Super Rich (in another post) is dead on saying the league has lost luster and respect in any purists eye ... Zeke, Oscar, Russell, Clyde, Bing, Jabbar, Wes all had a certain unarguable dignity, savior faire .. then the wave of MJ, Bird, Doc J, Magic, Akeem, Stockton, came into league perpetuating it ...
whats happened, at least to my despair, is now not only is the hyped $$ destructive to players work ethic and deportment, but owners have to gouge fans in the pocket book ... Check the seats, see who's going to these games? Low income? kids? hardly ... You need a fortune to witness the Cavs @ Bulls from a decent perch... Who'll pay that dough?--only suckers & idiots who don't know the game; or wannabe-seen Yuppies toting eye candy on their arms; or spoiled suburban kids who feature 20 pairs of Nikes in their walk-in closets ...
Further, the HS kids coming out for draft have taken it over the top for me, NONE OF THEM EVER CONTRIBUTE off the bat ... Garnett developed quicker than any, but he was a 19 year-old HS sr.
From Kobe to T Mac on down, the HS kids had either mighty struggles, terrible egos, or initially hated the NBA life (T Mac was so homesick he never left the hotels his rookie year)... The Wizards Kwame Brown, prime example, is completely lost on D. he has no post moves, and is a basket case of potential that coulda perfected in college for a couple years ... Sean Kemp is a player that deteriorated faster than anyone I've ever seen--he mightve been the 2nd best player in the league during the Sonics Finals run--then PHHTT!!
These young kids need some type of policing if the NBA hopes to flourish in the minds of people who truly understand the game ... Why can't the NBA do what the NFL does and make these kids wait and mature? Stern doesn't care, he smugly rakes in his fat contact and prays the lemmings keep paying $500 a seat for regular season garbage games ... Stern is someone who gets more undeserved kudos than anyone I have ever known in sports. He happened into the league at its inchoate, halcyon times, and reaped bounty of untold wealth and credit ... He should give 90% of his salary to MJ and the original Dream Teamers (not to mention charity) ... A marketing genius, c'mon, George Castanza would've duplicated Stern's feats (and Im not saying hes an moron, etc. Just that he's still getting by the myopic and pushing party line dogma: "This is the greatest game in the world," while ostensibly kicking tires that need to be replaced.
You know why the NBA allowed zones this year? No one wants to admit it, but IMO it's b/c the Europeans were playing the game better than the USA's 1-on-1, talk head crap basketball that had plummeted team scoring to world cup totals .. How many 83-77 NBA playoff games can any of you recall prior to 1996 or so ...
And why can't they score? Well it leads back to the international segue, Americans dont pass and cut anymore, not like the old Nuggets with alex english and company (or Bobby Jones from Mo Cheeks), instead they clear out a side and tell Iverson to beat everyone, and he ends up tossing in an off-balance shot every 3rd try and the announcers wet themselves saying how resourceful he is, b/c Stern wants to promote the star and not the team, b/c it worked for Bird/Magic and MJ ... It worked cuz they were 3 of the best, grittiest, most cerebral players in the game's history--these other pretenders arent
European players pass and shoot better than Americans. That was proved over and over the last time the USA tried to beat them in a world venue--and thats why the zones were allowed, to promote team ball and put a premium back on the perimeter--anything to get the buzz of "NBA ball is boring" out of Stern's ears ...
But its not that simple, it starts at the grassroots, where guys like Sonny Vacarro try to get Lebron James to forego his Sr. year in HS and play in Italy (Vacarro, is a whole another story I wont go into, but hes helped ruin the game as much as anyone; "Hey, lets give shoes to 14 year-olds and tell them how great they are and maybe one day we'll hit the Grail again like MJ." Word up, Vacarro, their ain't gonna ever be another MJ cuz of scum like you circumvent the maturation and spiritual process. And if there is, it's b/c he veered away from your mind poison of superstardom gained w/o riding a garbage truck like Magic did with his Pops.)
I know I'm all over the board here, I could stitch this up and make it more coherent, but overall the NBA is in shambles. Discerning posters here call it a ref conspiracy, etc. I'm not going there as much as saying, the game is messed up internally b/c the higher ups are making their cabbage and the players are too and no one wants their cobbler sub-divided ... Do drugs, rape, beat women, dont come to practice, kill people, sweep it under the rug, yet the swallows will return to Capistrano (this baseball strike will be a harbinger.)
Its an arms race, avarice pushing the public away from the turnstiles (and especially alienating their hearts), yet they--the spin doctors like Stern--still make their buck ... Armageddon of sorts is on the horizon, and the Piper will be paid.
thanx for reading this rambling dissertation,
pt1gard
whats happened, at least to my despair, is now not only is the hyped $$ destructive to players work ethic and deportment, but owners have to gouge fans in the pocket book ... Check the seats, see who's going to these games? Low income? kids? hardly ... You need a fortune to witness the Cavs @ Bulls from a decent perch... Who'll pay that dough?--only suckers & idiots who don't know the game; or wannabe-seen Yuppies toting eye candy on their arms; or spoiled suburban kids who feature 20 pairs of Nikes in their walk-in closets ...
Further, the HS kids coming out for draft have taken it over the top for me, NONE OF THEM EVER CONTRIBUTE off the bat ... Garnett developed quicker than any, but he was a 19 year-old HS sr.
From Kobe to T Mac on down, the HS kids had either mighty struggles, terrible egos, or initially hated the NBA life (T Mac was so homesick he never left the hotels his rookie year)... The Wizards Kwame Brown, prime example, is completely lost on D. he has no post moves, and is a basket case of potential that coulda perfected in college for a couple years ... Sean Kemp is a player that deteriorated faster than anyone I've ever seen--he mightve been the 2nd best player in the league during the Sonics Finals run--then PHHTT!!
These young kids need some type of policing if the NBA hopes to flourish in the minds of people who truly understand the game ... Why can't the NBA do what the NFL does and make these kids wait and mature? Stern doesn't care, he smugly rakes in his fat contact and prays the lemmings keep paying $500 a seat for regular season garbage games ... Stern is someone who gets more undeserved kudos than anyone I have ever known in sports. He happened into the league at its inchoate, halcyon times, and reaped bounty of untold wealth and credit ... He should give 90% of his salary to MJ and the original Dream Teamers (not to mention charity) ... A marketing genius, c'mon, George Castanza would've duplicated Stern's feats (and Im not saying hes an moron, etc. Just that he's still getting by the myopic and pushing party line dogma: "This is the greatest game in the world," while ostensibly kicking tires that need to be replaced.
You know why the NBA allowed zones this year? No one wants to admit it, but IMO it's b/c the Europeans were playing the game better than the USA's 1-on-1, talk head crap basketball that had plummeted team scoring to world cup totals .. How many 83-77 NBA playoff games can any of you recall prior to 1996 or so ...
And why can't they score? Well it leads back to the international segue, Americans dont pass and cut anymore, not like the old Nuggets with alex english and company (or Bobby Jones from Mo Cheeks), instead they clear out a side and tell Iverson to beat everyone, and he ends up tossing in an off-balance shot every 3rd try and the announcers wet themselves saying how resourceful he is, b/c Stern wants to promote the star and not the team, b/c it worked for Bird/Magic and MJ ... It worked cuz they were 3 of the best, grittiest, most cerebral players in the game's history--these other pretenders arent
European players pass and shoot better than Americans. That was proved over and over the last time the USA tried to beat them in a world venue--and thats why the zones were allowed, to promote team ball and put a premium back on the perimeter--anything to get the buzz of "NBA ball is boring" out of Stern's ears ...
But its not that simple, it starts at the grassroots, where guys like Sonny Vacarro try to get Lebron James to forego his Sr. year in HS and play in Italy (Vacarro, is a whole another story I wont go into, but hes helped ruin the game as much as anyone; "Hey, lets give shoes to 14 year-olds and tell them how great they are and maybe one day we'll hit the Grail again like MJ." Word up, Vacarro, their ain't gonna ever be another MJ cuz of scum like you circumvent the maturation and spiritual process. And if there is, it's b/c he veered away from your mind poison of superstardom gained w/o riding a garbage truck like Magic did with his Pops.)
I know I'm all over the board here, I could stitch this up and make it more coherent, but overall the NBA is in shambles. Discerning posters here call it a ref conspiracy, etc. I'm not going there as much as saying, the game is messed up internally b/c the higher ups are making their cabbage and the players are too and no one wants their cobbler sub-divided ... Do drugs, rape, beat women, dont come to practice, kill people, sweep it under the rug, yet the swallows will return to Capistrano (this baseball strike will be a harbinger.)
Its an arms race, avarice pushing the public away from the turnstiles (and especially alienating their hearts), yet they--the spin doctors like Stern--still make their buck ... Armageddon of sorts is on the horizon, and the Piper will be paid.
thanx for reading this rambling dissertation,
pt1gard
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