When will the NBA and mainly David Stern wake up and realize that no one trust his product? That game last night was a complete joke and at the root of the problem is the perceived rigging or at least awful officiating that has plagued the league in the last 10 years or so. What the NBA is doing by solely marketing individuals and not teams is purely hurting them from a casual fan point of view and the hardcore fans are starting not to care as well. Over the last week no has paid attention to the Finals and the ratings have shown it. NCAA realignment, World Cup, hockey and the NFL off season has been the top story while the NBA Finals have been mired in obscurity.
I understand home teams generally will get a little more calls than a road team. However, a 37-17 free throw difference is absolutely insane. Missing over the back calls and random charging calls while the officials hold their whistles. I did not know in basketball you could clothesline a player and that is a good no call. Pau Gasol took Kevin Garnett's head off on a rebound and no call was made. Or Rondo being clobbered by Artest on a rebound while Joey Crawford the referee looked on and he did not any look to call a foul. I love the flopping performance that Derek Fisher puts on and how the so called announcers say that good defense. Fisher looks to fall on every play because he does not have the foot speed to keep up with today's point guards. When the games were called evenly and the right way, the Celtics won. Yahoo! Sports had a story after game 3 that the Celtics owners went up to Stern and cussed him out about the horrible officiating. One of the things he stated to was was have the same officials call the series and stop rotating guys in. Right after that confrontation the Celtics won the next two games. Coincidence, I think not.
I believe Stern has decided to dictate the league's champion not based on the best team but on the single individual who he can market. If you think about when he came into the league Magic and Bird elevated the league to a new plateau. The NBA in the 70's was drug infested with lackluster stars. The Magic and Bird turned the league around not only with their play but their image. Michael Jordan was next in line and made the NBA global. Now Stern is trying to endear Kobe to the public and no one outside of L.A. cares for him and that hasn't changed since his first three championships with Shaq. Stern cannot use his marketing genius to sell a product that people don't want. He is trying to manipulate history by having the Lakers win and thinking that it will create more buzz around his league. Actually have the games officiated correctly and let the players decide on the floor how the game is won and that will create buzz for the league.
Stop The Comparisons
In the instant analysis world we live in today, the questions were asked if Kobe can compare to Magic or Michael. The answer is a resounding NO!!! Magic was a 6'9 PG who could play all five positions on the floor. He could dominate by either scoring or controlling the tempo of the game. Magic prolonged the career of Kareem and made Worthy, Cooper, Thompson and Scott household names with Showtime basketball. Magic was an innovator during the 80's. Michael Jordan did things on the court I have never seen and I am only 32. His moves and body control in the air were never seen before. People marvelled at the hang time at first, but later they saw his will to win and they way he made his teammates better. There was not a more ruthless man on the court. His flair for the dramatics were unmatched. Kobe has not brought anything new to basketball. All he has done is imitated Jordan from his walk, talk and mannerisms on the court. To me, probably why I have not connected with Kobe is because I don't think Kobe knows who he is. Kobe looks and acts like somebody he is not and that disconnects him from the public. Winning the championships does not make him a leader are vault him over the great Lakers before him. Think about this, Kobe went out and got a tattoo so that he could gain some street credibility. Does that sound like a leader? Leaders lead by examples not follow others. Magic and Michael found ways to lead on the court. They let their PLAY get the street cred, not a tattoo. People today need to look at the history of the game before they make such ridiculous statements.
Its tough to watch the NBA. I have been a fan since 1990. Maybe its time I move on like most of my friends. Its just hard to that because when basketball is played the right way, its the most beautiful and exciting sport to watch. Hopefully someone in the league office will recognize that and turn back the clock and give us all back the game of our youth.
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