It’s a brave
new world out there. Incorporated with that has come evolution. Nonetheless,
time has proven that basketball is more than just a game. It’s a lifestyle,
not just for NBA players, but thousands upon millions of people world-wide.
Back in the day, basketball was a finesstic (editor's note: finesstic!)
sport featuring the old school legends everyone remembers. Now you’ve got
high schoolers looking to be the same thing. But what is the difference?
Is it skills? Is it competition? Or is it just the dawning of a new era?
Basketball is a science. Its chemistry is always changing. In today’s game,
speed and size are valued more than talent and intangibles. Star-studded
names are preferred over low-key, workaholic ones. The Ray Allens of this
league take a backseat to the Kobe Bryants. Why? Why is there so much favortism
to be spread to just one particular group of players? Because they all
share one thing in common: they can adjust to today’s game.
I’m not sure
what to think of next year. By all means, I hate knowing that when I wake
up on Sunday morning, I can expect to see Larry Johnson and Elden Campbell
lighting up the scoreboard. But maybe I’m looking at this the wrong way.
Maybe, the zone defense will do the NBA a whole lot of good. Maybe, just
maybe, we’ll see a new wave of talent spread through like the flu epidemic
back in WWI that would have never been seen otherwise. Guys like Mike Miller,
Shawn Marion, Brian Grant, guys we already know are talented, will now
get the opportunity to be the superstars of the league. Maybe it will blow
up in the league’s face. Maybe it won’t change anything. Then again, maybe
it will be just what the league needs to revive the spirit of basketball.
One thing’s
for sure. The game is going to change. Or is it? An NBA head coach would
be a fool not to institute zone sets for this upcoming season, since there
will surely be a team that relies heavily on this new allowance. But will
the winning teams be the ones transitioning to the zone defense, or the
ones who stray from it? The obedient, seasoned teams like the Spurs and
Jazz would be hard-pressed to find themselves atop the mountain of this
league trying to outrun the Bulls, Magic, and Suns; after all, are you
going to even try and tell Karl Malone that he now has to run out on the
perimeter to guard Jason Kidd for the sole reason that Chris Dudley couldn’t
hit a post shot to save what free throw shot he has? Me neither.
With all the
big men such as Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler, Kwame Brown, Brendan Haywood,
and Loren Woods joining elite ranks this upcoming season, more questions
arise. How does NBA brass expect this league to become more exciting when
the average NBA player is getting larger? Big men are on such high demand,
that guys like Erick Strickland would receive the minimum just so Evan
Eschmeyer, a seven footer, could get the extra millions. This is not right.
In fact, this is corruption in a sense. Who wants to see Bryant Reeves
and Isaac Austin holding back Mike Bibby and Michael Dickerson? Not me.
In other words, Oliver Miller out, Keon Clark in.
Floor expansion
is long overdue. There’s barely room to breathe on the far corners of the
court, let alone position yourself for a three-pointer. If teams still
insist on grabbing bigger players, then compensate that with more court
room. Players give you your revenue, David Stern, you can give them three
more feet.
Everybody talks
about where Chris Webber, Michael Finley, and Dikembe Mutombo will go.
Certainly, whoever receives their services next season will be happy men.
But what about the other guys? You know who I’m talking about - Clarence
Weatherspoon, Eddie Robinson, Nazr Mohammed, Aaron McKie, those guys. Every
team has a stallion that does all the dirty work and gets no credit; whoever
gets Cedric Ceballos will be getting one of the biggest steals of this
year’s free agency, considering that the third and fourth options of every
offense will now be one of the X-factors.
There’s so
much beauty in the NBA. Sometimes I forget that I’m watching the best players
in the world. Then again, maybe it’s reasonable to forget that fact. After
all, I’d be glad to switch salaries with Sam Cassell. Next year should
be a year of truth. The new zone defense will be immediately accepted or
rejected. What kind of impact will it have on the game, and furthermore,
the younger players of today’s society? Think about that for a while.
I think I hear
Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill, Darrell Armstrong, and Mike Miller calling me
to come join a game with them. Who knows, I might pick up a few points.
