The Greatness of the NBA
By Zach
I guess, as the real NBA fan round these parts, it falls on me to defend the league and the sport.
First of all, I won't argue that the officiating in the NBA, particularly in the playoffs, sucks.
But that, in and of itself, doesn't mean that the product is bad, or not worth watching.
Ben's just pissed that the Nets got swept. Well, actually, he's pissed that the Nets have been terrible for most of his life. And then, when they finally get good, they keep getting swept by Shaq. So that's a large part of his distaste for the league.
But it's not as if he's the only one who's suffered at the hands of poor officiating. Hell, Charles Barkley and the Suns set an NBA playoff record with 63 free throws in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals in 1993 against the Sonics. I saw Michael Jordan and Co. get plenty of calls in the 1996 Finals. And, of course, we had to put up with the absolute masters of drawing cheap fouls/dirty play, the Utah Jazz. So I know where he's coming from.
But no other sport, when played well, looks as good as basketball. Whether it's the high-flying, high-scoring act of the Suns, or the tenacious defense of the Pistons, basketball is about effort, talent, and athleticism.
Look, I can't try and explain the beauty of basketball to people like Ben any more than I can explain the joys of sex to...well, I'll leave that one alone. But the fact is that, with basketball, you have to look beyond the officiating and see the magic.
First of all, I won't argue that the officiating in the NBA, particularly in the playoffs, sucks.
But that, in and of itself, doesn't mean that the product is bad, or not worth watching.
Ben's just pissed that the Nets got swept. Well, actually, he's pissed that the Nets have been terrible for most of his life. And then, when they finally get good, they keep getting swept by Shaq. So that's a large part of his distaste for the league.
But it's not as if he's the only one who's suffered at the hands of poor officiating. Hell, Charles Barkley and the Suns set an NBA playoff record with 63 free throws in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals in 1993 against the Sonics. I saw Michael Jordan and Co. get plenty of calls in the 1996 Finals. And, of course, we had to put up with the absolute masters of drawing cheap fouls/dirty play, the Utah Jazz. So I know where he's coming from.
But no other sport, when played well, looks as good as basketball. Whether it's the high-flying, high-scoring act of the Suns, or the tenacious defense of the Pistons, basketball is about effort, talent, and athleticism.
Look, I can't try and explain the beauty of basketball to people like Ben any more than I can explain the joys of sex to...well, I'll leave that one alone. But the fact is that, with basketball, you have to look beyond the officiating and see the magic.
posted by Zach at 1:44 AM
4 Comments:
My beef with the NBA no longer has anything to do with the gameplay itself. I used to get pissed off watching regular season games in which four out of the five defenders would just be standing there, passively watching an isolation play. But now, I get annoyed by the barrage of sound emanating from the PA system. Can we please get an NHL (1917-2004) type of rule prohibiting sound effects while the ball is in play and the clock is running? Can you imagine if football teams tried to pull the whole THUMP! THUMP! DE-FENSE! manuever during a goal line stand? Absolutely unacceptable. It's one of the major reasons I prefer college basketball, actually: no arena sound effects (live bands!), so the crowds do all the work.
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There is no way anyone can convince me that one sport is inferior or superior to another based on the quality of the officiating. Think about that for a sec. The officiating?!
Me, I have different standards for the sports I follow. Teamwork, a modicum of strategy, aesthetics as you mention, and breathtaking athleticism are just a few of the things I look for in a spectator sport. Officiating ranks pretty damn low on the list. And that's from a guy who will never get over the Supes getting hosed by the refs in the 93 WCF.
Nice site, by the way. Keep up the good work.
Zach,
Nice site design and some solid writing. Just wondering if you'd be willing to let any of us at supersonicsoul in on how to post photos within the story, as opposed to the top or bottom of the story. It makes your stories look alot cleaner and easier to read.
Thanks
P-Nussbaum
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