Come and see

While the story of this NBA playoffs was made last night, with LeBron nailing the biggest shot of his life and probably the Cavs franchise, the bigger story -- which touches any and all fans of basketball -- is that this is an amazing Conference Finals.

Both series are 1-1, but what's more is there are no Spurs or Pistons -- faceless, defense-heavy monsters -- grinding out 90-89 wins. We have four superstars leading their teams to high levels of excellence.

The Four Horsemen of the NBA Apocalypse.


Revelation Six, King James (of course) version:

¹And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

²And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

The first horsemen, Conquest, is LeBron James. Last night's "Jordan over Ehlo" moment is his crowning. Forget the Championship, which now looks like it won't be easy, this moment is historic. Win, lose or draw, LeBron James has his first of many huge moments in the playoffs.

And still he is going forth, conquering.

³And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

⁴And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

Carmelo Anthony, leader of the manic Nuggets, is the second horsemen, War. The Nuggets have slaughtered their way through the playoffs to this point, led by oft-overlooked superstar Anthony. Before each series were tied 1-1, the Nuggets were seen as the threat to the inevitable Kobe/Bron finals, an agent of chaos in a predestined land.

And the reason is Anthony has finally reached his full potential, nipping at the heels of the current poster boys of the league. He carries a great sword, a skill set that is unmatched by anyone except Kobe. His scoring is so easy, so effortless, it's a joy to watch. Beating LA will take peace from this Earth.

⁵And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

⁶And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

In the wake of War comes Famine. Dwight Howard represents Famine, carrying the balance of the NBA with him. While the Magic rely on the three as much as Howard, with a huge game, Howard tips the scales of the Cleveland/Orlando series, with the chance to eliminate the NBA's prodigal son.

Howard is also clearly the most raw of the stars in the Conference Finals, a feast or famine player who can dominate or disappear from game to game, even quarter to quarter. And after Famine comes...

⁷And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

⁸And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

"Hell followed him" has never described an NBA player better than Kobe Bryant. This is his last, best shot at an NBA title. He is facing a star who may actually be better than him (Melo) and the King looms. He has 2-3 years at a high level of play, which will slowly deteriorate with each season and each deep playoff series.

And yet he still has the power to kill with the sword, hunger, death and the beasts of the Earth. He is still an assassin, a player with a killer instinct who can close games unlike any other. His team is also as talented and deep as any other and led by a legendary coach. This is his time.

It is rare we see teams this talented, this evenly matched, and led by such compelling superstars, meet at the apex of competition. So forget about the dream matchup of Kobe/Bron and enjoy these Conference Finals.