When Words Collide, Sentences Form

The NBA has 1 fan.

I wonder how much of ESPN.com's Pat Hruby's salary is paid by David Stern? Because he sure does believe in the NBA, at a time in which even people who love pro basketball still believe most of these rumors regardless of how much they defend the sport!

Here's my eval of his eval of some of the "rumors:"

2. Only the Last Five Minutes Matter
His words:
"...don't think players are lollygagging the rest of the way. Slack off early? Your team may not have a chance to make up the deficit. And you probably won't be on the floor to help...Remember: every NBA player wants to start. Every player wants to finish. The time in the middle is a rolling audition."

My words:
"Actually, only the last 3 minutes matter. Have you ever been to an NBA game that was closer than 15-20 points before 5 minutes remaining in the game? And then suddenly at 3:21 remaining, the lead switches and everyone gets excited? Here is where I'm torn between the rules in sports like hockey, basketball and football vs. volleyball (ok, I really don't watch volleyball or care about it, I'm using it as a scoring example) tennis and baseball. There are no clocks in volleyball, baseball and tennis. It's all about getting to the end. Even in hockey, which does have a clock, in most games it's exciting til the end 'cause the scores are usually so close that 1 shot on goal, which only takes a couple of seconds, can change the outcome. And, at least in football one scoring opportunity can yield a ton of points, and can be done on 1 quick pass. So, unless it's a complete blow-out and the entire second half is irrelevant, the game can still be exciting 'til the end. Usually when it's played on a Monday on national television. But that's a whole 'nother conspiracy theory. Let's revolutionize basketball and get rid of the clock. That would be fun. Play it like volleyball. Best of 5 sets, first to 25 in each set. Yeah, that's a great idea. I'm writing to David Stern."
"OH, and by the way, if the 'time in the middle is a rolling audition' - then does it really matter? Have you ever seen an audition that counted in the box office revenues? I didn't think so. But, nice try at making a point."

3. The Draft Lottery is Rigged
His words:
"In other words, just a typical, unremarkable, massive follow-the-ping-pong-ball plot linking Jordan, David Stern, the NBA, the networks, the accounting firm of Ernst and Young, the CIA and the Freemasons.
And, possibly, whoever shot Tupac."

My words:
"Who really cares? In this age of trades, free agents and all of that other jazz, players don't stay too long in any one place. So, does it really matter who they get 1st in the draft one year? Because they'll probably trade him away soon. Or if a team DIDN'T get the 1st draft pick then they can get someone else equally brilliant by calling another team and making a 'blockbuster trade.' Maybe I'm wrong and the 1st draft pick is important, look at what LeBron James has done for the Cavs. They have won the NBA Championship since then, right? Or at least brought back the popularity of red #23 jerseys . That counts for something. I think."

Which leads to the final rumor I'm going to address...
8. The Fix is in for Big-Market Teams
His words:
"...keep in mind that NBA ratings have less to do with a team's local market size than its national following..."

My words:
"Hmmmm. I didn't actually read any real arguments against this rumor in his evaluation, so there wasn't much to copy and paste. So maybe he's saying that the fix isn't in for big-market teams, but it is on for very popular teams with big-name players. And with owners who had just won two other 'world titles' within the year so they need to add the third title in order to make for a 'nice story.'"

posted by Steph @ 6:17 AM