LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat (Getty Images)
Before writing word one of the NBA’s 2010-11 preview, I’m teeing up No. 68, David Stern, for conduct unbecoming a sports commissioner!
What nerve to steal valuable space set aside to hype the Heat on a scale of ESPN to TNT and possibly have some spare room to mention one or two other teams parenthetically by obliging me to react to his shameful public presentation of pressure points!
How dare Stern undermine the league’s commencement exercises with scare tactics about shutting down operations June 30 and liquidating financially failing franchises should the union’s million-dollar babies refuse to bail out billionaire bullies in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement so owners can continue not to participate in their own rescue. Stern in fact warrants two technical fouls; the first for disrespecting the sanctity of the near-term season by acting like a ratings-possessed weatherman hawking a category-five hurricane 3,000 miles out at sea.
Imagine what the average NBA fan, who doesn’t really start following proceedings until after the NFL closes for business, must be thinking after getting wind of Chicken Little’s “the sky is falling” forewarning.
“If Stern feels the league is in the throes of destruction, why bother to pay attention or buy tickets?”
Stern’s second “T” is for spinning contradictory yarns.
How many times have we heard Chicken Little cluck about the NBA’s prosperity? “In spite of a down economy, overall attendance is up, TV ratings are at an all-time high and we’ve never been more popular internationally.”
In the last few weeks, we’ve seen the Nyets, Knicks, Lakers, Rockets and Timberwolves travel to China, Russia, Italy, France and Spain for games against foreign competition. The Nyets and Raptors are scheduled to play an unprecedented pair of regular-season games in London.
All that globe-trotting and here’s Stern now pinky-swearing that money is tight and projecting teams will lose a communal $350 million this season, which allegedly is $50 million less than the previous season.
Naturally, the league wants to reduce that deficit drastically by more than double, and expects players to provide the savings by accepting radically reduced contracts that no longer would be guaranteed, while other benefits would be slashed or obliterated.
Annual ticket prices and everything else arena-related will escalate as always, of course, as will Stern’s $12 million salary and bonus.
Every autumn at this time, the Board of Governors meet in New York. Rarely does any gloomy news leak into print. Yet this once, Stern felt the need to call a press conference and share his league’s fiscal plight.
Why now? Why couldn’t Stern have waited for a more appropriate time to state the league’s case?
Several years ago, dishonorably discharged referee Tim Donaghy disrupted The Finals at the outset by charging former colleagues and Stern of conspiring to favor marquee teams in order to prolong a series or propel them into the championship round.
The commissioner was furious. He prefers to raise or address controversial issues during downtime of All-Star Weekends. However, two days ago, he staked out a stage in the media capital of the world in a transparent attempt to gain control of public opinion, and send a sobering message directly to the players.
For Stern to stoop to this stunt — unembarrassed to manipulate and negotiate explicitly while everyone else has been ordered to bite their tongue — he must’ve promised owners way more than evidently can be realistically delivered.
The good news is, my Heat hysteria continues unabated and therefore is keeping pace with the perpetually hyperventilating cable nitworks.
On the flip side . . .
HEAT: I am not picking Miami to make out with the Larry O’Brien Trophy come June. For that matter, I’m not even picking them to vanquish the East. More than ever, in light of Mike Miller’s mangled thumb (out until January, at which time Thumbelina likely will sprain an ankle or two), I’m convinced you can beat the Heat with a 3-2 zone. Guaranteed opponents pack the paint and defy James and Wade to prove they’ve improved their 3-point marksmanship. On offense, if properly prepared and composed, opponents will pound it inside and take everything to the hole against Joel Anthony, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem.
Both Orlando and Boston are overloaded with quality big men and boast established defensive concepts to get them past the Heat in a seven-game series. They’re also steeped in know-how. Their cores have won critical playoff games, whereas it’s going to take time for the Heat’s blessed trinity to learn who’s going to do what and when, and whether others can be depended on not to melt in must-score-or-stop situations.
Far be it for me to suggest the Heat can’t find overnight harmony and happiness, but succeeding more than 60 times, in my humble estimation, is a stretch. This team is hardly a finished product — it has only just begun. Breaking the Bulls’ record 72-win achievement isn’t feasible. Every opponent already has the Heat circled on its schedule. The challenge will have them pumped for every possession at both ends, for the full 48. Every game against the Heat (all 82 are nationally televised, I assume) becomes their crowning glory.
Afterthought: One of the weightiest questions remains unanswered: who takes the last shot at the media at crunch time?
MAGIC: My choice to reach the Finals and dethrone the Lakers on the strength of MVP Dwight Howard’s defensive domination. His time has come to demonstrate the kind of leadership teammates lean on in need. Conversely, Howard finally has a rough-housing, rebounding partner alongside him. Stan Van Gundy pities the fool who wouldn’t pay to see Brandon Bass play.
Afterthought: Howard again will lead the league in rebounding, blocks, field-goal percentage and Stan The Mannequin impersonations.
CELTICS: The Big 3 this season is trainer Ed Lacerte, physical therapist Todd Campbell and Dr. Brian McKeon. It’s a young man’s game. Good thing they’re ludicrously deep, because it’ll be shocking if they don’t suffer at least one season-ending injury.
Afterthought: Rashweed Wallace may stay retired, but he’ll still lead the league in technicals.
BULLS: The true testament of management’s esteem for Joakim Noah was not the $60 million it invested in him over the next five seasons but its adamancy to resist the temptation to package him for Carmelo Anthony. For someone whose springer supposedly is suspect, Derrick Rose sure bangs in his share — and many are game changers/winners. When Carlos Boozer (fractured pinky) returns in six weeks, this team gets bumped up to elite class, a pedestal below the four legitimate title contenders.
Afterthought: If his hammy isn’t hurting, Ronnie Brewer looks like a solvent Scottie Pippen.
HAWKS: Can’t envision Al Horford, Josh Smith or Joe Johnson improving much more; they already get the max out of their talent. So, two things must happen for Atlanta to advance in the win column as they’ve done for five straight seasons: Marvin Williams needs to start making those around him better, and he might want to start with himself — 25 points and one assist in 4-game sweep by Orlando. Column contributor Ricky St. Jean calls him “The Floater” because “I’ve never seen him bend his knees and get after it.” Also, Jeff Teague must ascend with swagger, so Mike Bibby can be eased to the back of the rotation. Never a speedster or able to create his own shot when forced to dribble more than once, Bibby now is strictly a catch-and-shoot scorer.
Afterthought: At what point in the season does Mike Woodson predict they’ll tune out Larry Drew?
BUCKS: John Hammond was voted executive of the year by his peers for assembling inexpensive chemistry majors to surround Andrew Bogut, a man for all reasons who may never fully recover from a grotesque, late-April elbow injury. They played hard, made the extra pass and rotated as well as any team. But free agent Luke Ridnour, a stabilizing influence on Brandon Jennings, was lost to the Timberwolves and Kurt Thomas took his maturity and muscle to Chicago. And Hammond brought in the unreasonably priced Corey Maggette and Drew Gooden, together with Earl Boykins. Compared to them, Michael Redd looks like Tiny Archibald. If Scott Skiles gets through to this crew to play nice with the class and defend with distinction and sound judgment, the coaching trophy should be re-retired in his name.
Afterthought: Maggette assures Milwaukee will not be last in free-throw attempts. Just below 33 percent of his points (460 of 1387) resulted at the welfare line.
KNICKS: Two All-Stars away from being a contender. Still, the arrival of Amar’e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton gives fans rational expectations of watching a few games past No. 82. If that’s too much to ask, Isiah and I won’t take it lightly. I applaud Amar’e for daring to front a broken-down franchise James (and Wade) concluded couldn’t be resurrected any time soon. I commend him for enthusiastically welcoming the lead role in a city that eats its saviors when they come up short. I just hope he won’t be content to put up numbers and give up numbers in defeat and feel he’s kicking butt. I just hope he doesn’t start complaining when the opposition’s field-goal percentage enjoys a breakout year and the standings aren’t nearly as sunny as they were in Phoenix.
Afterthought: Amar’e insists he won’t miss Nash, Crosby, Stills or (Bob) Young.
BOBCATS: They say you can’t build a winner without a bona fide center and a point guard. So, what did Michael Jordan do after his team crashed last season’s playoff party? Declaring an aversion to pay a luxury tax for a non-championship contestant, he didn’t try to outbid the Knicks for Felton and donated Tyson Chandler ($12.6M) to Dallas for the right to release replacement Erick Dampier, whose $13.078M salary was non-guaranteed. And in the process, Charlotte’s majority owner effectively stunted the possibility of developing a serious contender until those two positions are significantly upgraded. Still, Larry Brown’s defensive schemes and play-calling are so good it’ll be no surprise when they again qualify for the afterparty.
Afterthought: Jordan now says organizations win championships.
NETS: There’s at least one certainty; this is Brook Lopez’s team until Anthony shows up, and nobody’s about to look him off more than once in a row, not with Avery Johnson in charge. Devin Harris, Terrence Williams, Jordan Farmar and Anthony Morrow utterly understand the offense is orbiting around their centerfold this season and are completely cognizant of the consequences if it doesn’t. Who blows up first: Harris, Williams or the coach? My money’s on Avery. It’s probably already happened.
Afterthought: Mikhail Prokhorov says the Cold War with the Knicks is over.
WIZARDS: John Wall is good enough to make everyone forget Nancy Pelosi. Does Gilbert Arenas reestablish himself as one of the league’s five best guards or earn a lifetime suspension? It could go either way. How many 7-footers flaunt a killer between-the-legs step-back from 20 feet like Andray Blatche? But his attitude is a turnoff — and that was before he signed the $35M extension. Shot-snuffing JaVale McGee, on the other hand, is a pleasure to behold but tends to be a follower. If I’m Flip Saunders, I put Kurt Hinrich’s locker between McGee and Wall.
Afterthought: Arenas says if you put a gun to his head, he might admit making a mistake or two.
76ERS: Headaches and vertigo may be the least of Doug Collins’ problems should Elton Brand’s diminished quickness and elevation prohibit him from defending the middle. He used to live at the line, but mid-range jumpers don’t get you there. The upside is Jrue Holiday, predicted by one and all to have a breakout year. How many teams have three starters — Holiday, Evan Turner and Andre Iguodala — who can post up and make plays and whose bigs are deadlier outside shooters than their smalls?
Afterthought: Turner is column conscience Geoffrey Gilbert’s early choice for Most Improved Player in 2011-2012: “He looks like a Buckeye caught in the headlights.”
PISTONS: I assume Joe Dumars still has faith in Ben Gordon, but until Rip Hamilton (three more years at $12.5M) is traded, Mt. Vernon’s deluxe descendent of Gus Williams remains stalled in No Man’s Land. Tayshaun Prince also could use a change of kingdoms, in his best interests and that of the team. Understudy Austin Daye is re-confirming regularly he’s ready to be featured at either forward spot or shooting guard.
Afterthought: Tracy McGrady is confident he can bring Detroit back to obscurity.
PACERS: Shoplifting Darren Collison (12.4 points and 5.7 assists as Hornets’ part-time starter) and drafting Fresno State’s Paul George (10th overall) have given the frumpy franchise renewed luster. If only Danny Granger was willed a defensive stance and stopped upchucking from offshore. There’s already plenty of evidence slimmed-down Roy Hibbert will win Most Improved.
Afterthought: My favorite quote this summer is courtesy of Brandon Rush, who tested positive three times for drugs in two seasons: “No, I don’t think I have a drug problem.”
RAPTORS: Still haven’t figured out what happened to Jose Calderon. Two years ago, he was the second best point in the East. Last season, he became pointless. Nobody so much as faked a desire to acquire his $30M, three-year guarantee. I’m intrigued at how Andrea Bargnani will handle being “the man” and not his sidekick. He’s so Dirk-like, it’s scary. Needs to get his butt underneath and rebound as well as clog the lane. Doesn’t sound like too much to ask, does it? Did Demar DeRozan work on his ‘J’ and make himself into a legit two? If not, Sonny Weems will steal his minutes.
Afterthought: Linas Kleiza and a healthy Ed Davis should add some toughness to a team that’s in dire need of a dose not named Reggie Evans. Nonetheless, Toronto will struggle to win the Grey Cup.
CAVALIERS: They’ve gone from first to hearse. I’m rooting for them with the same passion I displayed for the Bulls the full season Jordan misplayed to lunge at curves. J.J. Hickson can’t help but advance and be recognized as an unstoppable scorer and volume rebounder. Even so, they’ll be lucky to win 25.
Afterthought: Byron Scott’s goal is to win 66 quarters.
TUESDAY: Western Conference preview