Picture this: It's a basketball playoff double-header on ESPN2. In game one Detroit is taking on New York at Madison Square Garden, while game two pits Sacramento at Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Both games are tied and going into the final game of the series??-one team will advance to the Conference Finals and one will go home.
In the first game, defending champion Detroit holds the lead throughout most of the game. New York has the lead early on at 7-6, but never leads again until there are two minutes left in the game.
The game goes back and forth over the final minutes and Detroit ties the game with just 15 seconds remaining on the clock. New York brings the ball up, drives baseline, passes the ball widely to the perimeter of the lane and with just half a second left drains a basket to win the game.
The nightcap of the double-header is less entertaining. Los Angeles had won two League Championships in recent memory and were trying to do it again. After a close first half-the teams separated by just three points at halftime-Sacramento turns it up a notch and runs away to a 15-point victory.
You may be asking yourself why I am trying to predict this year's NBA Finals nine months in advance, but bear with me.
Listen to these statistics from game one. Detroit, while leading most of the game, only manages to shoot 37 percent from the floor. Its leading scorer is just four-of-18 shooting. New York shoots 40 percent while putting up 29 three-point attempts.
How about game two? L.A. and Sacramento do a little better, shooting 38 and 45 percent, respectively. But L.A. committed 21 turnovers and Sacramento shot just 20 percent from beyond the arc.
Now you are probably thinking I am crazy for making such bold and outlandish predictions; however, these aren't predictions at all, but rather a synopsis of Tuesday night's WNBA playoff action.
I have to say that the game between the Liberty and Shock, not the Knicks and Pistons, had to have been one of the best WNBA games in the eight-year history of the league-although I cannot say that for sure, since it was the first full WNBA game I ever saw.
With that said, even after watching a premiere playoff matchup, I know I won't be watching a game in the next few years because the offense was atrocious, even amidst a non-existent defense.
As much as game one was a thriller, game two made me want to gouge my eyes out.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not really a fan of the NBA either. I would much rather see a lower-scoring game without flashy dunks every time down the court, but the fundamentals are lacking-21 turnovers in a professional game-are you kidding me?
Sure, the final scores-66-64 and 73-58-may remind some people of a Badger score when Dick Bennett was around, but he preached good defense, not bad offense.
I wish the Liberty and Monarchs (stop laughing) the best in their playoff endeavors, and I know they are doing their best, but by all means, keep the coverage contained to the Oxygen network. The best move the league ever made was to gear its coverage towards females, because the average man, myself included, would rather watch the professional darts championship or an NBA Developmental League game over the WNBA.
Eric Schmoldt is a junior planning to major in journalism. He can be reached at ejschmoldt@wisc.edu
