https://youtu.be/auoC3fiULYg
I am of such weak mental constitution that I’m almost too anxious to watch Bucks playoff games. Especially when it seems like they’re overmatched. Last season, I barely watched any of their 1-4 series loss to the Heat, and my mental health was better off for it. I didn’t need Jae Crowder ruining my life. I also didn’t need Eric Bledsoe ruining my life. If the Bucks ever do make the Finals, I’m going to have to sequester myself in a bunker of some kind and live off canned food for three weeks, just so I don’t hear any news about the series that could give me anxiety. That would be the perfect time to re-read all the Harry Potter books. It would not be the perfect time to be sent into a spiral of despair after finding out that Jae Crowder hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to win game seven, and the championship, for the Suns, conclusively proving that he will kick the Bucks’ ass no matter where he goes.
I tuned into this game about halfway through the first quarter and the Bucks were already up by double digits. I can usually keep my despair at bay if the Bucks are up by that much, but as soon as the lead starts to slip, I’ll turn the game off and engage in activities that are less taxing on my mental health, like watching cat videos on YouTube. But there was no need to turn this game off. Bryn Forbes and co. turned that early lead into a thirty-point margin, and that thirty-point margin basically stayed the same through the entire second half. Forbes didn’t even need to keep scoring after he dropped nineteen points in twelve minutes of game time.
Compare that viewing experience to game one of this series, which I couldn’t even face because the score was too close the entire time. Too many clutch shots. Too many overtimes. Too many important possessions. Too many minor cardiac episodes that I probably should go to the hospital for but don’t want to because hospitals smell funny. I want every game to be a blowout so that I can relax. And if Forbes plays like this every game, maybe that wish can become reality.