Let the ‘Real’ Madness begin

Basketball, Major Sports

Posted by Little SK, April 12, 2008 - 5:16 pm

It happens every year…

Dueling columnists and bloggers make their cases for the supremacy of either college basketball or the NBA. Look how exciting March Madness is, the NCAA-ers say. Look how freely and purely college athletes play the game, they screech.

Blah, blah, blah.

This year, NBA apologists (like me, if you couldn’t already tell) have a real case . ESPN, Yahoo and other sites were alive with ‘enjoy the Tourney, but don’t forget about the best basketball being played!’ columns. In the past, college ball types had one crutch to lean on. Yes, they granted, the actual level of basketball being played in the NBA is better and more sophisticated. But the players don’t care, the refs suck, there are too many boring games even in the playoffs, and teams that are out of it openly tank (okay so that’s quite a few crutches). You can’t expect the fans to really care or be invested in that. And you know what, they were probably right. The late 90’s and early 00’s featured quite a few NBA seasons where the product was atrocious.

(Never mind that during the college basketball regular season, and even the early rounds of the tourney, there are always big name universities blowing out obscure small schools, and every other game features teenagers sprinting around turning the ball over and bricking three after three to fight to an “exciting” 63-58 finish. Apparently just a few good games in March completely absolves any other suckitude in the college game, but a few fantastic NBA games doesn’t do anything to absolve the crapfests that inevitably occur in an eight month long regular season and playoff. Damn, I told myself this post WASN’T going to rehash the same arguments, back on track Little SK, back on track).

Over the past few years, though, the NBA has worked itself back. The rookie salary cap, new offense-friendly rules, and an amazing influx of talent have made the pros infinitely more exciting to watch than the amateurs. Last year, it looked like the league took a giant step back when a crappy season was capped off by the Spurs sweeping the Cavs in the Finals, but this year proved it was just an aberration. Around the time that UCLA was squeaking by Texas A&M in the tourney by a score of 51-49 (51-49!?! Are you kidding me? In 40 minutes of basketball? The Suns and Warriors could do that in less than a quarter. The fact that UCLA made the Final Four tells you all you need to know about the inferiority of college ball. Damn, I did it again, sorry) the Western Conference began the most competitive playoff push ever. The stakes have been higher and the teams have been playing with more urgency than I’ve ever seen before in any sport. Every game is like a game 7 and we’re about to wrap it up by throwing the best eight teams into the Octagon to see who comes out with least amount of blood on them. Let the games begin.

*****

It happens every year.

My relationship with the NBA, and with the Mavericks in particular, could generously be described as “unhealthy” (it could also be less generously described as “schizophrenic”). Despite my passion for the league, I routinely sour on the NBA for some reason or another. An ugly Detroit-San Antonio slugfest, an historic Mav collapse, and a referee scandal are a few of the most recent bumps in the road. But just like Mikey Corleone in his old age, I always get pulled back in. Whether it’s a Mavs-Suns double OT roller-coaster, or an AI 50 point explosion, something always reels me in, rekindling my passion. This year, the Mavs’ looked cooked. We were mediocre at best with Jason Kidd and couldn’t seem to break through in this year’s hyper competitive West. I, like many others, had written them off, especially when Dirk went down with a high ankle sprain AND a knee sprain.

But, in a goofy German imitation of Willis Reed, Dirk made a triumphant and unexpected return against the hated Warriors (led by Dirk’s Obi-Wan, Don Nelson) after missing just four games. Operating at 75%, Dirk scored 18 points and inspired the rest of the team to one of their most complete victories of the season. After losing another close one to the Lakers, Dirk dropped 32 and 12 in a vintage clutch performance on the road against the Suns. All of this reached its zenith Thursday night against the Jazz, when the Diggler put the finishing touches on the most exciting win of the season (see below, it’s too bad TNT elected to broadcast the Lakers-Clippers game instead of this one, what the hell?!).

And just like that, I’m back on the wagon. Dirk’s Wolverine-like healing power has taken us fans to a higher place. He’s back with a sneering, tongue-baring, jersey-untucking attitude, and is playing with the same refuse-to-lose fire in his eyes he played with two years ago. My Mavs are clicking on all cylinders and maybe, just maybe, we’ll be the giant killers this year.

*****

It’s happening this year.

So you’re not a Mavs fan. Why should you watch the NBA over the next few weeks? How about the ageless Allen Iverson, (my all time favorite non-Mav player) who at 32 years old still plays with the same reckless abandon he played with at 22, saving the Nuggets’ season by playing all 48 minutes Thursday against the Warriors? You want players who care? How about Kevin Garnett, the $120 million superstar who damn near kills himself on every single possession of every single game, leading an historic turnaround for the Celtics? You want unselfish basketball played the “right” way? How about Chris Paul in New Orleans who is putting together the best season ever by a point guard? That’s right, EVER. He’s putting up some staggering numbers: 21.1 points per game while shooting 49% from the field. He leads the league with 11.6 assists per game to only 2.5 turnovers while playing 37 minutes. Think about that for a second, he has the ball in his hands for the majority of every single offensive possession for 37 minutes a game, and in those 37 minutes, turns it over ONLY 2.5 TIMES. The rest of the time he’s passing to a teammate for an easy score, or shooting himself (which he makes half the time). Oh, by the way, he also leads the league in steals with 2.7 per game. That’s staggering, are you staggered yet? You should be.
You should also want to see what kind of damage CP3 can do in the playoffs.

I could go on and on, but if you like basketball, or even if you have just a passing interest, take some time to catch the playoffs this year. You won’t regret it.

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