2008 Woodie Awards
You really should watch the NBA playoffs.
Doug Sibor
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Sports
A lot of people really don't like to watch professional basketball. The arguments against watching are generally legitimate-the players are too selfish, the stars are unlikable, the crowds are unenthusiastic. And, until last year's playoffs, I agreed.
I will preface the rest of this article now by saying I have been a huge Celtics fan since the days of Larry Bird, so my perspective is not quite unbiased. However, it was hard even for me to watch when the Celtics were trotting out the Vin Baker and Raef Lafrentz-led teams of just a few years ago. Last season's 18-game losing streak nearly did me in for good, with only the prospect of the Celtics landing Kevin Durant keeping me watching. When my Durant-fantasy (a Durantasy, if you will) didn't materialize, I figured it was time to permanently break up with the Celts, and as a result the entire NBA.
Obviously, it didn't quite happen that way; you may not have heard, but the Celtics traded for someone named Garnett and that guy who was in He Got Game. 66 wins later, and an entire region's passion for basketball was reignited. During this season, the basketball revolution was not limited to Boston either. New Orleans, a city that looked finished as a sports town, emerged as one of the best teams in the NBA thanks to the unbelievable play of point guard Chris Paul. Lebron James and Kobe Bryant somehow managed to take their respective games to another level, giving us two transcendent seasons that we will remember for years to come. Future Hall of Famers Shaquille O'Neal and Jason Kidd changed teams mid-season, completely shifting the landscape of the playoff race in the ridiculously competitive western conference.
As of the writing of this article, every single player mentioned above is still playing. These are the most prolific players in the game, and they are now all playing at playoff-level intensity. If you want to see how basketball was meant to be played, just watch the way Paul and Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams run their teams, throwing absolutely absurd passes that almost always find their marks. Watch the off-the-charts intensity of Kevin Garnett as he screams and hollers the entire game, and then try to tell me he's just in it for the money. Watch Tim Duncan bury clutch shots with his textbook bank shot, and try to tell me that traditional basketball is dead. Watch Lebron and Kobe carry their teams as they make jaw-dropping play after jaw-dropping play, and try to tell me that these aren't two of the best players ever.
The game is alive and well. We have arrived at a point in history where we get to watch great players of the past five years like Steve Nash, O'Neal, Kidd and Allen Iverson play with and against stars of the future like Paul, Williams, Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire. The games are up-tempo, the crowds are loud, and the players at least look like they genuinely care. Sports fans: turn off the Red Sox game, Mel Kiper's endless NFL draft analysis and the NHL playoffs (wait, that's a joke-nobody watches hockey). The NBA is where the real action is.
I will preface the rest of this article now by saying I have been a huge Celtics fan since the days of Larry Bird, so my perspective is not quite unbiased. However, it was hard even for me to watch when the Celtics were trotting out the Vin Baker and Raef Lafrentz-led teams of just a few years ago. Last season's 18-game losing streak nearly did me in for good, with only the prospect of the Celtics landing Kevin Durant keeping me watching. When my Durant-fantasy (a Durantasy, if you will) didn't materialize, I figured it was time to permanently break up with the Celts, and as a result the entire NBA.
Obviously, it didn't quite happen that way; you may not have heard, but the Celtics traded for someone named Garnett and that guy who was in He Got Game. 66 wins later, and an entire region's passion for basketball was reignited. During this season, the basketball revolution was not limited to Boston either. New Orleans, a city that looked finished as a sports town, emerged as one of the best teams in the NBA thanks to the unbelievable play of point guard Chris Paul. Lebron James and Kobe Bryant somehow managed to take their respective games to another level, giving us two transcendent seasons that we will remember for years to come. Future Hall of Famers Shaquille O'Neal and Jason Kidd changed teams mid-season, completely shifting the landscape of the playoff race in the ridiculously competitive western conference.
As of the writing of this article, every single player mentioned above is still playing. These are the most prolific players in the game, and they are now all playing at playoff-level intensity. If you want to see how basketball was meant to be played, just watch the way Paul and Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams run their teams, throwing absolutely absurd passes that almost always find their marks. Watch the off-the-charts intensity of Kevin Garnett as he screams and hollers the entire game, and then try to tell me he's just in it for the money. Watch Tim Duncan bury clutch shots with his textbook bank shot, and try to tell me that traditional basketball is dead. Watch Lebron and Kobe carry their teams as they make jaw-dropping play after jaw-dropping play, and try to tell me that these aren't two of the best players ever.
The game is alive and well. We have arrived at a point in history where we get to watch great players of the past five years like Steve Nash, O'Neal, Kidd and Allen Iverson play with and against stars of the future like Paul, Williams, Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire. The games are up-tempo, the crowds are loud, and the players at least look like they genuinely care. Sports fans: turn off the Red Sox game, Mel Kiper's endless NFL draft analysis and the NHL playoffs (wait, that's a joke-nobody watches hockey). The NBA is where the real action is.
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