Yesterday, after lsitening to all the sports shows, one conlcusion can be made crystal (not as in Billy) clear; A rematch of the 2005 NBA Finals is something everyone can live without. Most hope that both the Spurs and the Pistons do not, under any circumstances, make the Finals. There are reasons for such hopes. I'm here to give my reasons why, and to clear up some misnomers.
1. It's not star power, silly. It's star wattage: The most common misperception is that both teams lack star power. That's ridiculous. The Spurs feature Tim Duncan, perhaps one of the greatest big men in history, along with Mr. Eva Longoria (Tony Parker) and the Grandmaster Flopper (Manu Ginobili) who also happens to be one of the best clutch players on the team. Detroit has Chauncey "Mr. Big Shot" (and Mr. Give me the Free Throw, Refs!) Billups, Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton. So what's not to like about that?
The problem is that none of these guys seek the attention that comes with stardom. In many ways, the NBA has created that problem. Even Michael Jordan, the posterboy for I over team (in terms of media coverage) said as much in an ESPN the Magazine article. Remember the league in the 1980s? When the Lakers and Celtics met in the Finals, it wasn't strictly Magic vs Bird (although that was a big draw), it was Lakers vs Celtics. The teams were the big attractions, and the league was at it's best marketing those teams. After Jordan dominated the league, it became all about the star players.
With that being the case, it's no wonder the Finals have had bad ratings in recent years. The Spurs are the ultimate team, yet their Finals have been the worst rated ever. Even when you had Lebron James last year, the ratings tanked. So let's not say a Spurs/Pistons final is bad because of no star power; there's no wattage in those stars.
2. Because the Lakers and Celtics is what Stern really wants in the Finals: Stern will not say it publically, but he wants these teams in the Finals not so much because of star wattage (Kobe vs the Big 3) but because the cities have star wattage. He wants to see Jack Nicholson jaw with whoever comes from Beantown. No other league tries to slant their championships through big cities more than the NBA. MLB does it because of their salary structure, but the NBA wouldn't mind if the Finals were exclusively in big cities like L.A., New York, Boston, etc. Look at the NFL; they don't have a team in L.A. (yet) and yet the Super Bowl does just fine. Why not market the teams instead of the cities?
3. Defense wins championships, but not ratings: Just observe the game last night; the Pistons won 84-80, a score that would be good in the 1950s, but not so much today. Need more data? Look at the Finals in 2005; they were just the second Finals since the league went to a 2-3-2 format to go seven games, and few people outside of S.A. and Detroit cared. It was because the defensive style of both teams doesn't appeal to people. The Spurs have won the most games in the league since 2001-02, and Detroit is third (behind them and Dallas) because nobody plays defense better than these teams traditionally have. But while both can run the ball occasionally, they'd rather set up isolational plays for their slashers (Parker/Ginobili and Billups/Hamilton) to draw fouls and get free throws. It wins games, but I can't watch slop ball for very long before I get bored and change the channel.
Looking at these three reasons (there may be more, but these are key), it's no wonder the NBA would feel like it took a shot in the stomach if these two teams meet in the Finals. I'm from Detroit, and it makes me feel ill (although if the Pistons faced the Lakers, it might work out). Hopefully, the curse of the Spurs (never won back-to-back) and the Pistons (complacency) causes one or both to lose in the playoffs. Let's just hope.
I totally agree with you. I can remember the look of constipation on Sterns face when he had to give the Larry O'Brien trophy to the Rockets. Dude hated that. I would love to see two teams beat the #### out of each other for several games. Could you imagine seeing Bowen pull a dirty move as he is known to do against Rip and how ignorant Rasheed would act. It would bring tears of joy to the eyes of Bill Laimber
The 2005 NBA Finals was one of my favorites in recent memory. It wasn't quite as sweet as the 2004 Finals (I loved watching the Lakers get schooled by Detroit), but as far as the matchup went I really enjoyed it.
I wish the NBA would market its teams ahead of its stars. With great teams you can see how their chemistry and overall style contributes to their success. With great players it becomes nothing more than a boring droolfest after a while. Also, maybe it's just the type of fan I am, but I love viewing today's sports in the context of history, and teams generally have more history than players.
I'll take this rematch. The media fans the flames of Spurs boredom, not the fans.
Execution, precision, score...this is why fans cheer for the Spurs.
Don't forget Joe Blow is a fan of the perceived small market team when Joe doesn't have a dog in the fight.
Is aging the factor? The Spurs don't look like the reigning NBA champs anymore. They were outsmarted by the Sixers as of this writing. If these games could be the barometer of their being fit to compete, then they will be dethrone for sure.
Lebron orchastrating a miraculous win in a series agaisnt detroit last year was a great watch. I watched the first game when the Spurs faced the Cavs so #### boring. You already know Spurs are owning the Lebroniers so for me there was no point watching, and I tried to watch but the Cavs weren't even putting up a fight against the Spurs. Spurs and Suns was a great series last year, Pistons and Cavs was also great... but after Amare got suspended for some stupid reason it left a real salty taste in my mouth about a championship just being given to a team.
And yet, how many people actually believe that Stern has manipulated the league to "give" the championship to the Spurs? We heard it over and over last season.
No one has ever give a reasonable answer to why Stern would do that. The whole idea just defies logic. The main "proof" that most fans gave that Stern wanted the Spurs to win was that they won. Whoever wins this season will have the same tag placed on them. Just wait.
Although I can hear it now, if the Spurs and Pistons end up in the Finals, Stern spinning it in his best Woody Allen-like demeanor, saying something like "We have a great Finals... with the two best teams in the league... vying for the title. Who wouldn't be happy with this?"
Thanks for all the comments! One minor ommission: when I said that Spurs/Pistons was the second Finals since 2-3-2 to go seven, I should have said it was the third (Lakers/Pistons 1988, Rockets/Knicks 1994 were the others).
I see no problem what-so-ever with two fundamentaly sound teams meeting in the finals. Regardless of who meets in the finals, getting shows you belong there, and if it turns out to be these two teams , so be it, they're both excellent. After what the Spurs did to LeBron, I damn sure don't want to see the Cavs there again.
I am David Downs, and I'm a sports nut who loves basketball and football and am open to good discussion about any sports subject. I am a Detroit sports fan, but I not a homer. Expect frequent vents on subjects that irritate me, and also expect the utmost respect for anybody's opinion, even if they disagree with me. Because, after all, that's what these blogs are all about, aren't they?
