It was a very emotional night in LA as the Phoenix Suns defeated the LA Clippers in Game 6 by a score of 130-103 to advance to their first NBA Finals since 1993.
The human storylines are abundant.
Chris Paul as one of the league’s premier point guards the past sixteen years led his team with a 41 point night to get them over the hump. Just when the Clippers had closed to within seven points….Chris Paul took over the game while Paul George and his team collapsed.
It was a glorious ending for the Suns and another Greek tragedy ending for the tormented LA Clippers.
The manner in which Patrick Beverly left the game was pathetic and if I were Adam Silver I’d suspend his ass for at least two games at the beginning of next season.
Patrick Beverly, I love your passion and toughness, but some class here and there would be nice. Grow up.
It was a special night for Devin Booker as well. We all now know he’s not just a chucker on a perennial bad team. He’s the real deal. A complete two zone basketball player with a quiet championship toughness about him.
In the postgame…Chris Paul said ‘Book’ was the reason he came to Phoenix. To play with Devin Booker. As a Thunder follower this immediately made me think to myself what does that say about what Chris Paul privately thinks about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s potential.
It was Thunder night in LA actually. Chris Paul, Cameron Payne, Monty Williams, Abdel Nader, and former big man assistant coach Mark Bryant were all at the party.
So were Paul George and Reggie Jackson who played gallantly in these playoffs without Kawhi Leonard. With the exception of the last period in Game 6 the Clippers were a feel good story themselves.
Reggie Jackson was crying in his postgame interview and I felt for him. His heartfelt honesty about what this post season run meant to him was touching. It was a nice offset to Patrick Beverly’s exit.
It will be another long summer for Paul George as the way this game ended will fuel the talk he can’t get it done in big games. It comes with the territory. It’s a result oriented profession, deal with it, PG.
You wanna run a hot dog stand and not be criticized about your craft…then give up being a max player in the NBA and go buy a hot dog stand.
But for me the night was about Monty Williams. I love Monty Williams. He may not know it, but he played a part in my life in 2016 while my father was fighting his battle with terminal pancreatic cancer.
My wife in her profession came to know Monty and his children. And thru my wife crying and telling me what an incredible person Monty was it inspired me to deal with my father’s situation with as much positive hope and love as I could.
And when Monty Williams gave that speech at his wife’s memorial it became a turning point for me. He has no idea he had this impact on me from what he said that day, but he did. I may need to write him a private note at some point thanking him for what he said about his wife and his commitment to his children.
I think you can probably guess who I’m going to be rooting for in these upcoming NBA Finals.
Sometimes sport gives us a chance to see the best in others and hopefully ourselves.
With Monty Williams this is one of those times.