It's all about the Benjamins!
I hate to break it to some of you guys, but... the NBA is rigged. This may not come as a shock to some of you, but to those of you who don't believe it, are just in denial. I too was in denial til I was about 17. Let me just point out some of the OBVIOUS facts...
1.) Karl Malone & Gary Payton are two future Hall of Fame players, both of which have never won an NBA championship, and are coming to an end of their NBA careers. These guys are old, but they still have a lot of game left in them, and today are still rated as above average players, even at their age. How do they somehow BOTH end up on the Lakers?... Well they can't both win a championship on separate teams, retire, and go out on top.
2.) The NBA is a business, and what is the goal of a business? To make money! What is going to make more money... A 4 game Lakers sweep over the pistons, or a 6 or 7 game Lakers victory over a pistons? It doesn't take a genious to figure out that the more games played, the more money made. (Maybe that could be the NBA's new slogan "The more games played, the more money made." it even rhymes.) So it's not skill, stellar defense, or even dumb luck that allows the Pistons to beat the Lakers. It's the NBA prolonging the series so they can make more money. Everybody knows that the Pistons don't even come close to matching up with the Lakers.
3.) Which cities generate more fans?...Highly populated, big interest cities, or Lower populated, low interest cities? Large cities such as L.A. or Chicago generate more fans which means more money. Why do you think the TWolves fell off? They couldn't even fill their arena during playoffs. Phil Jackson, coach of both Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, both huge cities, both of which generated arena packing crowds every night. Do you really think Phil Jackson would have won an NBA championship with the same team, but coming out of a city like Minneapolis? I don't think so. Why do you think Philadelphia lost in the NBA finals, then fell off completely the next year, with relatively the same team? Hmmm... makes ya think, don't it?
...and that's just 3, I can go on, and on, and on for days.
2 Comments:
Scott-
I do think the NBA is nothing more than an entertainment business. Don't get me wrong, I love watching it, it's just hard to see past things some times... i.e. Sacramento getting screwed in the playoffs a year back. Philly is a big city, but not as big of a city as L.A.
I think the NBA has its "perks," so to say, for players such as Karl Malone and Gary Payton. They're going to take care of big name players that have brought a lot to the game. Example... Remember Michael Jordan's first retirement from the Chicago Bulls? Clearly he had a lot left in him, but was pushed to retire by the NBA because he had a "gambling problem." Jordan was nothing more than another Pete Rose, he was betting on sports... Not brought out to the public of whether or not he was betting on his own team though. After that died down and cleared up, Jordan returns, only to win yet another NBA championship. Any other player would be forced out of the game, never to return.
True, both Malone and Payton signed for "pennies" compared to what they've made in the past, and still could have made if they played for other teams. But both of them joining the Lakers to form a roster that could compare to the Western Conference All Star team, seems like stacking the odds in their favor just a bit.
-Brandon
and this is just one of the millions of reasons why we all love brandon so dearly... he has heart and he's intelligent. thank you for putting a smile to my face today b... i needed it more than ever. miss you, talk to you soon.
and i completely agree with you about the NBA franchise being "in it" for the benjamins. franchise by definition means "professional sports team," and professional by definition means "performed by persons receiving pay." money makes the world go 'round.
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