Muhammad Ali's death yesterday shook the sports world. He is widely considered the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) and his impact goes way beyond the boxing ring. He had a very interesting and impactful life and is highly respected in the black community. Men of a certain age of all races revere him, but black men who had the opportunity to grow up in that era especially appreciate a lot of his activist struggles and what it meant to their lives as well as the society at large. When Sports Illustrated ranked the best athletes of the 20th century, Ali was 3rd behind MJ and Babe Ruth. It's amazing MJ was higher than even Ali, but you can't go wrong with anybody in that top 3. I am usually not the one who wishes I had lived in certain eras to have experienced certain things. I have seen MJ play, but I am perfectly happy learning about Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, or Wilt Chamberlain from books or movies or journalists who have seen them play. But I do wish I lived through the Mohammad Ali era for all the political and social impact he created, though I don't even watch boxing. As a sports fan, I feel like I would have followed him closely and learned a lot about myself as well as the social construct and cultural context of that time. Ali's refusal to be drafted for the Vietnam war resulted in him losing the right to box in any state for over three years. Jeremy Schaap made an interesting point on ESPN. Losing 3 years of your prime in your mid 20s is a really high cost to pay and while that makes Ali's stand a very principled and courageous one, he deserves even more credit in reality because he didn't know the punishment going in and it could have been much worse than those 3 years. Ali was a unique athletic and social phenomenon and he will be sorely missed. RIP!
On the court, the Warriors seem to be cruising to their second championship. Game 1 did not go well for the Cavs as Curry and Klay stunk up the joint, but the dubs still won the game convincingly behind Shaun Livingston and his bench brothers. The media at large is saying that dubs should win the series now and game 1 was probably the best opportunity for the Cavs to have stolen one on the road given the splash brothers were MIA. But I had the same opinion even before game 1. Warriors are a way better team than the Cavs and I thought if they came into game 1 lackadaisical, the Cavs can upset them. Now that game 1 is done, game 2 is probably the best shot for the Cavs to win a road game rest of the way. They will come in with a lot of energy anyways and it's possible the dubs get bored or careless for a stretch or two. It's inconceivable that I am even saying this about the NBA finals, but the dubs are that good and I can see them losing a game or two just because they don't show up with all seriousness and get distracted. There may be a few more "break the clip board" moments for coach Kerr, but they will figure it out and wrap this series up in 5 or 6. The Thunder series was the real test for the dubs and it should be smooth sailing rest of the way. The only intrigue might be the finals MVP award and the media is already beating up on Curry for not winning the finals MVP last year. This Curry hating is getting ridiculous and he might go chasing the MVP just because he could. Even in game 1, he forced a couple of bricks when LeBron was switched on him. You could tell that matchup meant something to him and his ego. Lets see if he goes full-on "hero ball" to win the MVP. The bottom-line is , the Cavs don't defend well and thats their problem in this series. They are good offensively, but anything Cavs can do on offense the dubs can do better. Except LeBron. He is the only thing in the Cavs that worry the dubs and he might have to go 2015 finals mode to salvage this series. He started game 1 on fire, but he has to try and stay on fire through the rest of this series, especially on the road. That may be the Cavs only hope.
On the court, the Warriors seem to be cruising to their second championship. Game 1 did not go well for the Cavs as Curry and Klay stunk up the joint, but the dubs still won the game convincingly behind Shaun Livingston and his bench brothers. The media at large is saying that dubs should win the series now and game 1 was probably the best opportunity for the Cavs to have stolen one on the road given the splash brothers were MIA. But I had the same opinion even before game 1. Warriors are a way better team than the Cavs and I thought if they came into game 1 lackadaisical, the Cavs can upset them. Now that game 1 is done, game 2 is probably the best shot for the Cavs to win a road game rest of the way. They will come in with a lot of energy anyways and it's possible the dubs get bored or careless for a stretch or two. It's inconceivable that I am even saying this about the NBA finals, but the dubs are that good and I can see them losing a game or two just because they don't show up with all seriousness and get distracted. There may be a few more "break the clip board" moments for coach Kerr, but they will figure it out and wrap this series up in 5 or 6. The Thunder series was the real test for the dubs and it should be smooth sailing rest of the way. The only intrigue might be the finals MVP award and the media is already beating up on Curry for not winning the finals MVP last year. This Curry hating is getting ridiculous and he might go chasing the MVP just because he could. Even in game 1, he forced a couple of bricks when LeBron was switched on him. You could tell that matchup meant something to him and his ego. Lets see if he goes full-on "hero ball" to win the MVP. The bottom-line is , the Cavs don't defend well and thats their problem in this series. They are good offensively, but anything Cavs can do on offense the dubs can do better. Except LeBron. He is the only thing in the Cavs that worry the dubs and he might have to go 2015 finals mode to salvage this series. He started game 1 on fire, but he has to try and stay on fire through the rest of this series, especially on the road. That may be the Cavs only hope.
1 comment:
I'm not a boxing fan either but Ali transcended the sport and used his platform as a heavyweight champion to draw attention to important issues of his time. He inspired others to oppose the Vietnam war which was not the popular viewpoint at the time and it cost him dearly in terms of his boxing career. He was a hero inside and outside the ring and deserves all the respect the world has shown him during his life and even more so now that he has passed. It's a shame that he had to deal with Parkinson's for much of his life but he was still mentally sharp and from what I've read he was a joy to be around even in his final years. He meant a lot to a lot of people and he will be missed.
Having watched four games in this series Golden State is head and shoulders the better team and the iso-ball that Cleveland is playing in crunch time has no chance against an underrated Warriors defense. No matter who's putting up numbers in scoring, passing and rebounding for the Dubs, a lot of their opportunities are coming solely because of the immense focus the Cavs have on Steph Curry and so regardless of his own stats I think #30 should be MVP of the Finals this year.
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