The series came to an end on Thursday.
In the words of NBA Finals star and one of the sunnier characters we got to know throughout the series, Klay Thompson (Klay Thompson), “Holy cannoli!”
‘Game 6’ turned out to be the surprise ending no one saw coming, wrapping the show an episode earlier than expected. Was this a case of budgeting restraints? Summer blockbuster competition? Performer fatigue? Or was it the plan all along? Let’s dive into the dramatic closing of the series to figure it out. Early on, ‘Game 6’ began to feel familiar in that it shared a lot of the pacing problems of the last couple of episodes. Any momentum gained in the storyline for either the ‘Warriors’ or the ‘Celtics’ was pretty much immediately snubbed out by the other in a lurching, effortful call-and-response. The physicality of ‘Game 5’ was also back, though the stunts seemed ill-timed and awkward. For example, Draymond Green (Draymond Green) doing the rote dance moves for the song ‘YMCA’ in Jayson Tatum’s (Jayson Tatum) face within the first 12 minutes, a choice even co-director Steve Kerr appeared confused about. However just when it seemed like we were bound for the same pacing pitfalls and rote corporeal concerns, and that Finals was going to be remembered as a show that shifted to stunt work to save itself, ‘Game 6’ suddenly turned to comedy. It started subtly, a few off the finger losses of the all-important ball that this series has been centered on. At first it was easy enough to think, “Okay, here we go, another clumsy allegory of how the tools of daily life have come to overtake us,” but the slapstick sloppiness continued to pile up. There was Draymond Green bungling a behind the back transfer of the ball to Klay Thompson when the two had just deftly stolen it away and gone running down the length of the floor. There were even more misfired transfers ricocheting off the actors feet, hands and shoulders. There were cartoon pile-ons where a tangle of bodies looked like a Looney Tunes fight — and indeed, involving Kevon Looney (Kevon Looney). The break of ‘halftime’ saw a lopsided tally of points — 54-39 — in favor of the ‘Warriors’ group, who found themselves again on the parquet floors of a believable interpretation of a demoralized ‘Boston.
