We are in the thick of the NBA playoffs, and it occurs to me that a handful of my friends know very little about the sport and are truly interested in scratching the surface to see what I’m so excited about. I thought it might be nice for those ladies, and a few gents too, if I explained the very basics of basketball so that we can all enjoy these electrifying playoff games.
I’m planning to go into more detail about the subtle nuances of the sport during the off-season, so this will be a very simple overview. Basically, 5 players take the court for each team and play 4 quarters of 12 minutes. During these 48 minutes each team tries to put the ball in their own basket as often as possible and stop the other team from putting the ball in the basket on the other end of the court. Shots taken outside of the oval shaped line are for 3 points and shots inside this arc are for 2 points. Of course there are lots of free throws for 1 point each from fouls so the points tally faster than your Saks rewards on triple points day.
Today we are in the midst of the Eastern and Western Division Championship Series. Of the 30 professional basketball teams in the NBA, the 8 best in the East and West go to the playoffs where there are 3 series of 7 games, prior to the Championship Series. The winners of the East and the West take each other on in the epic ‘Finals’ battle. These 15 series are among the best events in all of sports. Call me crazy, but it’s more exciting than seeing the Spring Collections blossom after a long, gray winter.
Currently we have the Boston Celtics playing the Orlando Magic for the East and the Phoenix Suns are taking on the Los Angeles Lakers for the West. Boston has won their first two games, a real heartbreaker for me as I am an Orlando Magic girl at heart. As I type, I am watching Phoenix keep it a little close with the Lakers in their second game in attempts to tie that series. All kinds of celebs are courtside in LA looking casual, yet painfully chic, while cheering on the allstar cast of their defending champion, hometown team.
The four teams left are loaded with talent so it should be a hot couple of weeks of basketball ahead. The Celtics are on a roll after taking out the Cavs and the omnipresent LeBron, but I am still hopeful for the Magic. Saturday night will be a huge game for the Magic if they want to make a repeat appearance at the Finals this year. Kobe and company make it look like a sure thing for a return trip to the Finals, but the Suns are feisty fellows, so I’m keeping my eye on the ball. I hope you will too.
More hoops reports soon…
xoxo
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3 comments:
Thank you! I tried to watch one of these games the other night, and I was absolutely clueless. I was forced to switch over to the alien show on the History Channel. (Were you aware that the moon is actually a space ship?) At last I have some understanding of the game.
It's all terribly confusing, and I can't tell you how happy I am to have this post for reference. 4 quarters? (all this time I thought it was innings). I have noticed these games listed on Direct TV, but it's hard to part with Law & Order. For you, Lacy, I will make the leap at least for an inning, errr... quarter... or two-
Lacy,
When is the launch for the RSS feed? I want to make sure to get my updates in real time.
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