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PHOENIX<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Where\u2019s LeBron James? Where are the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors? Where Brooklyn at? And while we\u2019re asking important questions about the NBA Finals we once knew or thought they would be, where\u2019s June?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The basketball comfort zone is all disrupted here in July of 2021, where the NBA championship round brings a change of flavor and on some levels a more refreshing one at that. There are new teams and players to crown, new cities to feel the jolt of euphoria or the depth of sorrow, new legacies and history to create.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is there anything wrong with that? Absolutely not. Nobody has dibs on the Lawrence O\u2019Brien Trophy, much as LeBron gave that impression over the last decade, and so that chunk of gold will look just as snug in the embrace of Chris Paul or Giannis Antetokounmpo, and their tears of victory will drip just the same.https:\/\/watch.nba.com\/embed?id=1346463&autostart=false&mute=true<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shaq, Kenny and Chuck make their Finals predictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s the beauty of what\u2019s about to unfurl over the next few weeks. The Phoenix Suns have never won a championship in their 53 years, while the Milwaukee Bucks haven\u2019t since 1971. The Suns had several postseason opportunities that were ruined \u2014 the Valley still holds a spot in hell for Robert Horry and his felonious hip check of Steve Nash in 2007<\/a> \u2014 while the Bucks owned the best record in the NBA over the previous two seasons with nothing to show for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, and there\u2019s also the two marketable stars of this series and how they\u2019re desperately gunning for their first championships. Paul is the sympathetic favorite because of his length of NBA service and sustained greatness over those 16 years. Antetokounmpo owns a recent pair of Kia MVPs and you\u2019d think a player with his level of excellence can\u2019t be denied the grand prize much longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Crazy thing is, both the Suns and Bucks are deserving and due, because of their combined decades of failing to get this far and because of how they arrived this season. Suns vs. Bucks wasn\u2019t an accidental trip. This was the result of growth and important additions to the mix and mapped-out destinations that seemed inevitable as the playoffs progressed and these two teams separated themselves from the pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n