Premiering This Fall: Miami Thrice

It's official; Lebron James has announced his intentions to sign with the Miami Heat, joining fellow superstars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Cleveland is heartbroken, Miami is ecstatic, and the rest of the NBA general managers are pulling their hair out trying to think of ways to compete with a team as good as or better than when Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman hooked up over a decade ago in Chicago. What does this all mean? Well, let's take a look from the perspective of a couple of different franchises.

Miami- So, how many years are all of these guys going to be there for sure? Five? Well, then that's how many years they should win the NBA Championship. This is, without a doubt, the best team in the league, and even minor disagreements in roles probably won't slow them down enough to cause significant damage. Add on the fact that Pat Riley is twice the coach that Mike Brown is, and you've got someone to raise the level of Lebron's game and maturity even higher. For all we know, Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley could develop into talented role-players, which make this team even more dangerous. Miamisty, Dyiami, Dynasty, call it what you want...this team is going to be good.

Cleveland- See: The Drive, The Shot, Art Modell. You can add "The Decision" right up there with the list of things that have crushed the spirits of Clevelanders in the past. It's been awhile, but let's go back to the years B.L. (Before Lebron). Remember what the Cavaliers were then? Terrible. You know what they'll be now? Mediocre. Lebron made this team what they were. Do you know what happens when you take the ice cream out of the milkshake? You get milk. The Cavs will be starting from scratch, and that doesn't bode well for teams in Cleveland (See: Cleveland Browns Rejoining the NFL).

Everyone Else- No, I'm not putting the Knicks or Nets into their own category. The Knicks, other than Amare Stoudemire (who has his own issues), are no better than the Cavs. Lebron wants to win, and New York isn't the place to do it. The Nets, other than Jay-Z being buddies with Lebron, didn't have enough to offer either. As for the rest of the teams in the NBA, see if they can make a trophy for second place. With Miami's new lineup, second place is as good as gold. Quite honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see Phil Jackson change his mind and decide to retire for good. He has firsthand knowledge of what a team like Miami can accomplish; he coached one. The odds of Jackson completing another three-peat just took a major hit, and I just don't know if he is up for the challenge.

Many times throughout this post, I have christened the Miami Heat as the next pro sports dynasty. I realize that it's not a done deal; they still have to go out and prove that they are the best. However, we're talking about three Olympic gold medalists on one team. We're talking about guys ranked 2nd, 5th, and 9th in the league in scoring last season on one team. We're talking about arguably the best shooting guard, small forward, and power forward in the league on one team. If they aren't the next dynasty, something will have gone terribly wrong.

Now, this is addressed to Cleveland fans. I know that you are probably clearing all of your Lebron/Cavaliers memorabilia off of your mantels, but remember this before you accuse Lebron of being a traitor: everyone wants to win. He gave it all he had, and the truth was that Cleveland didn't give him enough support to win it all. Some say that it will hurt his legacy if he wins with two other superstars by his side. Well, there is another way to think of it. Does it hurt his legacy more to win three or four or five titles with a superstar cast, or to stay "loyal" to Cleveland and never win anything at all? Neil Kinnock once said "Loyalty is a fine quality, but in excess it fills political graveyards." The same is true in professional sports.



- K. Becks

Where Amazing Happens? Not Quite...

It's been over a week since my last post, and for the first time ever, I actually had people asking me when I was going to post next. Granted, they were probably just giving me crap, but it feels nice all the same to know that at least someone besides me is reading my work. So once again (since I've done this shout out before), thank you to all of my readers for your support.

The NBA playoffs are well underway, and I'll be honest; I haven't watched a game yet. Not one. For the last few weeks leading up to the playoffs, I've been arguing with people as to why I don't think the NBA playoffs (or the NBA in general) are all that interesting. At least not the first round. Before I start watching anything but the NBA Finals, here are some things that David Stern should institute to make the game better.


Fix the Age Rule

Take it away completely? Actually, quite the opposite. The NBA needs to make a rule similar to the NFL, where a player must be at least 21 years old or have completed his junior year of eligibility for the NCAA in order to enter the draft. There is something wrong with a professional league where 19 and 20 year olds are able to master the game and be stars immediately out of high school. How many 19 and 20 year olds do you see making an impact for teams in the MLB and NFL? A hell of a lot less than there are in the NBA, that's for sure.


Widen the Lane

You know what I see when, on rare occasion, I watch an NBA game on TV? Either a player dribbles around a little and then shoots a 20 footer, or a lazy dump pass is made into the lane, where a post player drops in an easy two footer. The NBA needs to become more of a team game; there is too much one-on-one play. A good way to make the league more pass happy is to widen the lane, forcing the big men to spread out more. Not only will they be unable to hang out under the basket as much, but it will open up the middle for backdoor cuts and give and go's.


Allow Zone Defense

Along with widening the lane, this is another international-esque move that I'd suggest the NBA make. Unlike many arguments, the NBA players are capable of stopping offenses by playing zone defense. They play it in the international game, and who are often some of the best defenders in the NBA? European players. The banning of zone defense was done to promote scoring, and with the athleticism of today's players, there would still be a lot of scoring.


Only Take Four...

...teams per conference to the playoffs. There is no reason to put half the teams in the league in the playoffs other than to increase revenue. The MLB takes eight, and the NFL takes twelve. Anything over that and you're starting to bring in some teams that are just plain mediocre (ahem, Chicago...). There isn't any place for mediocre in the playoffs, and if the NBA wanted to be taken more seriously, they'd start being more like Major League Baseball and less like the National Hockey League. Less is more, gentlemen (that goes for you too, NCAA).


I'm sure that these suggestions I've listed will ignite some discussion. I want to hear your thoughts and criticism, whether you agree with me or not. I doubt that the NBA will take my advice any time soon, but until they do, I won't be watching any of the playoffs until the conference finals...at the earliest.


Since I didn't write about the Ben Roethlisberger situation, I've decided to let you guys tell me what you think. Check out the poll in the top left corner of the page to vote. Think of it as my way of getting "the fans" involved.



- K. Becks