The Avalanche and Nuggets both are in the playoffs . . . at least for the time being.
I’ve covered the NBA and NHL, including many playoff runs in each league. I’ve been at courtside when Michael Jordan worked his magic through the key and shrugged after making a barrage of 3-pointers against Portland at the old Chicago Stadium, and sweated through the Magic vs. Bird matchups in the Boston Garden. And I’ve seen the Stanley Cup hoisted throughout North America.
Both leagues’ playoffs have their strengths, weaknesses and quirks. In some cases, they’re the same things we see and hear in the regular season, kicked up a notch. In other cases, they’re unique to the postseasons.
The NHL champions get to raise the Stanley Cup. The NBA champion is awarded the Larry O’Brien Trophy. With all due respect to the NBA’s former commissioner, that’s no contest.
In the NHL, public-address announcers get excited on behalf of the home team, but not to the point of absurdity. In the NBA, the best PA announcer in the winter sports business — the Lakers’ sonorous Lawrence Tanter — is an exception. Darned near everywhere else, including in Denver, the PA folks are screamers who act as if they believe nobody in the building has an IQ of more than 50.
In the NHL, get in a fight, and media types call you a “a good team guy.” In the NBA, get in a fight, and media types call you “a thug.”
In the NHL, we’re watching many stars who have come to pro hockey direct from major junior when they’re as young as 18, bypassing college altogether. Yet that doesn’t bother anyone. In the NBA, we’re watching many stars who came straight to the league at 18 or after one year of college. Yet many find that offensive.
In the NHL, teams get one timeout. Period. In the NBA, there are 21 timeouts in the final two minutes of every close game.
NHL playoff series tend to be every-other-day tests of resilience and fortitude. NBA series can be stretched out longer than a Van Halen concert tour.
This one works for both leagues: The internationalization of the talent pool has strengthened the sport, though it has caused some angst about whether North American players aren’t as well-schooled in fundamentals and subtle skills as the Europeans.
And the players also agree on this: You have to take it one game at a time.
