Matt
09-02-2006, 12:00 AM
i was going to post this in the WBC thread, but thought it deserved its own thread.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5925616
the last part of the article is great commentary on the state of NBA basketball:
Yes, these guys played harder and more unselfishly than did the crew in Athens. Yes, Coach K was a much better fit than was Larry Brown. But there are still too many continuing problems with the way basketball is played in the NBA.
The most basic of the cultural factors that is destroying the beauty of basketball-as-we-should-know-it is America's obsession with numbers: The stock market and its fluctuations. The GNP and the unemployment rate. Ubiquitous rankings and poll results. Test scores. Gross and net worth. Ledger entries in red or black ink. What's your APR? Your IQ? Your credit rating? Who's Number One?
In virtually every aspect of our society, value is expressed in numerical terms. This makes us unwitting captives of a linear mode of thinking that doesn't truly honor the mystery of the human spirit — or the complexities of the games we play and watch.
No wonder that, in the wonderful world of the NBA, the players, the fans, and the media are infatuated with statistics. Points scored, shots taken, rebounds corralled, assists distributed, and so on. However, except for games played and minutes played (and sometimes Personal Fouls), these numbers are concerned only with what happens when a player is in the immediate proximity of the basketball.
That's why so many of us are mesmerized by the ball/spotlight.
That's why American hoopers have such brilliant ball skills and particularly excel in one-on-one and two-on-two situations.
That's why a team of smart, experienced, and cohesive players, who can't come close to matching our athleticism, beat us so consistently in top-flight international competition.
It's also much too easy to excuse Team USA's disappointing performance(s) by moaning about the lack of practice time. For sure, had these guys played together as long as the Greek players have, the result might have been different. But three weeks is sufficient to install a defensive system to counter S/Rs, to create a more free-wheeling half-court offense, and to refine the necessary defensive rotations.
How much longer than three weeks are the NBA preseason training camps? Especially with the veterans exempted from reporting when the rookies and marginal players do?
No, no. The same old problems call for the same solutions that I proposed two years ago after the Olympic debacle: What's needed is a total re-education of the players, the media, and the public. Instead of concentrating on the moments when one of the ten on-court players has the ball, our attention must be expanded to see the whole game.
As our atrocious performances in Indianapolis, Greece, and Japan prove, the difference between gold medals and bronze medals (or no medals at all) is how a team plays off-the-ball. Even by the numbers, this is where 90 percent of the action is.
Too bad this "secret" game remains such a mystery in American sports.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5925616
the last part of the article is great commentary on the state of NBA basketball:
Yes, these guys played harder and more unselfishly than did the crew in Athens. Yes, Coach K was a much better fit than was Larry Brown. But there are still too many continuing problems with the way basketball is played in the NBA.
The most basic of the cultural factors that is destroying the beauty of basketball-as-we-should-know-it is America's obsession with numbers: The stock market and its fluctuations. The GNP and the unemployment rate. Ubiquitous rankings and poll results. Test scores. Gross and net worth. Ledger entries in red or black ink. What's your APR? Your IQ? Your credit rating? Who's Number One?
In virtually every aspect of our society, value is expressed in numerical terms. This makes us unwitting captives of a linear mode of thinking that doesn't truly honor the mystery of the human spirit — or the complexities of the games we play and watch.
No wonder that, in the wonderful world of the NBA, the players, the fans, and the media are infatuated with statistics. Points scored, shots taken, rebounds corralled, assists distributed, and so on. However, except for games played and minutes played (and sometimes Personal Fouls), these numbers are concerned only with what happens when a player is in the immediate proximity of the basketball.
That's why so many of us are mesmerized by the ball/spotlight.
That's why American hoopers have such brilliant ball skills and particularly excel in one-on-one and two-on-two situations.
That's why a team of smart, experienced, and cohesive players, who can't come close to matching our athleticism, beat us so consistently in top-flight international competition.
It's also much too easy to excuse Team USA's disappointing performance(s) by moaning about the lack of practice time. For sure, had these guys played together as long as the Greek players have, the result might have been different. But three weeks is sufficient to install a defensive system to counter S/Rs, to create a more free-wheeling half-court offense, and to refine the necessary defensive rotations.
How much longer than three weeks are the NBA preseason training camps? Especially with the veterans exempted from reporting when the rookies and marginal players do?
No, no. The same old problems call for the same solutions that I proposed two years ago after the Olympic debacle: What's needed is a total re-education of the players, the media, and the public. Instead of concentrating on the moments when one of the ten on-court players has the ball, our attention must be expanded to see the whole game.
As our atrocious performances in Indianapolis, Greece, and Japan prove, the difference between gold medals and bronze medals (or no medals at all) is how a team plays off-the-ball. Even by the numbers, this is where 90 percent of the action is.
Too bad this "secret" game remains such a mystery in American sports.