Basketball and movies are akin and satirical. There is a balance of enjoyment and satire including nuggets and life lessons to be learned every game and movie time.

Life is just like a game,
First you have to learn rules of the game,
And then play it better then any one else.

Albert Einstein

The completed 2022-23 Play-Ins and first rounds of the Playoffs were no exception.

The Play-Ins

The games were energetic, exhilarating, and somewhat enigmatic. As you may (or may not) have known, Atlanta Hawks (AH) and Los Angeles Lakers (LAL) snatched the Eastern and Western 7th seeds respectively. I grimaced as Minnesota Timberwolves (MT) lost their double-digit lead (a noted pattern – ten times during the season – with the Team) to LAL. They however moved on to fiercely contest and win the 8th position; and so did Miami Heat (MH), for the Western and Eastern Conferences respectively.

The Playoffs has begun

Playoffs started as I had envisioned but somewhat disappointing in some quarters.

The 1st playing the 8th seed and 2nd playing the 7th, in my opinion, are always mismatches. However, such was not the case with the Bucks-Heat’s Game 1. The latter being electrifying from start till the end. Unfortunately, the Nigerian-Greek freak, Giannis, had to leave just a few minutes into the first quarter after being fouled and landing on his back. Bad, but the good news is that there’s no cause for alarm as the MRI came clean and he was healthy to play Game 2.

Grizzlies-Lakers’ Game 1 followed a similar pattern. Grizzlies’ Ja Morant (JM) also suffered injury to his right hand in the 4th quarter of forcing him to miss Game 2. Both the lower seeds won the first games, mimicking a Goliath-David scenario, while the higher seeds (Bucks and Grizzlies) both went on to win the second games.

Home Games

Home-court advantage is a plus at any home game particularly for a Team with a huge loyal fan base. Still it’s not unusual to lose a home game as evident with the Bucks and Grizzlies’ first Playoff games. With the Sacramento Kings (SK), home court was a huge factor to their win.

The Sacramento Kings-Golden State Warriors (GSW) games (1st & 2nd) were the Western Conference phenomena akin to a war in the heavens. SK was wild, tenacious, and hungrily, demonstrated that they were indeed chasing history having not been in the Playoffs since the 2005-6 season. The SK stadium was full to capacity and the rambunctious fans came to cheer.

On the other hand, the defending champion Warriors played an even keeled, almost lackadaisical (which might not have been unconnected with the fact that they are familiar with the potholes and detours on the road to the championship) game. and the Dubs’ fans were almost nonexistent.

Though the venue was only 83 miles away (1 – 1-1/2 drive), the Dubs fan preferred to stay at home and were nonexistent at both games. The handful Dubs Nation who showed up were drowned by the opponents’ jeers such that Dubs’ Ambassador, music mogul and entrepreneur E40, was also booed and ejected for some weird reasons. Bad for SK image in my opinion.

Dubs maintained their even-keeled defensive tempo. I wished they upped their game, as the defending champions, to match their opponent’s. Here’s hoping for a much better Warriors Game 2 on Dub Nations ground today.

Final Thoughts

The road to this Season’s Championship, and winning the 2022-23 Larry O’Brian Cup, has been exciting and exhilarating, but equally bumpy and hazardous, full of unexpected turns and twists, as well as highly unpredictable.

As in life, nothing is ever certain. Yes, we plan and make goals (which I’d rather do than not), yet a sudden turn of event can render those plans frustrating, fruitless, and meaningless. Events such as an illness, or death, or as we all experienced with Covid-19. Yet we do not give up.

The winner today can become the loser tomorrow and vice versa. Yet, we do not give up, neither do we rest on our laurels. We’ve seen player injuries happen at critical times thus ending such Team(s) being a part of the equal contenders for the championship. The list is endless, but still we continue to strive until our last breathe.

The truth is that if God ordained it, it shall surely come to pass. The detours are distractions that tend to want us to give up and take our eyes off the expected end. But we pray for grace to not faint nor be weary for we shall reap in due season. (Galatians 6:9).

Think-Talk wishes every 2022-23 NBA Playoff Player, Coach, and Team the very best.