This has been bugging me for the longest time. The what-if question of... Jesus Christ playing basketball! Indeed, the question begs, what if The Son of Man decided to come down and play professional hoops... In the National Basketball Association. Fret not (religion) fanatics, there is zero blasphemy in this. So much so i thought He appeared to me the last couple of nights telling, and inspiring me to write this particular piece...
Now, we know by now God works in mysterious ways and Jesus might as well follow his Father's lead because this was the message that he told me: "Sure that Michael Jordan guy can walk in the air, but can he walk on water?" Jesus talking trash? i know then deep deep inside that it's His will that i prove that He could have been the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) in basketball history. (Heck, remove the word basketball)
And proofs i have:
Jesus > Michael Jordan
Jesus Walks on the Water - Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. (Matthew 14: 22-16)
Self-explanatory really. We've seen footages of Jordan walking (flying) in the air (most notably in Space Jam) in various clips. You don't need clips for the water-walk, do you?
Jesus Trusts His Coach Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)
A lot of players today does not trust their head coach. Jesus is not one of them. He listens to His mentor and as the passage above describes, He is willing to give in to the coach's whims.
Jesus could even be an Adidas endorser:
Jesus looked at them and said: "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:25)
Jesus > Paul Pierce
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 4:16)
Paul Pierce is known as The Truth. Well, Jesus is way more than that, he is the way and the life as well. We know so much about how versatile Paul's game is... But with The Son of Man claiming he has more, it speaks of His versatility as well meaning he could be averaging a triple double these days. Also worth noting is his dedication to defense ("... Except through me.")
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That's just five reasons why i think he is the GOAT. THERE ARE MORE. i can't give you a link on where i get such quotes. You have to search it yourself. Maybe even, search yourself.
Without so much going into the facts and the details (you can go to ESPN or NBA sites for that one) it goes without saying that this year's NBA Finals is the biggest championship series ever since Jordan left Chicago. The Spurs and Lakers juggled rings left and right making them this decade's dynasty but their best-of-seven series against their respective opponents were to a point, one-sided and quite expected.
Not the case for this year. The Lakers after raping the Memphis Grizzlies in the Pau Gasol-trade last February will meet the Boston Celtics, which re-tooled (understatement) during the off-season acquiring Kevin Garnet and Ray Allen via separate deals. Of course, with established superstars Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce staying with their teams, the murmurs during the regular season was that these two rivals is bound, no destined, to meet in the postseason... And with the (Hollywood) stars aligning plus a little Irish luck... Bahm! David Stern's wildest and wettest dream: Boston vs. Los Angeles in what could (and would) be a best-of-seven epic (If it reaches Game Seven, you know Stern's "wildest and wettest" is another understatement)
Not enough words to describe the hype... Plus the fact that every other basketball blog or site has their own previews anyway so i just will post why i think the BOSTON CELTICS will WIN this one:
- SENSE OF URGENCY. Garnett is 32 years old, Allen is turning 33 this year and Pierce is not far behind at 31 by October. For the Lakers, Gasol will be 29 next month; Odom is a year younger than Pau. Obviously the major players for the C's is getting up there. Father Time in basketball decides to take a knee or two and a passion and a half by the mid-30's. Add the fact that KG, Ray and Paul have won a combined 0 rings in their combined 32-year NBA career, nobody needs to mention that their time should be NOW.
- KB24 vs. LOTS OF CELTICS. Can't stop Kobe you can only hope... He shoots more. Kobe has realized that this season can be really special if he plays within the system and let others contribute. He also has a knack for taking over the game (not news) and is simply amazing when he decides to turn it on. That said, nobody in the Celtics roster can singlehandedly stop him. Make that, nobody in the NBA. However, the C's can practically throw the entire kitchen sink at him and at least he works for his points (He will get it nonetheless)... i believe that at some point in the series James Posey's length and strength will bother Kobe a little bit and that is where the Celtics should take advantage. Ray-Ray and PP will also have their shot at Kobe on the defensive end. But more importantly, i feel that both wingmen should also make Kobe work on the defensive end. Heck you can't stop the guy... But maybe he can't stop you too...
- KG EXPLOSION. i always believed this since i was a Memphis Grizzlies fan: Princess Pau is Kevin Garnett's bitch. The latter would always abuse the Spaniard in their head to head match-up. i really feel that we will see less of those fade-away-from-the-top-almost-near-the-three-point-line jumpshots from KG. Enough sissy plays when the guy guarding you is a sissy as well. And KG will realize that right off tip-off of Game One.
Boston wins in six games if they win their first two games at home. If not, they win in seven games. So there, a fearless forecast. More than the thousand bucks (and more) i had in various office bets, it feels so good being able to be right on point with predictions.
