NBA Finals: Alternate poll

All logic aside, who do you WANT to win?


  • Total voters
    31

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Okay, so the traditional poll is to predict who you think WILL win all the marbles. But, in this one, let's just gauge public opinion.

Who do you WANT to win the O'Brien Trophy this year?
 
OKC: Thunderstruck fans, excellent coach (Central Valley guy!), fantastic humble mega-superstar, plus another superstar still rising high - all of them ready for the moment - I hope.
 
Before I get around to voting, I want to qualify my answer:

I have a clearly defined and delineated hierarchy in my heart, of all thirty teams in the league, starting with the Kings at the top, and the gd lakers at the bottom. Every other team falls somewhere in between, and I like each team more than the team ranked below it, so there will never, ever be any game, or series, where I will feel like, "I don't care who wins." It simply won't ever, ever happen. I'm psychologically incapable of being "indifferent" to any team. If the Finals came down to Denver versus Toronto, there'd be a team I'd want to see win more than the other.*

That said, once I get into the bottom third of teams in my hierarchy, I'm going to be dissatisfied no matter how it turns out; I'm still going to "root" for my 21st-ranked team over my 26th-ranked team, but that doesn't mean, all things being equal, that I'd like to see the 21st-ranked team win. It just means that someone is going to win, regardless of what I want (it's not like they're going to disqualify one of these teams, and slot the Kings in there...), and I'd rather see the team I dislike the most lose more. I don't "like" either the Thunder or the Heat, and I find the idea of either team winning to be unpleasant, but for utterly different reasons. That said, the hierarchy remains intact and, in this case, the team that I want to lose more than the other one is Miami.

So, to answer the poll question, who I want to win is Oklahoma City. But I won't be rejoicing a Thunder win, by any stretch of the imagination.

*It's Toronto, by the way.
 
OKC, I guess like Slim I won't rejoice the win, but its far more palatable. I don't have a 30 team hierachy though, just two teams I like and ~5 teams I hate. Heat are presently on that second list, OKC are not.
 
I want the Heat to win. Simply put, i wouldn't like to see a group as young as the Thunder to be winning a championship. They have the next decade or so to compete for championships. I'd rather see the more experienced and veteran group of guys in the Heat win it this year.
 
One thing I find interesting is that the backlash against James and against the welcome party is likely driving the one-sidedness of this poll, but backlash against the Thunder for leaving Seattle doesn't seem to be affecting votes. I would think that the disparity there wouldn't be quite that big.
 
That's a strong argument, but Joan wouldn't give a fella like me the time of day.

Now, if CH prefers Denver, on the other hand...
 
One thing I find interesting is that the backlash against James and against the welcome party is likely driving the one-sidedness of this poll, but backlash against the Thunder for leaving Seattle doesn't seem to be affecting votes. I would think that the disparity there wouldn't be quite that big.

I don't blame the Thunder players for leaving Seattle. Totally different scenario, at least in terms of choosing for whom to root.
 
I want the Heat to win. Simply put, i wouldn't like to see a group as young as the Thunder to be winning a championship. They have the next decade or so to compete for championships. I'd rather see the more experienced and veteran group of guys in the Heat win it this year.

Using that logic, you would have rooted for the Lakers against the Kings.
 
I don't blame the Thunder players for leaving Seattle. Totally different scenario, at least in terms of choosing for whom to root.

I can understand how some would see it that way, but you can understand how others might see it the other way (not wanting owners who "stole" the team to be rewarded with a championship in their new city), right? I just thought it was interesting how little of that sentiment we're seeing in comparison.

Personally, I don't want the Thunder owners to be rewarded, and I don't like some of the things James or the Heat have done. But neither thing really affects my rooting interest too much. I'm actually rooting for James (and by extension the Heat) in this series mostly because I tend to root for the super talented people who haven't quite gotten over the hump and start to get backlash or criticism because of it.
 
I can understand how some would see it that way, but you can understand how others might see it the other way (not wanting owners who "stole" the team to be rewarded with a championship in their new city), right? I just thought it was interesting how little of that sentiment we're seeing in comparison.

Personally, I don't want the Thunder owners to be rewarded, and I don't like some of the things James or the Heat have done. But neither thing really affects my rooting interest too much. I'm actually rooting for James (and by extension the Heat) in this series mostly because I tend to root for the super talented people who haven't quite gotten over the hump and start to get backlash or criticism because of it.

The owners aren't the ones celebrated with a victory - the players are, and rightfully so. We'll totally have to agree to disagree since you're actually rooting FOR Lebron James and I cannot even conceive of doing that. :)
 
The owners aren't the ones celebrated with a victory - the players are, and rightfully so. We'll totally have to agree to disagree since you're actually rooting FOR Lebron James and I cannot even conceive of doing that. :)

C'mon. Why do we have to disagree? I hate disagreement. And I hate agreeing on it. :)

I was only asking if you can understand how somebody else might see it that way, even if you don't. I don't think it's that absurd.
 
I can understand how some would see it that way, but you can understand how others might see it the other way (not wanting owners who "stole" the team to be rewarded with a championship in their new city), right? I just thought it was interesting how little of that sentiment we're seeing in comparison.

Personally, I don't want the Thunder owners to be rewarded, and I don't like some of the things James or the Heat have done. But neither thing really affects my rooting interest too much. I'm actually rooting for James (and by extension the Heat) in this series mostly because I tend to root for the super talented people who haven't quite gotten over the hump and start to get backlash or criticism because of it.

I get where you're coming from. As basketball fans and players we love seeing greatness on the court, and Lebron James is undeniably a very very great basketball player. Personally though, his antics and arrogance as a person overshadow his basketball ability, which is why I root against him.
 
I chose Miami because i know Lakers fans hate the Heat and hate Lebron. Also, any team that i feel can totally destroy LA's shot at winning another title is good in my book.
 
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