NBA Finals: Game 7 is as good as it gets
Regardless of who you’re supporting, Game 7 is as good and as fun as it gets. It’s important to enjoy the moment.
It sucks giving up a 3-1 lead.
No team or fanbase wants to be in that situation. It’s horrible. Being so close to securing an NBA championship only to lose all momentum feels terrible. You want the series to end as soon as possible. You don’t want to give the other team any hope and you definitely don’t want to give them a chance at winning the series.
But here we are, hours away from a Game 7. And while I’ve never felt more anxious, this is also really fun.
The world of sports doesn’t get any better than a seventh game with a title on the line. Two of the league’s biggest stars, Stephen Curry and LeBron James, going head-to-head trying to lead their team to the promised land while fighting for their own legacies. The stakes can’t get any higher. So much star power and talent on both sides. The 30 for 30 is practically writing itself with all of the narratives.
There’s history on the line. On one hand, an all-time great is trying to avoid falling to 2-5 in the Finals. He wants to complete his incredible series with a victory and yet another Finals MVP. On the other side, the league’s first unanimous MVP is trying to cement himself as a great by winning his second title, this time on the winningest team to ever step on an NBA court.
It’s beautiful.
As basketball fans, this is what we all dream of. We’ve all gone to our playground and envisioned ourselves hitting a buzzer-beater to win a championship in Game 7. While this game may not come down to the wire as none of the first six games have, but the emotions and intensity are there.
I have no idea who’s going to win. The Cavaliers have all the momentum, but they have to play in an extremely hostile environment. The Warriors are broken down right now. Curry is hobbling, Andre Iguodala is dealing with a back injury, and Andrew Bogut is out. Golden State might not have any more than 48 minutes in them. If there was an eighth game, body parts would probably just start falling off, like a Mr. Potato Head. These are two really good basketball teams leaving it all out there.
For full transparency, I want the Warriors to win. I am a Golden State fan. Always have been, always will be. So it’s very easy to get caught up in what they’re doing and let my emotions guide me. But it’s important to realize that what we’re watching is special. Game 7’s in an NBA Finals don’t just grow on trees. Regardless of the outcome, this is really compelling stuff.
No Warriors fan wanted this to go seven games. Not just because betting against James is probably not smart, but because victory would, seemingly, have felt better if they had closed this out in five or six games. But victory is sweetest when you have your back against the wall. And that’s where the Warriors are. They’re being challenged and have to find aw ay to respond fast.
As basketball fans, though, I think we all wanted a Game 7, somewhere deep down inside. There’s something thrilling about imagining Curry hitting a stepback three to win a championship. It’s fun. The game doesn’t get any better than this. Bodies will fly. The game will be tough and physical and a battle. And that’s what makes this moment so much fun. That’s what makes losing a 3-1 deficit OK because nothing can replicate the feeling of a Game 7. The nerves and excitement and anxiousness and the fluctuation between confident and panic is incredible.
This will go down as one of the best games any of us have ever seen. Both teams have so much riding on this. It will either be a team winning their first championship in franchise history or another one capping off a historic season with their second consecutive title. Two MVPS going up against each other in the best environment in the Association is something you probably couldn’t write if you tried.
The result might hurt. There’s a good chance it will. But it’s always important to maintain that, no matter who wins, history is being made. And that’s all we can ask for, really. To see something special. And surely, tonight’s game will be.