The Conference Finals

Winning the NBA championship is never easy.  Defending it is even harder.  Of the 30 franchises in the league, 10 teams have yet to win a title.

A new champion will be crowned this coming June, and two of the ten teams could    win their first ever title.  In six years, there will be a different champion for the sixth time.  In the past five playoffs, no reigning champion had made it past the second round.

Denver had made it to the list of NBA champion teams but in the deciding Game 7 of the WC semis, the Nuggets blew a 20-point third quarter lead to the Minnesota Timberwolves, thus effectively ending their reign.

Out in the EC, an undermanned New York Knicks put up a gallant but futile stand and surrendered to the Indiana Pacers in seven games.  The two teams had met eight times in the post season, of which six were between 1993 to 2000, with the Pacers winning five of them.

Boston is on it’s fourth conference finals in five seasons and if they prevail over Indiana, they’ll be shooting for their 18th championship.  The Pacers had never won a championship and they last played in the NBA Finals in 2000 but lost to the LA Lakers, starring the late Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

The Pacers are the only Central Division team in the EC that has not won a league title.  Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee had all hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Like Indiana, Minnesota is hoping to crash the party of champions but they have to go thru Dallas, who last won the championship in 2011.  It would be a milestone for coach Jason Kidd if the Mavericks go all the way as he was the point guard of that title team.

The other eight teams still to win a championship are:

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

LA Clippers

Memphis Grizzlies

New Orleans Pelicans

Orlando Magic

Phoenix Suns

Utah Jazz

Oklahoma City had not a title since they relocated but while they were still in Seattle, they won the championship in 1979.