Baseball into Basketball
November 4, 2002

by DMD

There are so many aspects to the end of this year's baseball season for a lifelong Bay Area sports fan. For the child who fantasize and literally played out every pitch of seven games of imaginary World Series between the A's and Giants in 1979, 1980, and 1981--years in which they were both miles from first place...this was nearly a dream season. The A's somehow squandered another great year away in the sudden death realities of a deciding game five. The only thing that might be more embaressing is if Miguel Tejada is announced in the next few days as the MVP: Please, a great year on a great team was had by Miguel--but you must be kidding if I am to ponder who I'd rather have at bat with the game on the line: Miguel or Alex Rodriguez--and who every pitcher in the American League would rather face. Now an extirely different question is who every pitcher who every pitched would face between Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds. Again, the question is rhetorical. Few pitchers, and ever fewer managers want to pitch to BBonds in ANY situation. Yet the major leaguers spoke volumes when Bonds' peers voted ARod MVP in a landslide. It will be interesting to see if Bonds ever does get revered a la Ted Williams, who was also much maligned (and with good reason relative to similar personality defects) in his prime.

But back to the transition at hand...as someone who is extremely conflicted about my sports fandom--whether due to the insanity of the bazillion dollar stadiums and contracts, the highly relevant college athletics corruptions and its heavy impacts on many individuals who devote themselves to dreams of professional athletics rather than an ounce of effort towards academics only to not win that lottery, or just the fact that I have the most fun when I play--and my body gets the most rewards from playing rather than watching--the end of one sports season is always a time for contemplation of renouncing all fandom to any formal athletics other than my own. However, I am not one who says "So, I'll wait for the playoffs." No, I'm either a knowledgable student of the game or none at all. The latter choice I have successfully made with regard to football for some years. But basketball is my greatest love. And maybe it was a sneaky opening night victory for the Warriors. Maybe it was the Lakers looking vincible with their (admittedly Shaq-less) 0-2 start. Maybe it was the fact that I will enjoy watching my bruda C'ton struggling through another playoffless Clippers season. But I am going to take part in observing this NBA season. And here are my "one week in" predictions...

GSW: Mike Dunleavy played his best game thus far this year against the Dallas Mavericks. And his best game was not good enough. Yes, I know he understands the game. Coach's son and all that. But please. He's not Larry Bird. He's just not. He perhaps develops into a nice role player. But who can he defend? No, really. Who can he defend? He's way too scrawny to defend the stronger 3's of the league. He's not fast enough to defend the faster ones. At least he's not Casey Jacobson. My goodness--what was he thinking? Maybe he thought one more year in college and he wouldn't be drafted at all. But more importantly to me, he's not the #4 pick in the draft, local boy gone Kansas gone Memphis: Drew Gooden. Now I know he's put up gawdy numbers playing for a so-so team that plays no defense, but still. Just the fact he shoots free throws much better than either Dukie #2 pick or Dukie #3 pick gets me excited. The fact he can rebound, score, has a little more size and a lot more size potential to defend--well, that gets me very excited. And very sad. Sad for GSW. I obviously like Arenas. I'm optimistic about Musselman--but clueless at what he's doing playing Antwan 46 minutes a night!?! I mean, I'm excited to see the guy playing defense for the first time since college, but I don't think that's how you succeed long-term no matter how thin your bench is. Look at what's happening to Allan Houston in New York right now (shooting 20% in the fourth quarter on tired legs). I don't think ANY NBA player should average more than 40 minutes in the regular season. It's my biggest critique of Rick Adelman--that he plays Webber (a fragile dude if ever there was one, check: are these preseason games, Chris? Where are you right now? Hurt, again) well over 40 minutes a night. Even in the playoffs, I think that's a mistake with Webber. And I certainly think it's a mistake with Jamison. Sign Chuckie Brown before you have to resort to that. Arenas I like. Foyal I love. How can you not. He's smart, political, and the most talented shot blocker for his size since BiRussell. Yes, that BiRussell. No, he's not in that league. But if I ever could wish it on a player, I'd wish it on him. Or on Miguel Tejada. But Tejada pops up half the straight fastballs down the middle that Bonds and ARod rarely miss. Similarly, Adonal can't make an open layup half the time, so he has his significant limitations. Of course, I can't make an open layup or shot much either--I get the all Terry Teagle award there: double team me and make me fade away out the building and I'll hit way more often than the open look.

Kings: see last year's bitter article. The good news is Bibby was out to begin the year so they won't start the season thinking Mike should hit all their game winners. The bad news is, since Webber is so un-clutch, they might return to that as the season, and especially the playoffs come about. And that is not the way to get over. Mike Bibby shooting 25-footers is not how to win basketball championships, folks. I love the way the Kings play, and I want them to figure it out. But right now, rooting for the Kings is actually worse than rooting for the A's. Except 2003 might be the year the Kings take a step backwards and get swept in Round Two and the A's don't even make the playoffs (with no mercy from the fans because it's a tuff division).

Mavericks: The real reason I'm hard on Chris Webber is because he almost killed Don Nelson. Literally. The year he forced Nellie to trade him Nellie was so depressed he developed walking pneumonia and was hospitalized. Oh, yeah--and the Warriors have been horrible ever since. Now, it's either Webber's fault for having his feelings so badly hurt or Nelson's fault for being so mean to Webber. Funny how Nelson was a players' coach before that incident and ever since. Oh, he yells (ask Sarunas Marcioulinis for real tales of abuse), but he's also an exceptionally friendly guy who genuinely likes people and players. Now, PhilJack gives players books and all that groovy stuff, but does he really relate?...Or is he too bizzy doin' the boss' daughter? So, yes, I like Nellie. And I don't usually like Billionaires by virtue of the realistic question of how many did they exploit to become Bazillionaires, but I almost like Mark Cuban. The fact that he is a spaz and a sore loser that makes my wife look like the best sport in the world dim my appreciation of some of his methods. But I can root for the Mavericks a bit. Even though they are the big money guys, they've all been rejected in their own ways: Steve Nash has been told he had no chance at every level, including several times in the NBA; Nowitzki was laughed at by NBA insiders when Nelson first predicted his stardom; Finley was the first to arrive in Dallas and was just considered the aftermath of the failure of the "big three"; Shawn Bradley--well, we all know that one. Anyhoo, lots of high prices to be sure, but lots of question marks too, who I can kinda get behind. I suppose it all depends on Shaq's toe.

Eastern Conference: Who cares? I do, because I really am a fan of most any basketball. Nets: adding Mutombo--bizarre. He actually kind of fit with that weird Philly team. With a running Nets team where most everyone can pass and he can't pass or run--I just don't get it. You know what they say: if Jason Kidd could shoot, he'd have a lot more than just high school championships. Bucks: I guess I should stop rooting for George Karl because of some distant fired-Warriors connection. He's basically just another rich fool, now. But trading GRobinson for almost nothing must have been fun just in the DIS. DETROIT: I will root and root for them, come to think of it. A defensive player gets credit for their success (BWallace) and the expected "star" gets run out of town after a division title--I love these concepts! May Hamilton and all of the Pistons flourish and beat Jordan and the Wuzzards by double figures every time. In fact--forget the sixers, hornets, the Magic--McGrady is good, and Grant Hill still gives you something but is still too boring for words and it'll be another stone in his tragedy when the Pistons knock out the Magic in the Conference Finals.

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