NBA BASKETBALL
Exposing Some Myths
<December 6, 2001>

By Louis Sears

If an inane comment receives sufficient repetition, somehow it becomes accepted as fact, although it is clearly a moronic statement. Although the statement remains devoid of reason, fans suck it up as announcers and pundits offer fallacious reasoning instead of the obvious truth. At times it becomes necessary to break the subliminal message and awaken the fan to the truth and not the mindless ramblings that pass for insightful commentary and reasoned explanation because fans senses have been dulled by the onslaught of the repetitive remarks. The myth that shall be tackled and shown the light of day, while raising the consciousness of the fan, will be the myth that a team with a slow big man does not have the athleticism to fast break. The team we shall use to demonstrate this point will be the Portland Trail Blazers who last year saw their star player Rasheed Wallace receive more technical fouls during the season than the team had fast breaks.

The team and pundits blames the lack of fast breaks last season on having a center slower than Patrick Ewing, in the lumbering seven footer Arvydas Sabonis. As if a slow center holds back the fast break, as if the center brings the ball down the court. As if the Blazers have three octogenarians in Sabonis, Steve Smith at shooting guard and Scottie Pippen at small forward had no influence on the ability to fast break. The perception created has been the center should be leading the fast break instead of merely rebounding and passing the ball to the wing players on the move and remaining back to play defense against a possible counter fast break.

As opposed to the current season where the team appears to be on a constant sugar high and attempting to fast break after every rebound despite having an impish center in Dale Davis. Despite not seeing Davis run the floor on the fast break, pundits attribute the Blazers fast break up-tempo game to the fact they no longer have the slug moving Sabonis. Instead the the reason for the fast break could best be understood because the Blazers swapped out the old and the sick wing young, fast and athletic players SG Derek Anderson and SF Rueben Patterson.

The Blazers replaced players that moved slower and creaked more than grandma with a couple of young guns. If Sabonis were still center their would be even more fast breaks because of Sabonis' superior rebounding. Patterson and Anderson would not wait for Sabonis but would merely want the ball quickly, unlike Smith or Pippen last season, who never had the energy or speed or desire to out run the opposing team and instead allowed the blame to fall on Sabonis for the lack of fast breaks and any up tempo on the offense.

In truth the center becomes superfluous when a team fast breaks in the offensive game and instead must remain back and play defense to counter the opposing teams fast break, not to mention it also allows the center and power forward a slight rest as they normally start the fast break by grabbing the rebound inside. The few times any center participates in the fast break the coaches cringe at the fear of possible injury or just that the big man will mishandle the ball. Coaches want the PG, SG, and SF running the fast break, the players with speed and ball handling abilities, not some lumbering center that lacks coordination and will likely trip over his size clown shoes and be on IR for the rest of the season.

Logic has been turned on its head, the Blazers do not run the fast break and up tempo this season because Sabonis has retired, but because the Blazers have replaced the players that walked up the court with players that run the fast break. If Sabonis were center, the team would have more fast break points because of the superior rebounding of Sabonis. Just having young athletic players does nothing for a team, as the LA Clippers proved for so many years, without having talented athletic players to run the fast break.

Time to get over the analysis that the Blazers have one of the most exciting teams this season because they no longer have molasses at center and instead point to the real reason, the Blazers surrounded the center and PF with players that have the talent and ability to run. The athleticism of the center does not determine if a team can run an up-tempo offense, but the backcourt and SF will dictate whether the team has the ability to be up beat or merely appear as beat up.