Has there been any real news associated with the 2011 NBA playoffs? Let's see. . . .athleticism over age, as witnessed in the Celtics-Heat series? See the Pistons-Lakers in 1989. Big-market team over small-market team, as witnessed in the just concluded Dallas-Oklahoma City series? See Sacramento-L.A. Lakers in 2002. Megastar/endorsement-rich/ratings-heavy team roster creating a vast majority of calls and non-calls for it over a less-starry/less mega-advertiser-spokespersoned/ratings-light team roster as being witnessed in the current Bulls-Heat series? See Sacramento-L.A. Lakers in 2002.
In the notorious sixth game of the Western Conference Championship series of 2002, the Kings were robbed of victory by a tsunami of calls against them and a deafening silence of non-calls against the Lakers. It broke the Kings' spirit, and the seventh game was somewhat anti-climactic. The officials were following the script: keep the advertisers and television network officials satisfied by insuring the team from the bigger city and/or with the biggest most popular marquee players would advance.
Oklahoma City has a nice, young athletic team that had a big coach-and-player choke to blow a big 15-point lead the other night. The team will get better. The NBA promotes stars like Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. How long will OKC be able to keep them? Youth did not beat age in the Thunder-Mavericks series. The big market over small market concept of Dallas over OKC superceded the concept of athleticism over age, which would have provided a different result.
Incidentally, OKC did not deserve to win the series for an entirely more valid reason: its fans may be the least intelligent found in any NBA city. Perhaps brainpans have shrunk as a result of tornado fever. How can there be any other explanation for the OKC fans showing up in blue-out clothing both nights the Mavericks were in town? Not any blue, but the blue that matched the Dallas away uniforms? Whose brainchild was that?
If it was some rookie promoter's idea, couldn't they have rejected it for the second home game? Couldn't at least ONE fan have noticed how it made the OKC crowd appear to favor the Mavericks? The only logical answer would be if it were found playoff tickets were too expensive for OKC residents and only Dallas fans could afford them.
The NBA is already salivating at the prospects of a Heat-Mavericks finals. How will it be marketed? Age (Nowitzki/Kidd/Terry) vs. athleticism (James/Wade/Bosh), blue-collar Dallas vs. glamorous Miami, Beyond Primetime Players vs. Primetime Players. All other things being equal, NBA history indicates a slam dunk victory for the Heat. However, all other things are not equal. Far more advertising dollars are tied up in the Heat's marquee players than in the Mavericks'. Key NBA sponsors are married to the Heat's marquee players. There's even a new State Farm commercial featuring James and Wade together. League offices are located in New York City. It's Madison Avenue destiny for the Heat to advance and win the crown.
What else makes a Heat-Mavericks series and ultimate Heat victory inevitable? The Heat has more popular players (Wade and James) than Chicago or Dallas. Popularity helps ratings. Ratings help determine next year's playoff ad rates. Greater revenues help a television network or networks carrying the games. Greater revenues lead to larger multi-year television contracts with the NBA. Larger TV contracts help the league weather and survive future labor disputes, one of which is looming for next season. Therefore, the league office wants the Heat to advance and preferably outlast the Mavericks in the finals.
If I were the Bulls, I wouldn't even show up tonight. The "force" is against them. Naturally, I favor the Bulls and not because Chicago is farther west than Miami. The Bulls have three former Utah Jazz players on its roster: Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer, and Kyle Korver. Sure, their exodus to Chicago, indirect or directly, underlines the small-market-team-as-farm- club-to-major-market-team problem detrimentally impacting the NBA and Major League Baseball. However, I still like those players for enduring Jerry Sloan and Utah winters.
Has there been any real news associated with the 2011 NBA playoffs? Well, the Lakers did exit the drama early. On the surface, they are a big-market, superstar-studded team. However, they are aging, bringing the athleticism-over-age factor against them. Yes, L.A. is a huge market, but on closer inspection the Laker superstars are just ordinary stars with nasty marketing issues.
Ron Artest might have an endorsement deal for Everlast boxing gloves or a sanitarium, but that's about it. Kobe Bryant's character issues in Colorado and at home, dealing with a hotel receptionist and Shaquille O'Neal, reduced his endorsements to violent video games. Ask Utah Jazz fans about Derek Fisher's character.
Then there's physically-blessed, mentally-cursed Lamar Odom and his reality TV persona. Fans saw Odom's and Andrew Bynum's true characters surface at the end of the Mavericks series with cheap shot fouls and stripping-to-the-waist antics.
Add to the rogue's gallery of players a Men-in-Black alien-faced Pau Gasol and a Zen-spouting arrogant Coach Phil Jackson, and you have a team whose dynasty the NBA was all too happy to terminate, L.A. or not.
Again, has there been any real news associated with the 2011 NBA playoffs? No. Same-o, same-o.
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