Last week, sports reporter David Lieberman named three reasons why you should be watching the NBA Playoffs. But that wasn’t nearly enough. Here are a few more to fully convince you:
10. Kobe Bryant inevitably failing/getting hurt — Now, it might be true that we only hate Kobe because he has five rings. So?
9. LeBron James’ headband slowly moving higher and higher up his head — This is such an easy joke we almost feel sorry about making it.
8. Awesome dunks — You’ve got James on one side, you’ve got Kevin Durant on the other; most likely they’ll both be playing through June. Even casual observers have to admit how awesome dunks are.
7. An excuse to cut boring evening classes — @@We’ve got two jokes for this one: @@1) Not that we condone this at all. 2) Teachers, you know who you are.
6. Former Blazers on good teams — Somehow, this works for both Blazer fans and non-Blazer fans; Blazer fans remain loyal to the players even after they leave (Patty Mills, we love you!), non-Blazer fans love watching us flounder in mediocrity.
5. Last vestige of fast-paced, awesome sports until September — We love baseball, but it can get boring when it’s the only sport in a long, dry summer.
4. Celebrities courtside — We hated it when the Knicks were eliminated in the first round, mostly because it meant the Heat were succeeding. But also because it meant no more Spike Lee hijinks until September. Still, Jack Nicholson? He’s all right.
3. As Lieberman said (the one comment we’re going to share with him), there’s been a gigantic influx of young talent lately. And as the members of the Opinion desk with two X chromosomes have said, that means plenty to look at, even during time outs.
2. Kevin Durant — Seriously.
1. James Harden’s return elbow to Metta World Peace — for many reasons.