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[av_heading heading=’ FEEL THE GAME BOBBY MOTUS Disparity in the NBA’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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Sunday, October 1, 2017
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RECENT NBA transactions show the intent of a few teams in stacking their lineups with superstars. The obvious reason is to dismantle and dislodge Golden State from the top. I’m no Warrior fan but Coach Steve Kerr has this ridiculously successful system that will keep the Warriors on the throne for a few more years.
Consider a team made up of LeBron James, Kevin Love, Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Dwayne Wade, Jae Crowder, Tristan Thompson, JR Smith, and Kyle Korver. Perhaps with the exception of Boston, the Cleveland composition makes the rest of the teams fight for the third best squad in the Eastern Conference. Excluding Crowder, Thompson and Smith, the rest were selected to play in the NBA All-Stars.
After an “incredibly difficult decision,” Wade is reunited with Bron and officially a Cav on a one-year, $2.3-million contract. The deal probably will depend on the success of the reunion and all indications show that the No. 1 and No. 5 picks of the 2003 NBA Draft will be together for at least two more years. Korver also belongs to the 2003 Class, picked at No. 51 in the second round.
I wouldn’t be surprised if another 2003 classmate, Chris Bosh, will miraculously get healthy and joins Cleveland to complete the reunion. A healthy Wade and Bosh are still serviceable and could produce a combined 20-plus points and maybe 12 rebounds a game.
Cavalier fans, the purists and the instant converts, surely are salivating on this but the rest are not happy with the clear disparity. Gone are the days when games were tight and bruising and the outcome undecided until the last minute. When before it was a guessing game for playoff and title contenders, it is now purely a two team affair.
I don’t know how the chieftains run the intricacies of the league but there should be some kind of a measure or regulation to limit the collection of supernovas in a team. It is simply unfair to lower market franchises and fans that they will be forever wallowing in the pool of mediocrity.
Yes, these lower-end teams have their own stars, but what can one or two do compared to a team whose starting unit can very well be an All-Star selection – as in the case now for the Cavaliers and, on the other side of the coast, Golden State, with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green? It won’t need a prophet to almost accurately predict winning margins.
LeBron and company could win the EC crown, hands down, but unless this crew will be handled by the likes of Greg Popovich, Pat Riley or Phil Jackson, the NBA crown still belongs to the West. No disrespect to Tyrone Lue but it can be observed that, often, he doesn’t have complete control of the team because of you know who already.
At least in the Western Conference, some teams can battle Golden State toe-to-toe, and the most recent pretender is OKC with Carmelo Anthony on board. The Thunder, the new look Houston Rockets, and an intact and untouched San Antonio Spurs make up the WC’s top four. There were no personnel changes with the Spurs but leave it to Coach Pop to do wonders with the available materials on hand.
I now long to see a competitive NBA where majority of the 30 teams have equal chances of advancing to the post-season. The fans deserve an exciting season where all teams fight for contention, not one already concluded to a GSW-Cavs finale long before the actual season had even started./PN
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