March 24, 2004

STRANGE GAMES HIGHLIGHT AN ABSURD PLAYOFF RACE

       It is less of a race and more of an extended stagger to the finish line.  That is how one can describe the final few weeks of the NBA season as the bottom feeders in the Eastern Conference fight for the right to be first round playoff fodder.  Outside of the top three seeds, Indiana, Detroit and New Jersey, the Conference contains teams that would probably fit more into the schedule of the NBDL than the NBA.  It is s conference where a team that finishes with a .500 record will likely guarantee itself home court advantage in the first round.  And recent games involving the Raptors have shown that the mediocrity is spreading.

       The marketing of the NBA game is that it’s “Fantastic”.  High-flying athletes and spectacular action highlight the package, but for some reason the league’s officiating crews seem unaware of the marketing package.  In New Orleans the Raptors watched their opponents go to the free throw line sixty times.  Sixty!!!  How exciting.  There is nothing that will bring a fan out of his/her seat more than the swish of ball through the basket from a man standing still, while all other players on the court stand and watch.  Thoroughly captivating—is what it must feel like, for why else would the officials bring a game that is supposed to be fast-paced right down to contest that would better suit accountants and lawyers—no action, strictly numbers.   How is it possible to justify a game that was so slow even turtles would sleep through it.  And why does the NBA suspend an official for making one bad call at the end of a game when, during games like the one in Bourbon town, the crew of officials made enough bad calls to last a lifetime? 

       Then, in a game in Memphis, noted nail chewer and miserable cuss Joey (The T--for technical) Crawford decides that the fans don’t deserve to watch the talented skills of Jalen Rose anymore and throws him out of the game for tossing his headband away in frustration.  That decision certainly helped Memphis win a game that it was likely to win anyway, and definitely took away some of the excitement that would have been felt by the fans.  At this rate I can’t envision too many more fans wanting to spend hundreds of dollars to attend basketball games that have less excitement than a high school badminton match.  The saying is true—fans pay money to watch players, not officials.  When will the NBA realize that its officials are slowly greasing the skids to a wonderful sport?  If I had to spend more than a few seconds in the company of men like Joey Crawford I would certainly be throwing more than a simple headband.

       But enough about the donkeys in referee uniforms.  The slow, pedantic pace set by the snail crawlers at the bottom of the Eastern Conference is setting a poor example for the league.  No longer do the majority of teams in the conference strive to piece together a team that could win a championship.  Mediocrity is the new king.  Why spend the time and energy—and money—trying to win a championship when a couple of decent players can get your team into the playoffs.  Organizations can now turn a profit with one decent round of playoff action—especially now that the opening series are best-of-sevens guaranteeing the poor team at least two playoff home gates. 

      The Boston Celtics are a prime example.  The organization hires Danny Ainge to manage their team.  Ainge, a loudmouth with no organizational experience, proceeds to turn a playoff roster inside out. Out go solid professionals like Eric Williams and in comes self-involved moron Ricky Davis.  Out goes an all-star in Antoine Walker and in comes an injury-prone and overpaid Raef Lafrentz.  Out goes a winning franchise and in comes a losing team with no future prospects.  And yet this horrible squad that has Paul Pierce and a pack of retreads is knocking on the playoff door. 

       The Raptors are in similar situation.  For years the knocks on this team were that it was a small perimeter oriented team that had no size and no point guard.  The team lost 54 games last season and did almost nothing to improve itself this year, outside of hiring a new coach—something each team in the eastern Conference, outside of the putrid Atlanta Hawks, have done in past eighteen months anyway.  The team still has no size, its gets outrebounding nightly, no true point guard, and only wins when their shooting is above average.  So the question becomes--why does the organization need to fill its many holes when its present day roster can compete for a playoff spot?  This is a bad precedent. 

      An 82 game schedule is a great equalizer.  Teams usually play above its level one-quarter of the time, below its level one-quarter of the time, and right at its level one-half the time.  The mountains and the valleys level off over the schedule and for most of the Eastern Conference their level is down in the valley.  Below NBA sea level.  When 42 wins gets a team the fourth seed; when 38 wins gets a team the sixth seed, and when 35 wins gets a team into the playoffs then it becomes obvious that the east is way below sea level—especially since these teams play most of their games against each other.  

       Is making the playoffs a sign of success for these teams?  Will the organizations consider the season a success if they win 35 games and make the post season?  Outside of a Cleveland team that is young and on the rise the rest are veteran laden teams stagnating in the waters of mediocrity.  Is this what fans in those cities want to pay to watch?  I know I don’t.  It’s hard enough watching sixty free throws from the comfort of my living room.