10 Reasons why Fans Hate the 2017 NBA Playoffs
We’re definitely set for an entertaining 2017 NBA Finals, with the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the Golden State Warriors.
The Finals look to be highly competitive, given that the Warriors added Kevin Durant in the offseason and are better than ever.
Unfortunately, the 2017 NBA Playoffs have been anything but competitive up to this point.
And this leads us to 10 reasons why fans hate the 2017 Playoffs so far.
1. This Finals Matchup was Predicted Back in June 2016
Ever since the Cavs came back from a 3-1 Finals deficit to shock the Warriors last season, most analysts predicted a rematch.
These predictions only thickened when Golden State signed KD last July.
This is exactly the Finals matchup everybody has been expecting, and it’s taken away from the drama.
2. The Cavs and Warriors were Never Challenged
Golden State became the first team to start the first three rounds of the NBA playoffs with a perfect 12-0 record.
The Cavaliers just missed this mark, going 12-1. LeBron James had a stomach bug in their lone loss.
Not even the San Antonio Spurs or Boston Celtics could offer much resistance in the conference finals.
3. Injuries Hurt Teams
Injuries are a part of the playoffs. But they were especially devastating this season when considering everything else we’ll discuss.
Here’s a list of some key injuries:
- Boston Celtics lost Isaiah Thomas in the conference finals.
- Chicago Bulls lost Rajon Rondo in first round.
- Houston Rockets lost Nene Hilario in conference semis.
- L.A. Clippers lost Blake Griffin before playoffs.
- Milwaukee Bucks lost Jabari Parker before playoffs.
- Portland Trail Blazers didn’t have Jusuf Nurkic at 100%.
- San Antonio Spurs lost Kawhi Leonard to start the conference finals. They also lost Tony Parker in the semis.
- Toronto Raptors lost Kyle Lowry in the semis.
- Utah Jazz lost George Hill in the conference semis.
4. No Real Upsets in First Round
Upsets make the postseason exciting. But this element was completely absent in the first round of the 2017 playoffs.
The only upset involved the No. 5 Utah Jazz knocking off the No. 4 L.A. Clippers in seven games. Given the seeding and how L.A. didn’t have Griffin, this was hardly an upset.
5. Low Seeds Offered No Challenge in Semifinals
Moving to the conference semifinals, the lower seeds were a combined 5-16.
This performance was highlighted by the Jazz and Toronto Raptors being swept by the Warriors and Cavaliers, respectively.
The only lower seed that stepped up to the challenge was the No. 4 Washington Wizards, who fell by 10 points to the top-seeded Celtics. But even in this case, Boston proved to be a second-rate contender in the East.
This makes Wizards guard Bradley Beal’s words about Cleveland not wanting to play them all the more laughable.
6. Conference Finals were Terrible
Fans’ moans and groans grew loudest during the conference finals, when the Spurs and Celtics suffered a combined 6 double-digit losses while going 1-8.
Game 2 between Cleveland and Boston featured a 72-31 halftime score – the biggest-ever halftime deficit for a conference finals game.
Boston’s 111-108 victory in Game 3 came as a shock, especially since they lost Thomas in Game 2.
On the other side, San Antonio lost Kawhi Leonard to an ankle injury in Game 1 while leading by 25 points. They’d go on to lose this game, and were never close the rest of the series.
7. Kawhi Leonard’s Injury Ruined Spurs-Warriors Matchup
Fans had been waiting for San Antonio and Golden State to face off ever since 2013, when the Spurs beat an upstart Warriors squad in the conference semifinals.
But as mentioned in the last point, Leonard got injured in the first game.
Whether or not Zaza Pachuila meant any ill will when sliding under Leonard during a shot attempt is unknown.
All that’s known is that the Spurs – who were already missing Tony Parker – were overmatched the rest of the way.
8. Nobody Has Come Close to Golden State
The Warriors are the favorites, thus many fans want to see them lose, or at least challenged.
But outside of two games, they’ve won every contest by double digits.
The only two close contests include a 6-point victory over the Trail Blazers in the first round, and the aforementioned 3-point win over San Antonio in the conference finals.
9. Cavs and Warriors are Light Years Ahead of Competition.
Warriors owner Joe Lacob was fairly ridiculed for saying that his organization is “light years” ahead of the competition.
This came back to haunt him when Cleveland won the 2016 Finals. But judging from this season’s playoffs, the light years’ comment applies to both the Cavs and Warriors now.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like anybody is capable of challenging either team in 2018. But hopefully teams prove otherwise in the offseason by adding important pieces.
10. No Clear Solution for how to Improve Parity
The problem is that there’s no clear solution from the league on how to make the NBA more competitive.
This is the worst that things have been in a while, and it turns fans’ interest off when their team has no shot.
Will we simply wait out the next few years until Cleveland and Golden State are no longer dynasties?
