Don't get me wrong, to follow the NBA as much as me, you need a whole new level of commitment (insanity?). You need to drop $200 to watch every regular season game online. You need to actually sit down and watch two or three games every night. You need to frequent NBA blogs, ESPN.com, and other sites in search of nuggets (and Nuggets) yet unwitnessed. Those of us who treat the NBA like it's our lives often give up our lives in return.
But casual NBA fans have never been in a better position to enjoy the game. Don't take my word for it. Ask Blake Griffin.
Basketball is the perfect mix of pure grace and brute force. Soccer has never caught on in the US because of its lack of aggression and violence, despite the grace and athletic ability on display. Football is built on short bursts of violence, which in turn lead to long periods of inaction, often lasting two or three times as long as the action itself. Basketball meshes the two together, through violent dunks, hardnosed defense/blocks, and beautiful movement, passing, and teamwork.
No team wins when it isn't a team in basketball. In the 90's, after Larry Bird and Magic Johnson retired, a ridiculous amount of teams tried to follow Chicago's model for winning championships, in which one perimeter player dribbled out the shot clock in an isolation before trying to create a shot. These teams had apparently forgotten that the Bulls had MICHAEL FREAKING JORDAN playing for them, and everybody else, well, didn't. It made for bad offense. It made for final scores of 80-72. It made for bad basketball. But fortunately, for all of us, the NBA figured itself out.
For starters, let's put to rest the allegation that the NBA is full of players standing around on offense.
Putting aside the difficulty level of that assist...you can't put it aside? I don't blame you. Not only did Rajon Rondo know EXACTLY where Ray Allen was, but he was off balance and he still caught Allen DIRECTLY in his shooting rhythm. Now watch the clip again, try reeeeally hard not to watch Rondo, and instead watch the rest of the team. Exactly ONE player on offense didn't move during the clip...Allen, the guy who ended up swishing the three. He didn't move because, well, he was WIDE open. There was nobody within shouting distance of him. The rest of the team? Rotating and trying to create openings for each other. Turned out they didn't need to, Rondo had it under control.
Sure, the Celtics are known as a team with a ton of chemistry, who play as a team as a general rule. So let's talk about a team sporting the greatest individual basketball player in the world today.
So much for isolations. So much for superstars being unable to share. So much for one on one basketball. As a matter of fact, LeBron is averaging over 7 assists per game this year (two more than Jordan's career average). He is also 13th in the NBA in assists, the only non-point guard in the top 15. So if we may, let's just say so much for LeBron the selfish basketball player.
As for defense, it is becoming increasingly popular to be a great defensive team, since great defensive teams like Boston and Los Angeles keep winning NBA titles. As a unit, players are taking an incredible amount of pride in stopping the other team from scoring. And it's working. The team allowing the fewest points per game so far this season is Boston, who also happens to be the number one team in the Eastern Conference. Miami, Orlando, and Chicago are all in the top 6 in defense as well as being the top 4 teams in the Eastern conference. But it's also popular to be a top defensive stopper as an individual player. Take it away LeBron!
Many players take so much pride in the defensive end of the ball, they refuse to even allow players to score after a whistle, swatting away shots that are utterly meaningless. Dunks and layups are almost always contested. Defense is very much alive and kicking in the NBA. Don't believe me? Last year's NBA All Defensive First Team included LeBron, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Kobe Bryant, and Gerald Wallace. 4 of these players made deep playoff runs, including Bryant who won the championship. Every single one of those players played in the 2009-2010 All Star Game.
Ahhhh yes. The All Star Game. The bane of the NBA existence. And unfortunately, for many people, it's also the only game they watch during the regular season. What they witness is the NBA's best performing like the NBA's worst, all offense, no defense, only one or two players really trying, and they are selfish players making a run for the All Star Game MVP award. Smarter players who made the team often request to sit the bench to avoid injuries and extended minutes in what is nothing more than a well attended exhibition game. Judging the NBA on its All Star game is like judging a beautiful woman for having an ugly henna tattoo, and blowing her off upon seeing it. Ultimately the henna doesn't matter. It actually has nothing to do with her as a person, and it can be ignored until it fades away.
Now, I realize that I've been using only the most elite players as models, but for a casual basketball fan, these are the players you SHOULD be able to watch on a regular basis. And honestly? If you do sit down and watch a real game, instead of seeing one on one offense and no defense you are much more likely to see something like this...
I won't argue the fact that there are selfish, lazy basketball players in the NBA. But that was true from 1950-1999 as well and not just from the NBA, but from the NFL, Major Leage Baseball, the NHL, you name it. And you know what? Those players weren't successful at the pro level. Success in any professional sport requires dedication to every aspect of the game, attention to detail, wonderful athletic ability, and the correct mindset in which working towards anything less than winning is failure. In no sport are these requirements as naked and obvious as the NBA, meaning that when they are broken, the player looks especially bad. But when a player (or a team) puts it all together, it's something truly special. And if that player happens to be your favorite player of all time, there's even a chance you might get to witness this.
The NBA: Where Amazing (and Hell Yeah, It's Worth It) Happens.
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