NBA Playoffs Thread

You can criticize the (unfair?) piling on of someone without "defending" them. On a scale of 1-10 of abhorrent athlete behaviors (with 10 being the worst), James' decision last July was about a 2 or 3 and is being treated like an 8 or 9. It really is that simple.

Many people whose opinion of James before last July was either favorable or indifferent would now rather see a wife beater hold the trophy.

And those same people expressed disappointment when the Lakers went down so meekly because they thought the team led by a rapist would have a better shot at beating a team led by a . . . "Decision" maker. Yet if someone points out this obvious incongruity he risks being branded a James or Heat fanboi.

The Favre comparison is perfect, actually. Criticism is warranted, but is it too much to ask that it be remotely fair?

 

I don't hate JAMES (edited this from Wade, who I don't hate either, but that's not the point). What I hate is the what it does for the sport when a championships start going to teams that are able to basically buy them. It's why I haven't paid attention to major league baseball for a good decade now (even before steroids I lost interest). If basketball goes that direction, I'll lose interest.

I know, one can argue that it's already gone that direction with the Lakers and Celtics. True that. But the Pistons are still recent. So is San Antonio, so was the Utah team that was solid for so long. But it's starting to look like, unless something changes, that the superstars will tend to congregate together to form super teams.

 

The Heat didn't "buy" a championship (which of course they haven't won yet). Due to the salary cap rules, James was going to get the same dough wherever he went. He chose to get together with Wade and Bosh and all be one team. There is nothing wrong with that at all morally or practically unless you believe, as so many sports fans do, that free agency should be abolished, and players serve solely at the mercy of their employers.
The Heat have been about five times as good in the playoffs as I thought they'd be. If they win, they're earning this title on the court. I wonder how many posters here and fans and commentators elsewhere were saying back in December that the Heat's utterly predictable early struggles proved that James was a loser.

 

As long as it has a salary cap, basketball will never have the "buying championships" issue to the degree baseball does. Free agents choose the Yankees/Red Sox because they offer a higher salary than anyone else can match. That ain't why Lebron and Bosh chose Miami.

But there does seem to be a growing issue with top stars colluding to play together instead of against each other. And that is a potential problem that could compromise the league's competitive balance and integrity. But they're doing it for the easy path to rings, glamour and glory, not the salary.

 

Stoney you are right on point. It's not the pure salary that buys the player, it's the promise of all that goes with being on a certain team. Come to L.A. and New York. Your salary is the same as Utah or Cleveland, but you are in media centers and endorsement money and general notice and that's worth so much more.

If it's not the lure of the city or market, it's the lure of "combining forces" to play on a super team.

These things can buy a player as much as straight salary. In some ways, a lower salary in the right market or the right team is "worth" more than a higher salary in the wrong market. And that can be used to "buy" a player.

That is not new, but is it me or is it more pervasive now?

 

L.A. and N.Y. have their obvious media/endorsement benefits, but it really stops after that.

Miami is nothing special as a media/endorsement attraction, but it offers players a franchise that has a history of going out and getting (usually by trade) competitive talent. Dallas is nothing special as a media/endorsement attraction, but it offers players an owner who will treat his players like kings and who --- despite his faults --- cannot be accused of not wanting to win.

Good players wanting to play with other good players is nothing new. It's just more pronounced in basketball, since it only takes 2-3 stars to win big.

You're a free-agent NFL receiver. If the teams can afford you, you want to catch passes from Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees or Tom Brady. You don't have any great desire to beat them; you'd rather join them. They make your job easier. They make you look better. It's no cop-out to join them. It's no "easy way to rings" because there is no such thing.

You're a free-agent slugger. You'd like to join a team that has other bats in the lineup that can protect you. And if that team has 2-3 top-notch pitchers, so much the better. It means you don't have to face them.

The playing field will never be 100 percent level, even if money is taken out of the equation. Jacksonville's a tougher sell for an NFL free agent than New York. Utah's a tougher sell for an NBA free agent than Los Angeles.

 

I've disliked the whole Miami thing from the get go. It's not good for the game, at all, but it's not unfair. You can talk about what a coward LeBron is for going to Wade's team, or the laughable joke of a celebration that was put on to announce it, but they did nothing wrong, as much as I hate writing that.

No matter what anyone says, if they go to win the title, they will have certainly EARNED it. Facing sheer hatred in most opposing arenas and the constant scorn and scrutiny of the media day in and day out, it would be quite a commendable feat if they do pull it off.

 

Not unfair, but like you said, not good for the game. I've been hoping that it fails for that reason.

 

Who the hell gets arrested in Paradise Valley other than Glenn Campbell?

 

You can talk about the attractions of NY AND LA etc. But history shows that the vast majority of free agents go for the most $$ not best market.

LeBron gave up a few millions to go to Miami.

 

LeBron did not give up a penny. Miami worked a sign-and-trade with Cleveland, who signed him to a max deal and then traded him to the Heat in exchange for a bunch of draft choices and the $14.5 million trade exception. There was never a threat of LeBron not getting the max deal and the max years. Miami was really stupid, however, for going along with it. THe HEat gave up any kind of cap flexibility it had, as well as most of its future first round draft picks, just so they could sign LeBron and Bosh to max deals. The Heat organization was drunk with elation over what they were able to pull off, but it shot itself in the foot with its actions immediately after the signings. Miami better win it this season or next because if it doesn't that window is going to slam shut.

 

Miami's biggest worries are the new CBA taking away the mid-level exception and the long-term health of Dywyaynyne Wade.