Like the girl who chases only bad boys, NBA fans who complain about parity don't know whats good for the league. http://www.foxsportsarizona.com/10/...able-in-current-N/landing.html?blockID=588268
I realize not every time is going to compete for a championship- that's just the nature of the sport. But can you honestly say you enjoy watching the Lakers being good seemingly every season? Knowing going into the season that only about three teams have a legitimate chance at winning the championship? The fact that every player seems to be going to the same teams like some sort of arms race makes it worse. Why have 30 teams when every talented player wants to form a big three in a big city? What's the point of being a fan of a cavs, bobcats, warriors, or raptors knowing full well that your team will be lucky to win one championship? You can talk about tv revenue or jersey sales or whatever. But having the same teams win year in and year out makes everything outside of the conference finals a waste of time.
NBA fans who complain about parity are usually homers who don't watch much NBA unless their team is playing. And if their team doesn't suck then they don't complain about parity. But, nothing brings out the parity freaks more than when the Lakers get a good player.
Why? As a fan of basketball wouldn't it be fun to watch Dwight, Nash, and Kobe against James, Wade, and Bosh? That would be epic. How could you not enjoy that?
I knew this would happen... Lakers get Dwight and people start going nuts the same way they did when Lakers got Gasol. "I'm done with the nba, league is rigged, stern likes the lakers, waaaaaah waaaaah, I'm never watching again" It's so predictable.
Having one of the best players of all time (Kobe Bryant) helps having the Lakers in contention every year. Plus last year, Lakers were not true contenders they were a longggg shot to begin with. Having the best player in ANY sports give you a legitimate shot at winning. Also NBA is not MLB or NFL, because in basketball there are only 5 players on the court so one player can make a much stronger impact. Pretty much EVERY season in the NBA has been like that. There were ALWAYS 3 or 4 real championship contenders and the rest are pretenders. That's a great point. What's the point of having 30 teams? The NBA is incredibly diluted and could probably be better off with 20 or 22 teams. It'll make for more fun basketball night in and night out. Do we really need Milwaukee? (sorry Milwaukee fans) Or Charlotte? Maybe that's the core of the problem.
In a sense, so are these power moves to these big time markets. The Pau to LA trade was lopsided. It looks good now because the small chance that Marc would pan out happened. Marc looked like a dud even as a prospect overseas. He was much heavier, slower and looked like Aaron Gray. That's the prospect you trade your franchise player for? At least they got Kwame Brown as their proven player ... Not saying I agree with the extreme conspiracy theorists, but it's not like they have nothing to base their feelings from. One too many coincidences in the NBA.
My reference to the Lakers was more about their dominance throughout their existence, not merely the last decade. I don't have an issue with a team like the Bulls- who had one great period with a dominant player. But, the Lakers have always been good (Baylor, West, Wilt, Kareem, Magic, Kobe, Shaq, now Howard) except for that brief period in the '90s, the Lakers have been dominant and a few seasons this decade. I'll make a prediction now, and it will probably hold true. Two decades from now, the Lakers will be a contender and have some of the best players in the league. As for contraction, I do think it's totally necessary and is a major reason why the league is the way it is. Look at how OKC has managed to keep their stars w/o being a big market- they have a winning team. If Lebron or Howard or whatever were playing on similarly good teams, they probably would not leave. If the League was about 22 teams, you would still be big enough, but nearly every team would be solid. Of course, if Silver is anything like Stern the NBA will probably expand by two teams or so once the economy fully recovers.
Well at least that is good for the Rockets... They are finally tanking this season and start this rebuilding process that was suppose to start 2 years ago when Yao retired. At least now that the Rockets don't have to give up all our young talents along with our future draft picks to Orlando for bad contracts and a big diva whos staying here for about 8 months and then bolting off to some other team while we're left with no young talent, old vets with bad contracts and no draft picks... Plus, I don't want a big selfish diva on this team anyway. All he cares about is the media attention. Dwight said it himself that he doesn't want to be in Houston and yet a lot of people on Clutchfans & Morey somehow still believes that he will stay here. If the Rockets traded for Howard, we will give up all our young pieces and he will be stuck here with no stars, no talent, and some of his old teammates from Orlando in the trade... In that situation, he might as well stay in Orlando. I wonder how do some of you guys think Morey will somehow convince him to stay? Deron Williams agreed to re-sign with the Nets. There are absolutely no other superstar caliber talent like Dwill in FA right now. So trading for him is only a few more years of setback.
If this happens I'm done with the NBA. There are about 4 teams that have a shot at winning a title. The NBA really needs to take a look at what the NFL has done to make it such a great sport. I don't like how super stars team up to ruin the game. I would love the NBA to have a hard cap and a franchise tag, but that's wishful thinking.
Top talent congregates to certain cities. Deal with it. The best lawyers, doctors, financiers, politicians tend to live in certain cities. Nobody complains when some of the best doctors end up in Texas Medical Center. The vast majority of top talent finance guys are in NY. Top talent lawyers, politicians are in DC. That's just how it is. For some reason, great basketball players ended up on the Lakers. Sure Lebron took his talents to South Beach and Cleveland fans got butthurt. But they don't seem to mind when OSU Buckeyes dominates the Big Ten or win National Championships.
No it won't be. They will not tank. They will make desperate patchwork moves to stay in the playoff chase. Should this come to pass, it will officially be time to put an end to Moreyball.
What's predictable is the fact that the same major market teams get the big name players year after year. Am I bitter that the Rockets aren't one of those teams? Absolutely, and I have no problem admitting that. I'm a diehard fan, and I'm pretty sure jealousy of other teams comes with the territory. However, while I might enjoy watching 2 super teams battle it out over the course of a series, what about the 3-4 subsequent years? I'm sorry, but watching the same team get to the Big Dance 4-5 times in a row is not entertaining to me. What makes being a sports fan so great is the hope that comes with it. Every year, a new season begins, and with it, the renewed hope that maybe YOUR team has a chance to win it all. The NBA has completely done away with that, and it's sad.
I understand your point, but I don't feel that way for whatever reason. Regardless of who is playing, I like to watch the greatest players in the world go at it.
