The NBA season is officially in jeopardy. For months basketball fans grasped on the feeble notion that maybe the two sides would come together and make a deal. Unfortunately, the owners and the players union according to reports via Yahoo! and ESPN NBA are still far apart in their negotiation. First it was the lock out.. Then came the cancelling of summer league, training camp, and pre-season games.
All okay according to fans like myself: ‘Its all right.. they will get it together..its events that must be sacrifice in order to let these guys work things out’
But here we are deep into October and things have suddenly turned grim. The cancellation of the first two weeks of the season pretty much ensures that games will be cancelled. Despite comments by David Stern, its hard to believe that the games falling on those two weeks can be made up during the rest of the regular season. Not only does this create more back to backs or Stern forbid 3 games in a row.. but.. It would also be nearly impossible to book the stadiums, when many like The Staples Center have schedules planned out for months in advance.
So games will inevitably be cancelled.
And it definitely gets me mad as a die-hard fan of the NBA. Not only do I not get enough basketball (Im already going through considerable withdrawals) but it tarnishes a season of accomplishments. Giving us another asterisk season. The last time a lock out occurred (1999) every accomplishment was degraded by saying that it came in a year where it was easier to win, due to smaller amount of games. The Spurs became champions.. oh but as Phil Jackson said.. they should have an asterisk placed next to that stat since it happened in a shortened season.
For fans who place more attention to who is NBA regular season MVP and NBA Champion, than they do to who became president.. that means a lot.
Who will get the downgraded accomplishment this year?
If Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers wins a title.. it will be: oh he has 5 rings and that easy one he got because of the lock out..
If Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks wins a second title in a row.. it will be: Oh but his back-to-back doesnt compare to others.. he did it in a shortened season.
If LeBron James of the Miami Heat wins his very first ring, there will be an endless summer of: How about he wins one in a regular season, like the rest of the champs.. he had it easy.
And so on and so on… An endless continual rant of how this season meant nothing.
Now to most, it wouldn’t seem like it would matter but to obsessive fans of the NBA , its a tragedy.
So I for one start mourning now, this NBA debacle.. Players wanting to keep a bigger piece of the pie and The Owner trying their best to control the pie. Honestly, I don’t particularly care about who wins out in the end or who’s demands are met.. I just want more freakin’ basketball..
How many games will we get 70? 65? 50?
And dare I say it.. None?
Unfortunately as a rare a notion as it may be at this point, it is very possible that we may have a cancelled season. Which means ill finally have to submit to being admited into the John Wooden Rehab Clinic. A place to learn about how to cope with life after losing the NBA..
But for the moment I will keep hoping that things get worked out some how and that the fans don’t continue to suffer, through what seems like greed of men. Millionaires fighting over collecting a few extra millions.
All I want is to get the season started.. Watch the NBA’s greatest players in Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Derek Rose, Blake Griffin.. and so many other athletic freaks.. I want to see some crisp passes, some connecting alley oops, and some posterizing dunks.. I want to see a player that is husstling so much that he creates a turn over.. Or maybe a nasty block, a sick rejection, that makes the other player run back to the other end of the court with his head lowered in shame and new found humility..
I want to be able to forget my worries every night I turn on my local sports team.. and revel in the rivalry for 48 minutes..
I want to scream due to emotional turmoil when my team loses a game at the buzzer..
And I want to feel the euphoria and culminating collective satisfaction of sticking with my team trough highs and lows and seeing them win the NBA Championship..
But before that happens..
We need these Owners and Players to get their act together, make concessions, act like freakin’ big boys.. and come to some kind of agreement.. so we can get this NBA season started.. with the least amount of games lost in the process.