So Long, Eastern Conference Playoffs: LeBron James Put You Out of Your Misery

Dear 2016 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs,

So long. Farewell. Auf Wiedersehen. Goodbye. It’s been real—real unnecessary.

With a 113-87 victory over the Toronto Raptors in Game 6 of your conference finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers are headed to the NBA Finals. Again. And LeBron James’ streak of consecutive Finals appearances, which now sits at six, is alive. Still. 

That means you, kind Eastern Conference Playoffs, are done.

Finally.

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Forgive this candor; it’s nothing personal. We’ve had some good times. Not great, not particularly momentous, but good.

Remember when for, like, an entire six seconds there was a feasible scenario in which the Charlotte Hornets would reach your conference finals? Or when you ruthlessly decided the Boston Celtics were too damn fun and rained down insurmountable injuries upon them during the first round? 

How about all those times Dwyane Wade turned back the clock, injecting wayward hope into the Miami Heat’s postseason push? Or how about when the Detroit Pistons’ resident teenager, Stanley Johnson, thought he was in James’ head?

You almost gave us Cleveland vs. Miami, LeBron vs. Wade, in the Eastern Conference Finals. That was pretty cool. You also gave us two of the most uninteresting Game 7s, both of which involved the Raptors. That was kind of cool, too.

Don’t forget about the brief, overblown period during which some of us thought the Raptors, after winning Games 3 and 4, could actually unseat the Cavaliers. 

See? Good times.

Still, all of us—including you, Eastern Conference Playoffs—knew how this would end: with LeBron’s team preparing to square off against the Golden State Warriors or Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. 

This isn’t a shot at Toronto, either. So don’t go tattling.

The Raptors fought valiantly at times, mostly on their home floor, in front of a loyal and loud crowd that has helped put Canada on the basketball map. Kyle Lowry in particular wouldn’t quit in Game 6. He collected 23 of his 35 points in the second half, keeping Toronto within superficial striking distance until the fourth quarter. That’s something.

But the outcome of Game 6, just like this entire series, was never really in doubt. 

James did his ultra-aggressive thing, finishing with 33 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and …

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