Feb
13, 2001
NBA
BASKETBALL Article
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Random
Musings from the Sofa By
HOWIE
As
the NBA season rounds the halfway mark and Bulls fans start looking towards
the draft (must be karma for all those rings that MJ- er - Jerry Krause
brought you in the 90's), I find myself pondering some of hoop's eternal
questions.
Will
the same GM's around the league who keep complaining about the declining
skills of young players and the need for them to stay in college ever stop
drafting kids straight out of high school? (The answer to this question
is of course "no" as scouts for all teams will soon be required to carry
packs of Pampers for potential draft picks.)
Will
this be the year that Scottie Pippen proves he can win a championship without
Michael? Given Portland's current standing atop the West, only a
Game Seven Western Conference Finals-style choke would seem to stand between
Scottie and another piece of jewelry. Given the caliber of the team he's
on, however, even if Scottie does get another ring don't expect the critics
to give him much credit.
Does
Stephon Marbury ever think about what might have been if he had stayed
in Minnesota with Kevin Garnett? Garnett has managed to keep his
team a contender almost single-handedly, something which Steph has failed
miserably to do in the New Jersey swampland. There is no doubting
Marbury's talent. But has he learned that while being number one
ensures you get all the credit when you win, you also have to shoulder
the blame when you lose? Given he has started referring to himself
as "Starbury" and has recently fired his agent for failing to secure enough
high-profile endorsement deals, we're betting that he hasn't quite made
that connection yet.
Who
is the "next-Jordan"? We're now into our third season without his
Gatorade-ness and there still appears to be no single clear-cut contender
for the crown. But maybe that's the answer. Do you think Bill
Russell would have been as much fun to watch if he wasn't going against
Wilt Chamberlain? And you can't mention Larry Bird without Magic
Johnson. Maybe we should be looking for the next duo rather than
a single star. Duncan versus Shaq seems like a nice place to start.
Or how about Iverson versus Carter? Kobe versus Jamison? Or maybe even
Felton Spencer and Greg Ostertag? OK, that was a bit silly, but you
get my drift. Time will tell.
Will
the continued improvement of Euro-stars Dirk Nowitzki and Predrag Stojakovic
finally explode the myth that players born outside the United States are
incapable of doing anything but shoot? Stojakovic and Nowitzki have improved
on both ends of the floor and have become go-to-guys for their teams.
Hopefully this is a sign that more and more international players will
start to play major roles in the NBA rather than just being considered
bench-fodder. Fans want to see the best players in the world, not just
the US.
Will
the Western Conference Finals really be the NBA Finals? Most experts
are predicting that whoever comes out of the West will all but waltz to
the championship. Can anyone from the East match-up against the power
of the West? Let's save time on this one. The West is best
and that's final (the result of the All-Star Game not withstanding).
Should
the NBA consider allowing zone defences? There is a lot of talk that the
illegal defense rules are outdated and that the league should just allow
zones (which many teams are already employing in various disguises).
Are these the same people who have been complaining for the last few years
about the decline in scoring? Given that the league has spent the last
few seasons looking at ways to increase scoring, it seems like a backwards
step to give defences even more latitude than they currently enjoy.
I mean, who - other than Mike Fratello - really wants to see the Knicks
and Heat combine for less than 100 points anyway?
Is
the new generation of NBA stars really as self-centered and egotistical
as people would have you believe? When the people complaining about
the "lack of respect" for the game of the new breed are the likes of Gary
Payton and Charles Barkley, you'll have to forgive us if we take the comments
with enough salt to block a T-Rex's arteries.
Is
Jeff Van Gundy considering following Dennis Rodman's lead in pursuing a
career in pro-wrestling? Van Gundy has once again shown a propensity
for getting involved in on-court fisticuffs so the next logical step would
seem to be for him to don the tights and head to the WWF. After the
Alonzo Mourning leg-humping incident and the recent Marcus Camby Liverpool
kiss, Van Gundy appears poised to take on the wrestling world's best.
Camby apparently supports Van Gundy's career change and even grabbed a
courtside chair WCW-style himself following his altercation with Danny
Ferry. First the XFL and now the XBA?
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