Post by eric on Jun 14, 2019 14:21:11 GMT
Kawhi Leonard leads Toronto over an injury ravaged Golden State team that was so catastrophically depleted they were eventually down to only three All-NBA players. This puts a clear asterisk on the title, and although Kawhi has one previous clean title it still puts him in some pretty dubious company:
2007 All-Defensive ace Larry Hughes misses half the Finals to injury, allowing Tony Parker free rein en route to his only Finals MVP, putting a permanent black mark on all the career retrospectives we're reading as he retires now.
1991 James Worthy goes down in the Finals, gift wrapping the Chicago Bulls their first title, and to this day it's the first thing you hear when discussing Michael Jordan's legacy.
1989 Magic Johnson does his hamstring mere minutes into game three, and while Detroit capitalizes with their first title in franchise history the asterisk looms large in every Bad Boys retrospective.
1983 the Lakers just never could catch a break. This time it's their All-Star point guard Norm Nixon whose arm falls off in the Finals, and while it's not as infamous as Moses striking the rock with his staff at Kadesh in the Desert of Zin (ladies) it is an inarguable blemish on the only Finals MVP in The Other Malone's résumé.
On the other hand, nobody has ever heard of or cared about any of these.
So we'll probably all forget about the injuries in this Finals too.
Just like nobody cares Kevin Durant's foot fell off in 2015, letting the Warriors cruise through the Western Conference.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
2007 All-Defensive ace Larry Hughes misses half the Finals to injury, allowing Tony Parker free rein en route to his only Finals MVP, putting a permanent black mark on all the career retrospectives we're reading as he retires now.
1991 James Worthy goes down in the Finals, gift wrapping the Chicago Bulls their first title, and to this day it's the first thing you hear when discussing Michael Jordan's legacy.
1989 Magic Johnson does his hamstring mere minutes into game three, and while Detroit capitalizes with their first title in franchise history the asterisk looms large in every Bad Boys retrospective.
1983 the Lakers just never could catch a break. This time it's their All-Star point guard Norm Nixon whose arm falls off in the Finals, and while it's not as infamous as Moses striking the rock with his staff at Kadesh in the Desert of Zin (ladies) it is an inarguable blemish on the only Finals MVP in The Other Malone's résumé.
On the other hand, nobody has ever heard of or cared about any of these.
So we'll probably all forget about the injuries in this Finals too.
Just like nobody cares Kevin Durant's foot fell off in 2015, letting the Warriors cruise through the Western Conference.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
