2008 Woodie Awards
What about the NBA?
Erik Johnson
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: Sports
I love basketball. Some of my favorite sports memories as a kid are of Michael Jordan and the Bulls and Norm Stewart's Missouri Tigers.
However, after Jordan retired (not the first time … or the second time) I became disenchanted with the NBA. I held the typical view that hurt the NBA's revenue - it became a series of one-on-one games where you could take four steps without being whistled for traveling and almost everybody played defense like the Washington Generals.
Occasionally, I would watch a regular season game or a playoff series, but I could hardly stand to watch the NBA Finals. A few years ago, I quit trying and just caught enough highlights where I could talk intelligently about the NBA without "talking out of my … " like the ESPN mobile commercials say.
Last year, I almost swore off the league for good after the ridiculous suspensions handed down in the Spurs-Suns series. However, I happened to watch the end of the Pistons/Cavaliers game (I was probably hoping TNT was airing "Oceans 11" for the two hundredth time) when LeBron James went insane in the fourth quarter to pull the Cavaliers into the game and then finish it in overtime. I was somewhat interested and proceeded to watch LeBron get destroyed in the finals.
This year, I decided to give the NBA another chance because … well, because there was nothing going on in the sporting world in the winter (outside of watching SBU basketball) with Missouri not fielding much of a basketball team.
Having watched the NBA this year, here are the top ten conclusions I have reached:
1. LeBron James is the most talented basketball player I have ever watched play the game.
2. They actually call traveling now … sometimes.
3. Tim Duncan and the Spurs are hurting the NBA. They don't sell well because they aren't flashy, but they might just win another title this year.
4. The Garnett, Allen and Pierce SportsCenter commercial is a classic. The Boston Three Party … get it, like the Boston Tea Party.
5. As talented as LeBron is, Kobe is better. He has learned he doesn't have to score 50 per night to win, and he plays great defense.
6. The Washington Wizards should probably shut-up. It might be different if they had won something in the last, say, 15 years.
7. Larry Brown is trying to become the first person to coach every NBA franchise.
8. Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire are the future of big men in the NBA. They don't have to play on the block, and they run the floor very well.
9. Chris Paul should beat out Kobe for the MVP. Kobe is a better player, but Paul is absolutely amazing, and the Hornets would be a lottery team without him.
10. The NBA is worth watching again.
However, after Jordan retired (not the first time … or the second time) I became disenchanted with the NBA. I held the typical view that hurt the NBA's revenue - it became a series of one-on-one games where you could take four steps without being whistled for traveling and almost everybody played defense like the Washington Generals.
Occasionally, I would watch a regular season game or a playoff series, but I could hardly stand to watch the NBA Finals. A few years ago, I quit trying and just caught enough highlights where I could talk intelligently about the NBA without "talking out of my … " like the ESPN mobile commercials say.
Last year, I almost swore off the league for good after the ridiculous suspensions handed down in the Spurs-Suns series. However, I happened to watch the end of the Pistons/Cavaliers game (I was probably hoping TNT was airing "Oceans 11" for the two hundredth time) when LeBron James went insane in the fourth quarter to pull the Cavaliers into the game and then finish it in overtime. I was somewhat interested and proceeded to watch LeBron get destroyed in the finals.
This year, I decided to give the NBA another chance because … well, because there was nothing going on in the sporting world in the winter (outside of watching SBU basketball) with Missouri not fielding much of a basketball team.
Having watched the NBA this year, here are the top ten conclusions I have reached:
1. LeBron James is the most talented basketball player I have ever watched play the game.
2. They actually call traveling now … sometimes.
3. Tim Duncan and the Spurs are hurting the NBA. They don't sell well because they aren't flashy, but they might just win another title this year.
4. The Garnett, Allen and Pierce SportsCenter commercial is a classic. The Boston Three Party … get it, like the Boston Tea Party.
5. As talented as LeBron is, Kobe is better. He has learned he doesn't have to score 50 per night to win, and he plays great defense.
6. The Washington Wizards should probably shut-up. It might be different if they had won something in the last, say, 15 years.
7. Larry Brown is trying to become the first person to coach every NBA franchise.
8. Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire are the future of big men in the NBA. They don't have to play on the block, and they run the floor very well.
9. Chris Paul should beat out Kobe for the MVP. Kobe is a better player, but Paul is absolutely amazing, and the Hornets would be a lottery team without him.
10. The NBA is worth watching again.
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