Sunday, March 31, 2013

Are these streaks good for sports or a sign of the lack of talent league wide

When the Chicago Black hawks started the NHL with a 20 plus game winning streak, my first thought was who have they played. Hockey is having a shorter season than normal due to the lockout and I wondered if Chicago's schedule was favorable. I saw that they played Detroit a few times. St. Louis as well. As they were winning so was the Miami Heat. The Miami Heat won 27 straight games and I thought about who they were playing too. The Heat beat the Knicks, Thunder, Celtics on the road. The Clippers won 17 straight in December. The Denver Nuggets won 15 straight in March. Now the Pittsburgh Penguins have gone 15-0-0 for the month of March setting a record for most wins without a tie or shootout in NHL history. Are these streaks happening because of talentless pool or are these teams really good? 
I think these teams are really good. The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup two years ago and underachieved over the last two years. They lost key players who helped them win the cup and it has taken a while for them to gel. The western conference playoffs this year in hockey is going to be epic. The Kings, Ducks, Blackhawks, and Canucks are going to really keep people up late watching to see who can make it to the Stanley Cup finals.
The Miami Heat know that they are the favorite to represent the east, and they also know that they are going to have to earn the title. The Bulls, Pacers, Knicks and Celtics really want to make some history. The Celtics and Knicks are still smarting after blowing huge leads against the Heat during their streak. The Bulls and Pacers believe that they have the blueprint to beat the Heat. During the streak of the Heat they played a lot of teams with losing records, but with Lebron James on the team every opponent is inferior. They are the defending champs for a reason. When the Clippers won 17 straight they beat good teams as well. The Clippers are having a season to remember. They have never won 50 games. They have never won their division. They are on pace to do both things. Denver's style of offense is extremely difficult to play against especially in Denver. They have the best record at home and most impressively have no superstars on their team. George Karl should get a lot of votes for coach of the year.  The Penguins have the two best players in the game on their team. We want Crosby and Malkin healthy and playing at the top of their game. When the best is playing their best it is exciting to see.
As much as I love to condemn sports of today, I have to give credit when credit is due. These win streaks show that when the best players are healthy and their teams understand their roles great things can happen. Chicago has great talent on all four lines. The Clippers have Chris Paul who is the best leader in basketball.  The Heat ha Lebron and D-wade. The Penguins have Crosby and Malkin. The Nuggets have Andre Miller and Ty Lawson who are tremendous leaders. We make sports harder than it should be with over analysis. Instead of just win baby, it should just play. When you have the talent like these teams possess that becomes all you need to do...

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