Jimcs50
06-08-2005, 05:16 PM
USA Today
For the life of me, I cannot imagine David Stern listening to music on an iPod, much less gettin' jiggy in the back of his limo wearing an oversized baseball cap, Iverson jersey and ultra-light headphones. Call me crazy, but the buttoned-down NBA boss doesn't strike me as being down with Outkast. Sinatra maybe, but not Snoop.
But on the odd chance that Stern does download his favorite tunes, I have a far more apropos choice for these NBA Finals: the Rolling Stones. And not simply because Mick Jagger is only a year younger than the 62-year-old law school grad-turned-NBA kahuna.
Commissioner, you can't always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes you just might find you get what you need.
The NBA needs Detroit-San Antonio.
Not for TV ratings — but for the product.
And for us, the fans.
As Magic Johnson said Tuesday, "Basketball is a beautiful game." Or, rather, it can be when executed the way Detroit and San Antonio play. This series represents the first time since the '80s that back-to-back NBA champions have confronted each other. A San Antonio-Miami series would've resulted in the Heat being broomed into the beach in four.
Who knows more about delivering artful performances than Johnson, who led the Los Angeles Lakers to five league championships? In recent seasons, he has watched more and more teams break down because of fundamentals not learned or applied. The league has gotten younger with more naturally gifted players full of hops, but the game on a night-in-night-out basis has deteriorated.
It may be too much to ask for a single series to change the sometimes-contorted face of pro basketball these days, but isn't it a step in the right direction for young players to see what it really takes be a champion? Watch Tony Parker restrain himself for the good of the team. Or the Wallaces play defense and rebound. Look at Tim Duncan's expression. It never changes.
Anyone who chooses to tune out of these two blue-collar teams because the confrontation isn't sexy enough, or the markets aren't glitzy enough, is going to miss out on what pro basketball can offer at its best.
"You probably have the two best teams that can give the fans a great basketball treat," said Julius Erving, who joined Johnson and ABC analyst Hubie Brown on a conference call with reporters. "It would be a shame if people decided not to tune in because I think you're going to see the ascension of one or more players to the next level of their career."
Here is what's alluring: Watching teams play selfless, cohesive basketball. The defending champion Pistons and the Spurs know how to cut and pass, and they're the two best defensive teams in the NBA. Arguably, they have the league's best head coaches in Larry Brown and Gregg Popovich, released in Denver as a player by Brown but later the best man in the nomad coach's wedding.
"This is going to be a major, major chess match from night to night to free up their three best shooters in high-percentage areas," Hubie Brown explained. "This is going to be a tremendous chess match between two outstanding coaches."
OK, so superstar appeal is going to be in short supply beginning Thursday night in San Antonio. No Shaq, no T-Mac. No Kobe, no D-Wade. Next to Duncan, the biggest star in this series might be Eva Longoria.
You may see Kid Rock in Detroit, but you're not going to see Jack and his Hollywood pals. In a perfect television world, Stern never would've ordered up a Detroit-San Antonio matchup on his remote control.
But in a league filled with overpriced, fundamentally challenged players, this is the type of series that the NBA could use to brand itself as something more than a haphazard collection of individually hyped stars and, in some cases, young misfits.
Players love to be copycats. Remember when every young player wanted to be Doc or Magic? Or the next Larry Bird? Individually, they were great NBA players; as part of a team, they were hard-nosed competitors who helped deliver a compelling product. They played for each other, not themselves, not their next shoe contract or rap album. Detroit-San Antonio represents old-school NBA roundball.
"Both of these teams are the best at utilizing their talent and (having) guys play their role," Johnson said. "Everybody in the NBA should copy both their styles because it translates into winning."
There is no law against downloading a winning formula, which is the sound of music all basketball fans can appreciate.
For the life of me, I cannot imagine David Stern listening to music on an iPod, much less gettin' jiggy in the back of his limo wearing an oversized baseball cap, Iverson jersey and ultra-light headphones. Call me crazy, but the buttoned-down NBA boss doesn't strike me as being down with Outkast. Sinatra maybe, but not Snoop.
But on the odd chance that Stern does download his favorite tunes, I have a far more apropos choice for these NBA Finals: the Rolling Stones. And not simply because Mick Jagger is only a year younger than the 62-year-old law school grad-turned-NBA kahuna.
Commissioner, you can't always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes you just might find you get what you need.
The NBA needs Detroit-San Antonio.
Not for TV ratings — but for the product.
And for us, the fans.
As Magic Johnson said Tuesday, "Basketball is a beautiful game." Or, rather, it can be when executed the way Detroit and San Antonio play. This series represents the first time since the '80s that back-to-back NBA champions have confronted each other. A San Antonio-Miami series would've resulted in the Heat being broomed into the beach in four.
Who knows more about delivering artful performances than Johnson, who led the Los Angeles Lakers to five league championships? In recent seasons, he has watched more and more teams break down because of fundamentals not learned or applied. The league has gotten younger with more naturally gifted players full of hops, but the game on a night-in-night-out basis has deteriorated.
It may be too much to ask for a single series to change the sometimes-contorted face of pro basketball these days, but isn't it a step in the right direction for young players to see what it really takes be a champion? Watch Tony Parker restrain himself for the good of the team. Or the Wallaces play defense and rebound. Look at Tim Duncan's expression. It never changes.
Anyone who chooses to tune out of these two blue-collar teams because the confrontation isn't sexy enough, or the markets aren't glitzy enough, is going to miss out on what pro basketball can offer at its best.
"You probably have the two best teams that can give the fans a great basketball treat," said Julius Erving, who joined Johnson and ABC analyst Hubie Brown on a conference call with reporters. "It would be a shame if people decided not to tune in because I think you're going to see the ascension of one or more players to the next level of their career."
Here is what's alluring: Watching teams play selfless, cohesive basketball. The defending champion Pistons and the Spurs know how to cut and pass, and they're the two best defensive teams in the NBA. Arguably, they have the league's best head coaches in Larry Brown and Gregg Popovich, released in Denver as a player by Brown but later the best man in the nomad coach's wedding.
"This is going to be a major, major chess match from night to night to free up their three best shooters in high-percentage areas," Hubie Brown explained. "This is going to be a tremendous chess match between two outstanding coaches."
OK, so superstar appeal is going to be in short supply beginning Thursday night in San Antonio. No Shaq, no T-Mac. No Kobe, no D-Wade. Next to Duncan, the biggest star in this series might be Eva Longoria.
You may see Kid Rock in Detroit, but you're not going to see Jack and his Hollywood pals. In a perfect television world, Stern never would've ordered up a Detroit-San Antonio matchup on his remote control.
But in a league filled with overpriced, fundamentally challenged players, this is the type of series that the NBA could use to brand itself as something more than a haphazard collection of individually hyped stars and, in some cases, young misfits.
Players love to be copycats. Remember when every young player wanted to be Doc or Magic? Or the next Larry Bird? Individually, they were great NBA players; as part of a team, they were hard-nosed competitors who helped deliver a compelling product. They played for each other, not themselves, not their next shoe contract or rap album. Detroit-San Antonio represents old-school NBA roundball.
"Both of these teams are the best at utilizing their talent and (having) guys play their role," Johnson said. "Everybody in the NBA should copy both their styles because it translates into winning."
There is no law against downloading a winning formula, which is the sound of music all basketball fans can appreciate.