him, that's ludicrous, that's crazy, this is the best player in the world," said Warriors Klay Thompson on Warriors Kevin Durant after Game 5. Durant suffered a right torn Achilles injury at the 9:46 time mark in the second quarter. He scored 11 points in 12 minutes. Durant's presence reminded fans who believed the Warriors didn't need Durant why he was important for the Warriors to win championships. For instance, Durant spread the opponents defense giving the Splash Brothers Curry and Thompson more open looks to shoot.
*Warriors Draymond Green lost 20 pounds during the regular season. Green grew up. Green controlled his emotions. He kept his temper in check. He became one step closer to become a mature basketball player. Something or someone called him out. Did Green's girlfriend, mom, and/or his child call him out?
*The Warriors played in five consecutive championship series. The Warriors won three of the five. Playing five in a row championship series is fantastic. It's hard. Anyone takes these moments in many life situations.
*Toronto Raptors fans cheered Durant's injury when he was helped off the court to the locker room during the second quarter on Game 5. The fans demonstrated bad behavior cheering an opponent down due to an injury.
*Off the court event. A Warriors minor owner Mike Stevens shoved Kyle Lowry and said a racist statement when Lowry went out of bounds towards the courtside seats to chase a loose ball. The NBA banned Stevens one year from NBA activities and fined $500,000.
*Which NBA Finals loss hurts more? Which NBA Finals loss disappointed more? The 2016 loss when the Warriors won an historic 73 regular season wins or the 2019 loss when many Warriors played injured or out due to an injury? In my opinion, the two losses were apples and oranges. They hurt and disappoint for different reasons. One reason was no worse than the other.
*The Warriors played in the 2015-2019 NBA Finals. The total games played regular season which is 82 regular games per season and post-season totaling 105 games is 515. (82*5) + 105 = 515. The Warriors played 125.6% games. Basketball players are human beings like you and me. Physical bodies can take so much.
*Live the present. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy the championship. Take nothing for granted.
*Lebron James played eight consecutive NBA Finals games. He played four with the Miami Heat 2011-2014 winning two and four with the Cleveland Cavaliers 2015-2018 winning one.
*"I've been lucky to be their coach, and that's what I told them in the locker room," said Kerr after Game 6 losing the NBA Finals.
*In my opinion, Fred VanVleet should have won the NBA Finals MVP. I'm in the minority. VanVleet was the X-factor making it hard for Curry.
*The Raptors played with an eight man rotation. All eight shot, played defense, and passed well. All eight were bigger, faster, stronger, and healthier.
*Game 6 was the final game at Oracle Arena. The Warriors played in Oakland for 47 years. The 2019-2020 season the Warriors play at Chase Center in San Francisco.
*The Warriors being a better team without Durant was unfair. The Warriors winning Game 6 versus the Houston Rockets and sweeping the Portland Trailblazers were false impressions. Durant playing in Game 5 reminded Warriors fans Durant was important.
*The Warriors used all their cards. The Warriors lost some of their cards due to injuries. The Raptors played with cards to spare.
*Klay Thompson tore his left knee with an ACL Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury in the third quarter of Game 6. Thompson walked back to the court before going to the locker room to shoot his free throws. It was one of the loudest moments in Oracle Arena history. Thompson told Kerr give me two minutes to come back. Thompson never came back. Raptors Danny Green committed the foul blocking Thompson's dunk was clean. Green assured Thompson no malice when Thompson was at the free throw line.
*Warriors injuries: Cousins recovered from his torn Achilles injury during the regular season and suffered a quad injury, Andre Iguodala left and right calf strains, Durant right torn Achilles, Kevon Looney chest cartilage fracture, and Thompson ACL left knee.
*Another off the court event. Toronto Raptors President Of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri allegedly pushed and struck an Alameda County Sheriff deputy. Ujiri tried to come on court for the NBA Finals championship ceremony. He didn't have proper credentials. As of the blog entry, there is an investigation for misdemeanor assault and battery.
Update On A Past Blog
Here is another lesson to add for the Top Ten Lessons My Parents Failed To Teach Me on May 2, 2013. The world doesn't revolve around you. The world doesn't follow your life. The world doesn't bow to you. The world doesn't care about your sorrows. The world doesn't care about your mistakes. If you want the world to care about your life positives and negatives, then you must earn the world's respect.
No comments:
Post a Comment