The New NBA

It’s the NBA All-Star Game which means a few things:

1) For no reason at all the All-Star Jerseys are two colours. Blue and Silver for the East and White and Gold for the West. Most of the time it looks like four teams are playing at once. Aside from nearly giving me a seizure, it’s just difficult to keep up with.
2) There are 30 games left in the regular season, and those 30 games actually mean something. Well, at least in the West.
3) New Orleans seems very cool.

Rather than discuss the All-Star game, which is playing in the background as we speak, I’d like to talk about the NBA Playoffs. In high school I used to watch eagerly, but the last few years my attention has waned.

I don’t watch the first round (although last year I stayed up for a few Mavericks-Warriors games), and I haven’t for years. That’s because since 1991, when we first crowned Michael and the Bulls, we’ve seen little parity in the NBA. Or rather, we’ve seen too much parity - too many teams suck.

We had three titles from the Bulls, two from the Rockets that would have been moot if Jordan had stayed in the league, and three more by the Bulls. Mike retires, and that ushers in the current era of Boring Ball.

The Spurs get one in shortened ‘99, then we had the Laker reign, followed by the Spurs, the Pistons team that beat the last remnants of the dysfunctional Lakers, the Spurs, the Heat and…surprise! The Spurs.

Most of the time I would argue that dynasties are not good for sport. The exception would be the Jordan dynasty because Michael had a penchant for delivering some of the most memorable moments in the history of the game. On top of that, he had the biggest fan base of any single player in the history of the game. Everybody liked Mike.

I think it’s fair to concede we won’t see someone like that in the game for a long time, though LeBron flirted with that type of moment with his single-handed dismantling of the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. And yet, that is just one moment, whereas Jordan’s memorable moments were virtually a daily occurance.

The Laker dynasty was entertaining basketball, especially those heated series’ with Portland and Sacramento, but I think we all sort of expected Kobe and Shaq to win (except for those in Portland and Sacramento). That might have contributed to the over-blowing of the domestic squabbles. In those three years the Lakers had the stars and supporting cast that was unmatchable - they were the best team.

The Spurs won by being the best team as well, with a great supporting cast surrounding their stars, but their stars weren’t as engaging or exciting as Shaq and Kobe. Tim Duncan, though undeniably great, is not a highlight waiting to happen. I often wonder how we’ll remember the Duncan era. He dominates, but not because he’s bigger, stronger, or faster than other power forwards. He’s got those intangibles (that’s almost a curse word), like intelligence, competitiveness, leadership and consistency. The truth is Duncan is the poster boy for the Spurs boring brand of basketball. For the purists, it is a beautiful game. For those watching them (and I wasn’t) dismantle the Nets and Cavs it was a systematic process that was certainly inevitable. The seven game series against the Pistons held some allure because it was a seven game series.

Anyways, all this is a long-winded re-cap to say that the NBA Playoffs haven’t been exciting for a while. That is, until now.

The NBA needs to have the Jason Kidd trade go through. It seems like it’s going down on Monday and this is great news. This is great news, not because I like Jason Kidd or the Dallas Mavericks, but because this is the third blockbuster trade in a matter of a few weeks in the Western Conference.

First Pau Gasol to the Lakers, then Shaq to the Suns, now Kidd to the Mavericks; add in the Celtics loading up on veterans, and all of this serves to send the message that, “we are sick of the Spurs!” Even the Hawks made a trade for Mike Bibby, which will almost certainly land them in the playoffs (the Nets will plummet without Kidd and the Sixers just aren’t as good as the Hawks with an actual point guard).

The Celtics probably weren’t so much sick of the Spurs as they were sick of being a lottery team every year, but still; teams in the NBA are hungry for change. Owners and GM’s have learned the hard way that no one is getting past the Spurs with the line-ups they have now and so they’re rolling the dice.

All of this makes the Western Conference extremely intriguing.

Don’t forget that joining these three powerhouses in the West are the resurging Utah Jazz and the New Orleans Hornets. These are good basketball teams, maybe not championship calibre yet, but good enough to scare someone in the first round. As of my typing this the Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets are all within just 4.5 games of the Suns and Hornets for first in the West. And should Portland sneak into the playoffs, would you want to play them in the first round? Me either.

So, with everybody trying to take advantage of their closing window, who has the upper hand?

The Lakers make a strong case with their starting five: Kobe, Pau, Lamar Odom, Fisher and Andrew Bynum. Bynum will be in tough against Shaq and Timmy D, but the Pau and Kobe factor is enough to scare any team. If any one player has the ability to rise out of the West and simply win the series themselves, it’s Kobe. He’ll explode for 60, and shut down your top-scorer. This we know. But the Lakers aren’t deep, which should pose a problem, especially as they advance. The Hornets and Jazz might not be saavy enough to exploit them, but the Spurs and Suns certainly will.

Before I move on, lets clarify something. We’ve got to leave health out of the equation. Not to say it’s not important, but to say that’s it’s SO important we’ve got to assume that if any of these teams loses a key piece to their team they’ll likely fall out of serious contention because it’s just too tight in the West. So injuries aside…

The Mavs are going to look GOOD with Jason Kidd. He makes people better, that goes without saying, and knows how to make the decisions that win basketball games. Nobody will question his leadership when he’s got a chance to win. I hope the Mavs play the Utah Jazz, because watching Deron Williams and Kidd go at each other would be amazing. Mark Cuban originally didn’t want to make this trade, didn’t want to give up some young pieces, but with every other club reacting, Cuban’s hand was forced. The thing is, he shouldn’t have hesitated; he should have realized long ago this is they type of player they needed to get over the hump. We’re going to see Jason Kidd with the best supporting cast he’s ever had. And that’s exciting.

On a side note, Kidd prompts a return of Devin Harris, Mo Ager, Trenton Hassell, DeSagana Diop, Keith Van Horn (are you serious?), TWO first round picks and cash. Can we go over what the Raptors got for Vince Carter? Eric Williams (not in NBA), Aaron Williams (2.3 ppg for the Clippers) and Alonzo Mourning, who didn’t even report to Toronto, forcing us to buy him out, and thus, pay money to watch him walk away. This is what Rob Babcock did to us. This man was an executive in the NBA. I’m speechless. We did get two future draft picks.

The Suns gave up a lot to get Shaq, but we have to look past that. Yes, he’s aging and had health problems. Yes, the Suns occasionally run the basketball. But face it; they weren’t going to win it with the guys they had. I love what Steve Kerr did here. He could have played the safe card and had the Suns come thisclose in the Conference Finals again, but with an aging Steve Nash, they only have maybe two years left to win. Because you’re not going to win without out a true point guard. The Suns were getting killed because they couldn’t play D, and they couldn’t get key buckets in the half-court when the Spurs slowed it down. Shaq, even at 70% of what he once was, gives you imposing D, a body on Duncan and a man who I’m sure Steve Nash will get 5-7 dunks per game. The thing is, Shaq will be effective because he’s going to be on the court with Amare Stoudamire. Amare is amazing even while playing out of position as the biggest guy on a small team, now he can move to the four-spot, where Marion and Hill were playing out of position, and will be free to wreak havoc. Shaq is a plus because you have to respect his presence, even if he’s not as dominant as he once was, and he passes well for a big man.

The Spurs are still the Spurs. They’re still good at basketball. Everyone is gunning for them now, and I think this is one of the most overlooked things about sports. The champions, the team that everyone wants to beat, they get the best game from their opponent every night. The desire to beat San Antonio has never been higher, as evidenced by the recent string of deals. But they’ve been there before. They know what it takes to win, know the level of sacrifice required. They’re not out of the mix just because of a few tantalizing trades.

All that being said, what do I love most about these deals? It’s the fact that on paper, there’s no way to know who will win. Celtics and Magic? Suns and Lakers? Spurs and Mavericks? The Nuggets, Raptors, Cavaliers (you have to respect LeBron), Jazz and Hornets could all upset. It all adds up to simple and joyful fact that for the first time in a few years, the last 20 games will matter. We’ll get to watch intense basketball as we see teams jockey for favorable match-ups. The first round of the playoffs will feature teams that could conceivably beat each other, and we’ll see competitive basketball all the way through June.

Since I feel obligated, I’ll make a pick. I think Shaq and the Suns get it done in the West. I think they’ll play the Mavs in what will be one of the most memorable Conference Finals ever. I picked the Celtics to win it in the Summer when they made the big acquisitions, and so I’ll stick with them here, if only because I think the team who survives the West will have had too taxing a road to get there.

Celtics over Suns in 7.

Predictions? Let me have ‘em.