Either way these NBA Finals went I was going to be okay as a passionate purist of the the league. I like both coaches, I like both sets of stars, and I like both teams’ sets of role players.
We’re actually going to be in Denver next week so maybe we can witness part of the celebration first-hand. Jeff Green lives in the same Bonnie Brea area of Denver as my son’s family….so who knows maybe I can meet former Thunder original Jeff Green at the park with his daughter. That would be so cool because evidently from what my son tells me Jeff is a great guy.
The plain truth of the matter is Miami has had a fabulous run in these NBA Playoffs, but Denver is just better and a hungry team on a mission of their own. If Vince Lombardi was the coach of these Miami Heat this would be one of those rare times he’d probably be okay with taking second place because in the end his team gave him everything they had in their collective gas tanks.
These Denver Nuggets are just better and ready to complete their championship journey.
Coach Mike Malone got all over his players after their loose play in the Game 2 loss and as a group perhaps minus Michael Porter they have responded. Even rookie Christian Braun got back in the rotation in Game 3 and emerged as a Finals significant footnote.
Christian Braun is a gamer and a winner. As as an OU fan I watched plenty of him while he was a Kansas Jayhawk. The young man in my eyes was the MVP in the Kansas national championship win over North Carolina. Here he is a year later making a significant contribution to the first ever NBA championship for the Nuggets. I know Michael Malone is proud of him. Who knows maybe Christian will be at the Bonnie Brea park when I run into Jeff Green and his daughter. Wouldn’t that be sweet?
The video I’ve posted above from Coach Malone is spot on. Keep this in mind…the Nuggets last season without Jamal Murray went a pedestrian 46-36 and weren’t really a contender of any sort even with the excellence of Nicola Jokic. What Jamal Murray has shown us in these NBA Playoffs is that he’s the best second star of any NBA player in the league. And I tell you what…if he shows up at the Bonnie Brae park with Jeff and Christian… I’ll be besides myself with basketball joy.
If I’m the Denver GM though….I do what I have to do this off season to keep Aaron Gordon as a Denver Nugget because he has emerged beautifully as the Nuggets’ third best player. If this means Michael Porter can’t be afforded…then so be it. Because as you will start to see next season Christian Braun once he gets past this rookie season can make threeballs at an efficient clip when he knows he’s now got Michael Malone’s trust and won’t get yanked.
Bruce Brown and KCP are both nice pieces of the team as well. Denver is going to have a payroll…that’s for certain, but as a GM when you have a very viable window towards a repeat and the official end of the Warriors’ dynasty you convince ownership to spend the money.
This is where Sam Presti failed after the Thunder’s 2012 run to the NBA Finals. It’s what I call the Window Theory of the Collective Bargaining Era, that being when you as a GM have a chance to indelibly print yourself into the annals of NBA history you do what it takes to get it done.
Thank goodness my son moved to a real NBA/NHL city.
I’m just happy right now. The Sooners completed their threepeat behind Jordy, Jayden, Tiara, Grace, and Kenzie. Minus Grace….the other four come back next season so that will be a fourpeat chance for the ages. God willing….I’ll get to witness it.
Even with the Saudis buying the PGA Tour it’s been a nice week for me. You know…people are freaking out that, but here’s the way I look at it…T Boone Pickens leveraged and then bought Oklahoma State University and the world didn’t come to an end…so maybe this will work out for the best of the game of golf.
As KGB agent Donald Trump once stated, “America has done plenty of things in its past which weren’t very noble.” So I think really when you compare the ascension of Donald Trump to the presidency it only seems fitting that Saudia Arabia now owns the PGA.
That’s it for me for now. Have a wonderful Father’s Day week.