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Saturday, April 23, 2011

Alternate Endings

Boy, it felt like Indiana deserved to win a game in this series, didn't it?

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the Bulls, or against Derrick Rose, unless it's that their bandwagon fans are increasingly making them a team that NOBODY is allowed to insult on NBA blogs. But honestly, Rose is one of my top 3 favorite players to watch, along with Blake Griffin (for obvious reasons) and Rajon Rondo (because of the cerebral, unselfish way he plays the game).

But watching this one, and wanting to see at least one well-deserved win for the young Pacers, I felt like I was re-watching The Departed. I KNEW what was coming and it depressed the living hell out of me, but I kept hoping that when that elevator opened, Billy Costigan (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) wouldn't be facing a handgun pointed directly at his face by Trooper Barrigan, and the back of the elevator wouldn't get covered by his brains.

And watching this game, I knew what was going to happen as well. I KNEW the Pacers were going to race out to what looked like a nice, comfortable lead, before coughing it up in agonizing fashion, and watching the Bulls walk off the court with the closest playoff sweep in history.

Sure enough, the Pacers led by 12 with two and a half minutes left when Korver drained a three. Deng hit a layup and drew a foul. Rose stole the ball and dunked it. Joakim Noah converted another three point play. Sprinkle in a couple of tantalizing free throws by Indiana, and the Pacers led by three with roughly 14 seconds left to play, Chicago's ball.

At this point, I was cringing so hard, I think I pulled an eyebrow muscle. I was so certain Derrick Rose or Kyle Korver was getting the ball with a good look at a three, I texted Jon Meerdink to tell him I would be willing to wager my life's savings (roughly $29.34) that Indiana's season was ending tonight, and he wasn't about to take the bet.

But then, something strange happened: someone slipped in a DVD with an alternate ending. Costigan reached the bottom of the elevator, the doors opened, just like I'd seen 100 times before, but this time, Barrigan got held up in traffic. He wasn't able to surprise Costigan at the bottom of the elevator, who walked away unscathed.

Chicago inexplicably decided they absolutely needed to go for a three. I say inexplicably because they had 14 seconds left, Indiana was essentially begging them to shoot a two defensively, and the only player who was able to get a clean look from downtown was Carlos Boozer. Not only that, but Indiana was struggling from the free throw line, and struggling even more to actually get the ball in bounds and across halfcourt against Chicago's smothering defense. And yet, Boozer pulled the trigger on a three from the baseline and missed. Indiana grabbed the rebound and escaped with the win.

Indiana will not win this series, nor do they deserve to. Chicago is far and away the better team, and will probably benefit greatly from being tested early on in the playoffs; when they are tested in the next round by Atlanta or Orlando, they will know how to put a game away instead of folding under the ever-increasing playoff pressure. But the Pacers have played the Bulls tough for four consecutive games, and deserved to walk away victors in at least one before they were eliminated, especially in front of a home crowd that was almost overwhelmed by Bulls fans. (Seriously, where were all these fans between the years of 1998 and 2009? Ugh.) For a young team, few things could be more encouraging for the future.

Tonight, they held on, and one of the most entertaining series' of the playoffs so far continues. I, for one, am very glad, despite the fact that I know how it's going to end.

Almost certainly. I'll bet you $29.34.

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