Donald Sterling has nothing to do with this, though it's clear while his pacemaker can't seem to govern the well of hate spewing from the old geezer's geyser, sounding more and more like an offspring of Livia Soprano and the Grand Wizard. And Adam Silver aced the first exam in his short tenure as league leader, a test even his predecessor never dreamed he'd have to take.
Phil Jackson's first loss as the New York Knicks' Zenmaster should remind him to keep centered as he searches for Steve Kerr's replacement as head coach. Perhaps the guy Kerr replaces, Mark Jackson, will step into the Triangle long enough to buy his new boss enough time to replace HIM. Maybe with himself? NBA fans would LOVE to see if Jackson has enough Buddha beads to do this, let alone pace the sideline at Madison Square Garden. Either way, the off-Broadway drama is good for the Association.
The damage isn't the sideshow. The NBA is always full of enough reality TV for a second network. Heck, some players' wives and exes are cashing on shows of their own.
The problem? You called it.
If you predicted a final four featuring Miami, Indiana, San Antone' and OKC, it shows the league didn't change much from 2013. Hacks always go with the proverbial chalk the way novices pick the Kentucky Derby winner at The Preakness. Memphis beating Oklahoma City last year was a fluke and most know with Kevin Durant ranked as the NBA's consensus No. 2, there was little chance Thunder would strike twice against the 2014 MVP, even with Russell Westbrook pretending he's Kobe Bryant.
Pro basketball is pretty predictable. Even a case for the Los Angeles Clippers making the NBA Finals isn't considered a stretch. The NBA's salary cap, limited coaching, and drawn-out playoff series drag the league down a wasteland of two rounds of six and seven-game series where even fans of upset-winners from the first round know they'll be swallowing their Mylanta in gulps by the second. And even those who think they have a chance are at the mercy of needing one upset victory to change the series, which is washed away as soon as the better team returns the insult.
Occasionally, one team will suprise everyone, like the 2013 Grizzlies, for a little while, before getting put to bed by either the Spurs or El Heat. But if you're a casual fan waiting for the 1999 St. Louis Rams or the 2003 Florida Marlins, the NBA is not the league for you. And sadly, the best place to cultivate new fans would be college hoops, where teams like Connecticut, Wichita State or Butler routinely shock the experts. And the one-and-done rule hardly garners enough carryover from those who use college ball to stump their "Love of the Game" arguments.
Want help?
Cut the number of playoff teams from 16 to eight. Incentify fans and teams to try to win home court advantage and actually make each game worth watching instead of YouTubing highlights or waiting for May to actually watch. Of course, revenue stands in the way of the CBA allowing this. Well, extend your season by two or three weeks. And, for more drama, take a page from Major League Baseball and have a pair of play-in games--one for each conference.
Second, remove the teeth from the salary cap the way Doc Rivers & Co. may want to knock Donald Sterling's dentures from it's Super Poligrip. The Association is built on stars, but if they remain put, other franchises could take years and several coaches to recover. They'll improve slowly, but they'll never offer that thrill of a worst-to-first catapult that captivates even fringe fans.
And finally, do what the NFL has done and make players wait three years before declaring for the draft. College players who create buzz in March are often forgotten by June after the lottery picks are snatched-up. If the best instruction is in college--and it is; they HAVE to listen--then wouldn't the league do better with well-seasoned players bringing something besides raw talent and hood ornament-sized chips on their shoulders?
The NBA isn't great. Yes, it's just the best basketball in the world, but we don't know any better because we've never seen anything better. What if Adam Silver decided to use imagination? David Stern didn't make the league better; the players did. Remember, Stern-O! was the guy who faught the Dream Team assembling back in 1992 and reaps the rewards of the profit and globalization of his product as if he coached Jordan, Magic and Bird to the gold medal.
Orlando Magic fans and the faithful of the Boston Celtics still imagine the courses their respective franchises would have taken had either signed Tim Duncan when they had the chance. Now imagine a professional basketball league where that not only would be possible, but become the norm for generations to come. College players with two or three years of experience and discipline bringing their respective followings to the pros, resurrecting once great franchises with the opportunities to go from worst-to-first, making writers eat their playoff picks by All-Star weekend.
Nah. You'll only get that in the NFL. Maybe that's why they can overcome concussions, murder trials, spousal abuse and PED use as if it never happens, while the NBA still hangs it's banner on LeBron, hoping he never goes the way of Derrick Rose.
Because if that ever happens, there will be no Silver lining to that problem, the way the new commish magically whisked away Donald Sterling.
Pro basketball is pretty predictable. Even a case for the Los Angeles Clippers making the NBA Finals isn't considered a stretch. The NBA's salary cap, limited coaching, and drawn-out playoff series drag the league down a wasteland of two rounds of six and seven-game series where even fans of upset-winners from the first round know they'll be swallowing their Mylanta in gulps by the second. And even those who think they have a chance are at the mercy of needing one upset victory to change the series, which is washed away as soon as the better team returns the insult.
Occasionally, one team will suprise everyone, like the 2013 Grizzlies, for a little while, before getting put to bed by either the Spurs or El Heat. But if you're a casual fan waiting for the 1999 St. Louis Rams or the 2003 Florida Marlins, the NBA is not the league for you. And sadly, the best place to cultivate new fans would be college hoops, where teams like Connecticut, Wichita State or Butler routinely shock the experts. And the one-and-done rule hardly garners enough carryover from those who use college ball to stump their "Love of the Game" arguments.
Want help?
Cut the number of playoff teams from 16 to eight. Incentify fans and teams to try to win home court advantage and actually make each game worth watching instead of YouTubing highlights or waiting for May to actually watch. Of course, revenue stands in the way of the CBA allowing this. Well, extend your season by two or three weeks. And, for more drama, take a page from Major League Baseball and have a pair of play-in games--one for each conference.
Second, remove the teeth from the salary cap the way Doc Rivers & Co. may want to knock Donald Sterling's dentures from it's Super Poligrip. The Association is built on stars, but if they remain put, other franchises could take years and several coaches to recover. They'll improve slowly, but they'll never offer that thrill of a worst-to-first catapult that captivates even fringe fans.
And finally, do what the NFL has done and make players wait three years before declaring for the draft. College players who create buzz in March are often forgotten by June after the lottery picks are snatched-up. If the best instruction is in college--and it is; they HAVE to listen--then wouldn't the league do better with well-seasoned players bringing something besides raw talent and hood ornament-sized chips on their shoulders?
The NBA isn't great. Yes, it's just the best basketball in the world, but we don't know any better because we've never seen anything better. What if Adam Silver decided to use imagination? David Stern didn't make the league better; the players did. Remember, Stern-O! was the guy who faught the Dream Team assembling back in 1992 and reaps the rewards of the profit and globalization of his product as if he coached Jordan, Magic and Bird to the gold medal.
Orlando Magic fans and the faithful of the Boston Celtics still imagine the courses their respective franchises would have taken had either signed Tim Duncan when they had the chance. Now imagine a professional basketball league where that not only would be possible, but become the norm for generations to come. College players with two or three years of experience and discipline bringing their respective followings to the pros, resurrecting once great franchises with the opportunities to go from worst-to-first, making writers eat their playoff picks by All-Star weekend.
Nah. You'll only get that in the NFL. Maybe that's why they can overcome concussions, murder trials, spousal abuse and PED use as if it never happens, while the NBA still hangs it's banner on LeBron, hoping he never goes the way of Derrick Rose.
Because if that ever happens, there will be no Silver lining to that problem, the way the new commish magically whisked away Donald Sterling.
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