Post by Tampa Bay Bull Sharks on Apr 6, 2014 21:33:11 GMT -5
2014 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Children of All Ages,(Click link before continuing to read)
It is my great pleasure to announce that the Brooklyn Nets are your 2014 NBA CHAMPIONS!
The Nets have become the first team in league history to win back to back championships. The Nets, a team that just five years ago when the league was first created, drafted guys like Anthony Randolph, Rudy Fernandez, Joey Dorsey, and Bobby Brown, have risen to the top and become the most storied franchise in league history. In five years, the Nets have been in the playoffs every season and have reached the conference finals 3 times. This marked Brooklyn's third Finals appearance and their second championship in as many years.
The Nets were the clear favorites to start the season. The team was loaded with Chris Paul, James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Joakim Noah. Brooklyn acquired the veteran presence of Kevin Garnett, but the experiment never seemed to yield positive results. In a mid-season trade with Oklahoma City, the Nets brought in veteran big man and previous NBA Champion, Dirk Nowitzki. Channing Frye also came to the Nets in the deal that sent Greg Monroe to OKC and the trade proved to be crucial for the success of Brooklyn. Additionally, role players like Frye, Gerald Green, Steve Blake, Kent Bazemore, and Ray Allen stepped up to the challenge and helped propel the team to an undefeated regular season.
The Nets entered the playoffs as the number one seed in the East and were poised once again to make a playoff run. However, the first round matchup against 4 seed Toronto proved to be an obstacle that Brooklyn would need to overcome. Toronto put up a fight and kept it close throughout the week, but as the games went on, James Harden and Kevin Durant stepped up and got Brooklyn into the semi-finals against Orlando. The matchup with Orlando was closer than the score indicated, but Brooklyn came out of the matchup 8-1. It was onto the Finals yet again for this Nets team.
The NBA Finals. A goal that every team has at the start of the season, but the road to get there is never easy. The Utah Jazz, a team who was in the Finals for a third time was poised to take on a Nets team and claim their first ever NBA Championship. This series would be a rematch of last years Finals that Brooklyn won 7-2. The matchup remained tight for the first week and Brooklyn couldn't seem to put very much distance between themselves and the relentless Jazz. However, things changed in the second week when the Nets team came alive. Big performances from Kevin Durant, James Harden, Joakim Noah, and Dirk Nowitzki sealed the deal for Brooklyn, securing them with their second consecutive Larry O'Brien Trophy.
This has arguably been the most entertaining season in league history. While Brooklyn was the favorite at the start, teams like Utah, Orlando, Atlanta, Kansas City, and even a late surge from Portland seemed to all have a shot at unseating the champs. However, Brooklyn proved once again why they were the favorite. They dominated teams, showed incredible resilience when their team went through slumps, and modified their roster to ensure that they assembled the depth needed to win a championship. The Brooklyn Nets won 19 games this season and lost 0. This team improved over last years 17-2 team and completed the most memorable season in league history.
You did it again Brooklyn. You're a shooting star. In all those years, no one knows just how hard you worked. But now it shows.
Congratulations to the Brooklyn Nets, your 2014 NBA CHAMPIONS!!!
Great Moments Are Born From Great Opportunity
It's Your Time BROOKLYN!