The boys are back in town
After a too-long hiatus, we welcome back the NBA
Posted: Thursday February 04, 1999 12:26 PM
Nearly eight months after Michael Jordan swished a sweet stroke to finish his beautiful career, the NBA is back.
Fans are convulsed in apathy. TV networks are nervous as a chocolate chip cookie in front of Shawn Kemp. The players themselves -- at least a lot of them -- are about as ready for this as the Falcons were for the Super Bowl.
Yes, the NBA has returned, warts and all.
But enough about Latrell Sprewell.
We have something to say.
For all the problems the NBA has, for all the hurt you knucklehead owners and players caused, for all the utter nonsense we had to listen to since Jordan jumped his way into legendry ... we forgive you.
We missed you.
Welcome back.
It's cool these days to dis the NBA, to rip David Stern and Billy Hunter, to rag on all the millionaire players who complain of the hardships they face. Apathy is where it's at, if you're a fan.
If you're really ticked off, you might even take to knocking the game itself. You know: You don't have to watch it until the last two minutes. It's all slam dunks. There's no defense. The players don't try. It's all about the name on the back of the uniform, not the name on front.
And this one: Without Michael, who cares?
Fact is, there's a lot to love about the game, even a game without The Greatest Player Who Ever Lived.
It's time for a little loving.
For pure athleticism, there are no better players in the world. When you put 10 of them on the same court, it's a symphony of speed and grace and strength unsurpassed by any other professional game.
If you don't marvel at an Allen Iverson crossover, you just don't know. If you aren't thrilled at the skills of Shaquille O'Neal, if a Jason Kidd bounce pass doesn't bring you to your feet, you simply don't realize what it takes. In every NBA game, whether it's the first week or the Finals, there are plays that constantly amaze.
Those who call it boring are those unschooled in the finer points of the game. The ebb and flow of an NBA game is entrancing, the subtleties sublime. Moving without the ball. Boxing out. Screening. The pick-and-roll. The backdoor play. The triangle offense. Trash-talking.
Even the moves of a coach -- matching his players to the defense, forcing the opposing offense to react to his defense, substituting, clock management, working the referees -- can be fascinating for those who know how, and what, to watch.
There are baseball fans who will talk for hours on the finer points of the double switch, who drone on about playing the percentages, who will point out the seemingly endless moves of infielders on a squeeze bunt. The NBA has the same type of games-behind-the-game, for those who care to learn.
When do you press, and when do you trap? Do you send that player to his right or his left? Do you want to front the opposing center or play behind him? When? With whom?
Sure, there are dog games in the NBA. But did you ever try to sit through a Milwaukee Brewers game in August? A St. Louis Rams game in December?
A Tampa Bay Lightning game any time?
We're not here to compare sports, just to point out that the NBA, for all its troubles, deserves a place as one of the best games around.
Don't get this wrong: The league deserves all the criticism it so doggedly earned for the lockout. Many of the players and owners, too, deserve a good earful for all the stupidness of this too-long off-season.
The game and the people who play it have plenty to work on. There are too many bad guys in the NBA. There are too many timeouts. Tickets are too expensive, players too aloof. Arenas are too loud, and so are many players.
But the beauty and rightness of the game itself can't be denied.
Maybe the players and the owners, after losing millions of dollars during the lockout, should remember that. Maybe they should realize that the fans who come back -- however many or few there are -- are there because of the game, in spite of the NBA.
It's really very simple. Pro basketball is fantastic, especially for those who know the game.
It's the NBA that's screwed up.
Welcome back. To the both of you.
John Donovan is senior writer for CNNSI.com.
Comments? To e-mail Donovan, click here.
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