Jack’s Blog

In the April 28, 2008 addition of Sports Illustrated - yeah, five years ago - there was an article about the NFL draft.  Not surprising, since it was the same time of year as the one held a few days ago.  The article was about the 1998 draft, the one with Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf, and with the #5 pick (Curtis Enis, who retired from the league two years later) and the #92 pick (Hines Ward, who became the Super Bowl XL MVP).  A couple of the people quoted in the piece were New Orleans coach Sean Payton and former Green Bay Packers general manager, and current San Diego Chargers consultant, Ron Wolf.

Their discussion was, naturally, about the “science” of drafting football players.  Their comments, however, rang just as true as if they were discussing the NBA draft.  Payton’s comment was, “You get excited about a guy because of his tools and projecting his ability, but so much of this is looking beneath the surface.”  As the NBA playoffs continue, it’s impossible not to look at the “nobodies” who slipped through the draft cracks and the high profile picks which have yet to live up to pre-draft hype.  Everybody knows the Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan gigantic  mistake and Greg Oden before Kevin Durant humongous error.  Another interesting example would be the 2009 draft in which the Minnesota Timberwolves were in the market for a guard (several as it turned out).  They took Ricky Rubio, Spain’s version of “Pistol” Pete Maravich, with the fifth pick.  They also had the sixth pick and, because most thought Rubio would be difficult to sign, they decided to go with an additional point guard.  Their choice was Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn - whose career mostly has been in the NBA, although last season he played for the Melbourne Tigers in Australia.

What Payton meant can clearly be seen in that selection.  Not only did Minnesota select Flynn over the next pick, Stephen Curry, whom the T-Wolves are constantly being reminded went to Golden State but they also passed on #10 Brandon Jennings, #17 Jrue Holiday, #18 Ty Lawson (they actually did draft Lawson but it was only to trade him to Denver for a future first round pick) and #19 Jeff Teague.  It’s more than a stretch to say that guys picked in the first round “slipped through the cracks” but it does show how the draft is such a crap shoot for a team when its name comes to make its draft selection.

Other classics?  How about the Clippers, a year after they wisely (OK, that year, a three-year-old would have) picked Blake Griffin at #1, they felt they needed to get a small forward with the ability to get his own shot.  They chose Al-Farouq Aminu with the eighth pick.  The Jazz took Gordon Hayward next, just before the Pacers who grabbed (and has never let go of) Paul George.  Why would the Clippers pass on Paul George for Al-Farouq Aminu?

For the answer, listen to the eerie crossover similarity between football and basketball, as told by Ron Wolf:

The fascinating thing about pro football is, no matter how long you’re in it, you can’t predict how guys are going to handle the pressure, the limelight, the money.”

When an NBA lifer calls it quits - in the middle of the season - red flags start flying.  Especially after the guy in question is Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and his abrupt resignation takes place suspiciously close to an altercation he had with talented point guard Deron Williams.

Something sinister - with a villain?  Apparently, the answer to that depends on . . . your date of birth.  Old timers yearn for the days when the coach called the shots - even if Red Auerbach had to privately meet with Bill Russell and ask him to play along when Red yelled at Russ at practice because if he did, the rest of the guys would see Red was the boss.  This was in the day when winning took precedence over everything - including contracts, no-trade clauses, endorsement deals, personal stats.  Of course, Auerbach’s and Russell’s Celtic teams won every year so that strategy paid off handsomely - for one team in the league anyway.

Back then, there were no halftime extravaganzas, Kiss cams, tattooed players or agents.  Of course, there also weren’t chartered flights, three-point shots, NBA television network and smoking was allowed in the arenas.  In short, they weren’t the good old days as much as, merely, the “old days.”  It’s up to the individual to decide which days are good.  Or better.

What’s most disappointing about the Sloan situation is the post-announcement posturing, led by the coach himself who took the high road, a stance somewhat inconsistent with the way he normally confronted issues.  Definitely different from the way he played.  Jerry Sloan never backed down from a good battle.  Then again, maybe he was being completely honest, that it was “his time.”  Maybe the new breed of superstar (or even average player for that matter) had simply worn him down to where he realized these confrontations were no-win options.

That’s the indication the fan on the street gets when former players like John Stockton and Karl Malone make public statements regarding how highly they think of their old coach.  Each said they were surprised by his move and felt the word “quit” was something they’d never associate with their old boss.  Certainly not in the middle of the season.  Malone, when questioned about verbal player-coach battles when he was playing, openly admitted there were many, but maintained every player on the team knew who was in control and that person was the coach.

Woodard and Bernstein coined the phrase “non-denial, denial” when they reported on Watergate.  After hearing Williams’ response to Sloan’s retirement, that was the exact phrase that came to mind.  He didn’t deny the verbal disagreement he had with Sloan but claimed that, in no way was he attempting to give management an ultimatum.  Most damaging to Williams’ non-denial, denial was ESPN’s Chris Broussard, who has made his bones as the NBA’s leader in spreading gossip - and the nastier, the better.  Broussard, doing his best Stephen A. Smith impersonation, said that the removal of Sloan from the Jazz bench would be welcome to Williams, as would the promotion of assistant Tyrone Corbin who, as Broussard said, recommended different plays during games than those that Sloan did, but which Williams thought were better.  If ever something defined the difference between the old NBA and the new, that statement was it in a nutshell.

Fans of today’s NBA are witnessing superior athletes than those of yesteryear, yet a game that’s less team oriented than it was decades ago.  Some of this is due to rules changes and some of it is due to a change in culture.  Which is the better product is left to the viewer.  In the case of young fans, they don’t know any other style and seem to enjoy the game as much as their parents and grandparents did at their age.

When Pat Riley coached, he used to forbid his players from even talking to opponents before a game and actually fined them if they helped up an opposing player up after knocking them down.  Chatting it up when the teams take the court prior to formal warm ups is common place today.

Which side is right in the Jerry-Sloan-stepping-down argument?  As well respected as Jerry Sloan is, there certainly are many who will say that today’s players just don’t respect authority.  The flip side are those who state, as Thomas Jefferson (definitely classified as an old-timer) did:

“If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.”

Theories, gut feelings and “inside information” (usually by that famous, all-knowing anonymous source) about which free agent is going to pair up with whatever other free agent or whatever current all-star(s) to form a formidable team have been running rampant for quite some time.  Well, at least since last Thursday.  Listening to the talking heads, whatever combination-of-the-day that eventually becomes reality ensures that franchise of not only next year’s Larry O’Brien trophy, but multiple “rings” (which used to be called championships back in the day when people spoke more about team accomplishments than the jewelry that was given to the individual).

A few days ago, it looked like Miami was going to have the Big 3 (Wade, James & Bosh).  Then, following Friday’s meetings, the front runner looked like the Knicks, after seeing and hearing an excited Mike D’Antoni.  Yesterday’s dynasty in the making was Chicago, who would be able to field a team, if all the pieces fell into place, of Derrick Rose, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and Joakim Noah.  No one mentioned who the fifth starter would be.  Possibly, those four would be enough for the Bulls to place an order with Josten’s.

Once everything finally shakes out and the superstars realize that, while all this attention is intoxicating, they can only play for one team, the next step will be for lesser players to cash in on contracts that, in “normal” times, no owner in his right mind (which includes nearly all of them) would dole out.  This syndrome is similar to the average guy who gets the prom queen because she was on the rebound.  In this case, “lesser” does not refer to guys like Carlos Boozer or David Lee - deserving players whose performances have earned them a big paycheck) - but more like Darco Milicic, Drew Gooden and Tyrus Thomas - guys who have already been offered contracts that are so vastly overpaying them that they ought to collect their checks wearing a mask and carrying a gun.

When this circus finally ends, the NBA will be left with the new superpowers, the  franchises with talent (not only the Lakers and the Celtics, but the Spurs, Magic, Thunder, Jazz, Mavs and probably a few others).  The newly formed mega-team (NFMT) against the Lakers will be must-see TV.  The Celtics vs. whichever other newly formed mega-team (WONFMT) will also peak viewers’ interest - at least the first couple times they face off. 

On the other hand, the teams that weren’t good before and weren’t able to improve will be fodder for the those the first two groups.  This has been the case in the past, but this year’s, for lack of a better word, collusion by the top free agents has not only widened the gap between the clubs that will be able to place a competitive squad on the court and the bottom feeders, but increased the number of those bringing up the rear as well.  Without help, e.g. rookie surprises or divine intervention, there will be some really bad, as in unwatchable, games next season.  

Should things stay as they are, Indiana or Toronto (or the Cavs if LeBron leaves - or, worse, Miami if DWade DParts) vs. NFMT or WONFMT (or for that matter, even the Lakers) will be watched in its entirety by only family members or those who placed a wager on the over-under.  Also, there will be more “bad team vs. bad team” games.  If those teams thought they had attendance problems in the past, be prepared to close about half the concession stands and lay off a great many ticket takers and ushers.

The players who are reveling in all this attention and reaping in the cash now ought to enjoy it because, unless I’m missing something, all that’s currently going on will come back to haunt the (highly paid) worker bees (that includes every NBA player) when the new CBA is drafted, as all this outlay of funds has to strengthen the owners’ case when bargaining time arrives.  A couple of superstars/per team will be highly paid, the rest of the guys - probably including starters - will be making minimum.   

In a battle of monetary attrition between owners and players, my money (however little of it I still have) is on the owners.  Although it was around a century ago that George Washington Carver said the following, it rings so true today:

“We have become 99% money mad.  The method of living at home modestly and within our income, laying a little by systematically for the proverbial rainy day which is due to come, can almost be listed among the lost arts.”Â

Still not anywhere near 100% health-wise (can’t remember when I was, it’s been so long, but the last week or so, the hurtin’s a shade - or two or three times - more than usual).  Here goes today’s blog attempt:

This just in from long-time loyal reader and Mission San Jose (Fremont, CA) HS boys’ basketball coach extraordinaire), Pete Vaz (be sure to check out his VAZBALL.com site):

“I just read the Lawrence Frank firing story.  Another guy that “lost his team.”  Isn’t this more proof that Jerry Sloan might be the greatest coach currently in the NBA????  Hasn’t lost his team, gets to call the shots, wins games….?”

Good point.  Better one might be having a Mormon owner (a compliment for all those over-sensitive, looking-to-make-a-stink, have-no-life-of-their-own-so-let’s-see-if-we-can-upset-someone-else’s types) who had reasonable expectations, gave his coach power and didn’t think if the team doesn’t win it all (even with Stockton and Malone), he shouldn’t maybe think of “going in a different direction.”  Always wondered if that different direction ever led anywhere worthwhile.

Larry Miller (who died this past February) was an owner who loved his team, players, staff, fans and, yes, his head coach.  He seemed to subscribe to Tom Metzger’s philosophy (which might be a stretch, but you’ll get the idea):

“Either we are going to solve this by realistic negotiation or there will be blood on the border.”

P.S. PLEASE, all of you lookin’ for a cause to rise up and challenge something or someone, do NOT attempt a Mormon-Catholic connection toward another current coaching opening.  Although, come to think of it, maybe Jerry Sloan would be interested in changing addresses from SLC to SB.

Nah, he’d be less than the Domers would demand (because, like the Jazz, he’d probably never win it all), but more than they deserved - since he would simply run the classiest operation in the land.Â

Of the most recent inductees to the Basketball Hall-of-Fame (John Stockton, David Robinson, C. Vivian Stringer and, of course the G.O.A.T., MJ - see 9/12/09 blog), no one reminds the fans more of the common man than Jerry Sloan.

“Regular” people identify with the Jazz’s head man because of his “show up to work everyday, punch in, give a solid day’s effort and do it again tomorrow” attitude.  Here’s a guy who ranks near the top in total wins, winning percentage, number of 50-game winning seasons, consecutive winning seasons, number of trips to the playoffs and number of playoff wins, yet never has been voted NBA Coach-of-the-Year.  No wonder people who themselves feel unappreciated hold in such high regard the man dubbed “The Original Bull” for his having been the first player selected in the expansion draft by the Chicago Bulls. 

Ask most NBA fans about what Jerry Sloan is known for and, to a person, each and every one will say, aggressive, hustling, all-out defense.  So it might surprise some that one night, during his 11-year NBA career, Mr. D took 36 shots and scored 43 points!  Not that he wasn’t better known for his relentless defense, Sloan was selected to the All-Defensive First Team four times and had a career high 21 rebounds in a game.

Naturally, as low key a guy as Jerry Sloan is, he went to a Division II school, Evansville (currently D-I, but not when Sloan matriculated there), and just as naturally, he led them to two straight National Championships, being named Most Outstanding Player on both occasions.

But forget the other statistics, the one that’s the mind blower in this day and age is 20 consecutive years coaching one team - in the NBA!  This is a league that has had, since his hiring - get this! - over 200 head coaching changes.  It’s been said that the Hall-of-Fame is the ultimate honor for someone in their profession.

There couldn’t be too many people more deserving than Jerry Sloan and, when players, coaches and other NBA people speak of him, they say he seems to have the proper mind-set for coaching in the league - do as well as you can and don’t fret the things you can’t control (with the occasional referee rant excepted).  Sort of sounds like the 90-year-old man who, when asked the key to his longevity, said, with a twinkle in his eye:

“I reckon it’s because most nights I went to bed and slept when I should have sat up and worried.”

   Â

Michael Jordan’s career outshone that of John Stockton, just as MJ’s induction in the Hall of Fame will be remembered years from now and when someone asks the question, “Who else got into the Hall that year?”, Stockton’s name may or may not be recalled.

For people who know John Stockton, that’s exactly the way he likes it.  To put into perspective what Stockton did in the area of assists alone, consider this statistic: if Jason Kidd (the active player closest to Stockton in assists), were to average, for the remainder of his career what’s he’s averaged thusfar, he’d have to play another twelve years at that same pace in order to overtake him.  Rumor has it JKidd is retiring well before he turns 48!

As frequent readers of this site know, I wrote a book entitled Life’s A Joke, about funny stories that happened to me - most during my 30-year stint in college basketball.  One of the stories was about John Stockton.  When he was a senior at Gonzaga, the Final Four was held in Seattle.  Professional scouting wasn’t nearly as sophisticated as it is now.  Since I was going to be there, a friend of mine who was a scout for the Atlanta Hawks asked me to give him a report on the guard from the Zags.

I mainly said he was too small, not strong enough or quick enough to play in the league.  Come to think of it, maybe that’s why NBA scouting has blossomed as much as it has.  Although I had pretty good seats, what I wasn’t close enough to Stockton to see was how big his hands are.  And, I imagine, you’d have to coach him to know the other size factor I underestimated: how big his heart is.  I guess the Hawks’ loss was the Utah Jazz’s gain.

Several years ago, I wanted to write something about athletes as role models.  Naturally, one of the first players I thought of was John Stockton (coincidentally, another was David Robinson, who also was inducted into the Hall of Fame on the same day as Stockton).  Priro to exiting the college basketball scene, I used to be relatively good friends with current Gonzaga coach Mark Few (when I was on the staff at USC and he was an assistant at Gonzaga, our paths would often cross and since we had a similar sense of humor and philosophy of the coaching business, we developed a mutual respect for each other).  

When I saw him at a clinic in Las Vegas (I had since gotten out of the college game and he’d become the face of the Zag program), I felt he would be the perfect conduit for a meeting with Stockton (whom Few has come to know well enough to say they’re best of friends).  When I asked him if he could set up a lunch with the three of us in Spokane, Mark immediately declined saying Stockton would never go for it.

After I mentioned I thought John was perfect for something about role models because there are so few true ones in his profession, Mark simply said, “John doesn’t see anything he does as extraordinary.  He thinks everybody is doing what he’s doing.”  Which is exactly why he’d have been perfect for the spot.  Talk about a catch-22. 

Few mentioned to me a story that just makes people of average intelligence shake their heads.  It seems, years ago, a few ex-NBA players were talking about some the “extra benefits” of being a pro.  One of them, an “All-NBA womanizer” (readers would be shocked to know which guy I’m referring to, so let’s just suffice to say he’s easily in the top 50 players of all-time), said about Stockton, “What a waste!  A good-looking guy with all that talent . . . ”

What he was referring to was Stockton’s commitment to fidelity.  Adding to that (what some still consider as a positive) characteristic was John’s quote from his Hall-of-Fame speech: “Never in all the 30 years I played basketball - 3 years at St. Aloysuis, 4 years at Gonzaga Prep, 4 years at Gonzaga and all those years in the NBA, was I ever the best player on my team.”  Heck, no wonder his teams won.

After hearing the quote from Arthur Schopenhauer, about the only negative comment someone could make about John Stockton is that he must be a hypocrite: 

“With people of only moderate ability, modesty is mere honesty; but with those who possess great talent, it is hypocrisy.”         Â

So much for my blog saying the Lake Show would destroy the Jazz.  Like Kenny “The Jet” Smith said, “It was just a replay of Game 1.”  Maybe the Lakers are bored - or just can’t wait for the Cavs, because it certainly doesn’t look like anybody is going to come close to either of them.  So now I’m back with another prediction.  If this doesn’t come true, you can start calling me “the SI Cover Jinx.”  (Actually, I’d rather enjoy being referred to as the SI Cover Jinx, since it’s that time of year when teachers tend to get called a lot worse things when grades for the kids who have been warned about not working hard enough, not paying attention, not getting extra help in the form of math labs or tutoring and not putting in enough (any) study time, receive their final grades - and summer plans may have to be disrupted).

As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, my main man from Fresno, Dave Severns, is now with the Chicago Bulls in the capacity of assistant coach for player development.  One day, as the season was winding down, I brought up the fact of how great it would be if they could make the playoffs.  The playoffs!  For Sev, it meant that a year removed from winning the conference and playing for the Valley championship in girls’ badminton at Roosevelt HS, he’d be part of an NBA team in the PLAYOFFS, best known for 1) not having to send a rep for the draft lottery ping pong ball fiasco, 2) getting a sweet (and desperately needed) bonus check (and in the NBA, it’s for more than $100) which members of all the teams and staffs get if they make it out of the draft lottery and 3) being able to listen to the old interview cuts of Jim Mora without thinking, “Damn, we coulda been there.”  It’s also known for incredibly, beyond belief, intense basketball action, displayed by the best athletes in the world (see yesterday’s blog for further explanation).

Shortly after that call (and the subsequent winning streak the Bulls would go on), he told me how they could be the 7 seed.  I said, being a math guy, “the numbers say you could be as high as 6″, to which he replied, “Maybe, but getting 7th would be fantastic.”

“Why aren’t you fired up that you guys could move up to number 6?” I asked him, not understanding his reaction had nothing to do with just “getting versus not getting in.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” he said, “I’d love for us to be the 6th seed.  But getting to 7th means . . . we don’t have to go to Cleveland for the first round.”

Therein lies what many, if not everyone in the East feels.  As long as we don’t have to go to Cleveland.  And, for once, it has nothing to do with bashing the city.  OK, so they didn’t tie the home court regular season record of 40-1 due to Coach-of-the-Year Mike Brown (wisely) resting his best guys (meaning LeBron James and . . . some other good players), but what they’ve done to the Detroit Pistons (granted, an old team whose trade for Allen Iverson didn’t turn out how they hoped it would . . . but how everyone else who has ever seen a basketball game, including the Saturday morning 5-year old kind, knew it would).  Remember the quote from a few blogs ago, “The greatest indicator of future behavior is past performance“?  The trade of AI for Chauncey Billups is a living example of it.  So, as Dave had expected, whoever was going to Cleveland was going to leave there with their feelings hurt - and probably not have to worry about going back until next year.

The Cavs’ counterparts on the other side, LA, has played down/toyed with/virtually ignored their opponent, the Utah Jazz.  The Jazz has a few big-time NBA players, but with Mehmet Okur out (give them something to use as a crutch so they don’t have to admit to complete and utter hopelessness), they work like the devil and come close, but in the end, it’s as inevitable as Lucy vs. Chuck - with the Jazz playing the ignominious role of CB (and, Kobe Bryant masquerading as Lucy).

The way all the other series are going, I just don’t see any other (barring something catastrophic happening) scenario but an LA-Cleveland finals.  That doesn’t mean there won’t be some entertaining, and certainly exciting, hoops for your viewing pleasure (if you enjoy basketball at its finest).  Thusfar, watching the other games (naturally, I’m biased, but, especially the first two games of the Chicago-Boston series) has been phenomenal, independent of which team you’re pulling for.  That series shows an, up ’til now, non-existent fact: Kevin Garnett might not be the Defensive Player of the Year and he might not be the MVP, but he certainly is the Defensive MVP of any league.

As stated, I’m a Bulls fan (and have been ever since this past summer), but if anybody in the world thinks the Windy City guys would be consistently on top the side of 100 (like they have been for the first two games), if KG was on the floor, there’s this great timeshare I have in Pigeon Forge, TN I’d love to talk to you about taking off my hands - for cheap!

While Boston, Utah and, of course, San Antonio and even Philadelphia, have been hit with untimely injuries, the Lakers are just now getting back Andrew Bynum, who is getting better as he gains more experience and gaining confidence because he might just be too young to realize he’s having it a little more easily than guys like him on other teams because they have to focus on the other Lakers so much.  Bynum gets, more or less, a free pass to exhibit his array of skills and use his height and length quite efectively.

But if you think the Lakers or the Cavs feel bad for the teams with the injured guys (or anyone else, for that matter), you might heed a bit of advice one of my high school coaches gave me after I had a bad practice and was hanging my head:

“If you’re looking for sympathy, you can find it in the dictionary - between shit and syphilis.”  

  Â

Often when someone is in the midst of an experience, what happens takes on greater significance than it would have had the person waited a year or so before passing judgment. 

My close friend, Dave Severns, currently the assistant coach for player development with the Chicago Bulls (see 11/4/08 blog for some outstanding and inspirational information on “Sev”) and I agree on most issues, even if one of us is more passionate about an activity than the other.  Each of us can see the importance and relevance of the other’s enjoyment in pursuing whichever area of interest it happens to be, even though the other chooses not to be as active.

One point of contention we’ve discussed over the years is which is more exciting and fun to watch: college basketball or the NBA.  Since I worked on nine Division I basketball staffs over a 30-year period (1972-2002), 16 of those seasons culminating in postseason (NCAA or NIT) play, I’m obviously partial to the college game.  In addition, I saw - up close - some pretty intense rivalries.  I’m not only referring to Tennessee-Kentucky and USC-UCLA, but to Western Carolina-Appalachian State (the top of the mountain, ASU, vs. the bottom of the valley, WCU) and Toledo (city life) vs. Bowling Green (country living) - and only 30 minutes apart.  These people take everything seriously when it comes to competing against the other.

I do enjoy the NBA, but like most people, not until the playoffs get started.  The difference to me is the loyalty of the fan bases of the teams comprising the college game against the fan base of an NBA team.  What’s of vital importance in the college game is the school, i.e. it’s there, no threat of ever moving to another city.  How many of the fans of the Seattle Sonics do you think are staunch Oklahoma City Thunder supporters?  For that matter, do you really believe there are old timers living in Minneapolis living and dying with the Lakers (their former home, albeit quite some time ago)?  You really didn’t think a team from LA would select the nickname “Lakers,” did you?  Isn’t it MInnesota’s license plate read, Land of 10,000 Lakes?  Think it was a coincidence.  Come to think of it, there’s a heck of a lot more jazz in New Orleans than Utah.  Do you think . . . ?

In college, it’s the fight song, knowing the hometowns of the squad members as well as the likes and dislikes of the 12th man (because he’s in your English Lit class).  Fans feel a true bond with their team.  They’re eventually going to have the same degree as these megastars (well, around 55% of them, anyway, according to the recent studies I’ve seen).

Dave’s counter is professional basketball is a sport featuring the greatest athletes in the world.  A point of clarification: the winner of the Olympic decathalon has generally ben  recognized as “the world’s greatest athlete” and neither Dave nor I are about to dispute that.  What he’s referring to is that NBA players have the greatest athletic ability, e.g. running, jumping, throwing, quickness, shooting, etc. of any other team sport -anywhere.  I’m not sure there’s much of a debate on that point, but, in this day and age, people will debate, even sue if there’s a quick buck to be made, on anything.

His main point is that, watching any given game, you might, in all likelihood, see something you’ve never witnessed before.  He has a point.  Many, many years ago, the statistics regarding basketball players were: 720,000 high school players; 18,000 college players and, now, 450 NBA players (30 teams times 12 active and 3 non-active players on each club).  Those stats have drastically changed, with influx of foreign players who never went to college in the States.  No question NBA guys are the cream of the basketball crop.  Case in point: last night’s game between Chicago and Boston.  Ray Allen and Ben Gordon put on a pressure, clutch shooting clinic.  Sure, so did Steph Curry last year, but imagine a game where there was a Steph on each team.

Now, Sev has a new point in this argument.  The first two playoff games in Boston, between the Celtics and his new employer, have been down to the wire thrillers, the Bulls taking the first in OT and the Celts evening the series on a Ray Allen jumper with two seconds left.  The report I got from my man, Sev, after the first playoff game he actually saw live, was that it was the most intense game he’d ever been to.  This from a guy who’s spent a great many hours at basketball games.

“It wasn’t just the intensity of the teams, it was the intensity of the focus of the players”  (and coaches - he regards head coach Vinny Del Negro as a great guy, brilliant mind, quick wit and competitive, but he said even ‘V’ was more “lasered” than usual), the intensity of the crowd, the intensity of the refs!  Every possession was like it was the last one of the game!  Everything mattered.”  The excitement in his voice was like the kind your kid had after his first trip to DisneyLand (or his first haunted house, for those of you who were friends of Bernie Madoff). 

I saw last night’s game and, even as a TV viewer, I could actually feel all that come right through the broadcast - all the way down to Kevin Garnett (in street clothes and allegedly out for the entire playoffs), dropping “F” bombs in the direction of the visitor’s bench after Allen’s three to win it.  It was incredible to watch - I can only imagine what it was like to have a vested interest in who wins (the guys you work - and sweat - with on a daily basis), against the defending World Champs, and watching it one row behind where these gladiators sit - when they’re not in battle.

And to think, it’s only the first round!  He might be winning me over, so I have to control myself and reserve judgment until next fall when I can be of a more sound mind (I’ve pretty much given up on the body half of that equation).  But when I finally decide on college vs. pro, I have to keep in mind that line (which has been so overused, it’s been made into a poster):

“Your mind is like a parachute.  It works better when it’s open.”

NBA Playoff basketball is so great because you know you’ll see something you can’t always depend on during the regular season - all out effort (although what the Hornets did in Denver might refute that statement).

In these blogs, I try to let the reader come to his or her conclusion based on what I’ve posted.  Today, I’m deviating from that approach, only because I am so certain of what will happen in Game 2 of the LA-Utah series, I’m putting it into blogsphere for all to see.  Should I be way off base, then I open myself up for embarrassment and mockery on a world-wide level.  Of course, if it ever got to that point, I can always edit my remarks, even delete the blog, or claim I was misquoted (in my own blog - similar to Charles Barkley saying he was misquoted in his autobiography). 

Enough of all that.  Let’s get on with the prediction.  The Lakers will absolutely destroy the Jazz.  Here’s why: In Game One, no matter what the Jazz did, the Lakers answered.  “The Jazz just won’t go away!”  Announcers like to use that old lifeline (mainly because if a team did go away, the onus would be on the announcers to make a game with only one team in it sound interesting enough that people wouldn’t turn their TV’s off - and even with as much ego that often flows out of that group - and admittedly, I used to be one - nobody, with one or two exceptions, feels up to that task).

In Game One from the Staples Center, the Lakers weren’t ever worried about whether the Jazz would stay or go.  The Lakers didn’t even know the Jazz were there!  The game went as the Lakers had planned, i.e. get a lead and keep scoring. 

With Mehmet Okur out for the Jazz, the visitors were limited at both ends of the floor. First of all, Okur, although he’s a giant, may possibly be the best “pick-and-pop” man in the league - ever - (yeah, including Sabonis).  The Jazz’s big fella can really stroke it - and from deep.  But, if you listened to Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, he bemoaned Okur’s absence at the defensive end, because of his size versus the size of the Laker big men, meaning Utah would have to first sub for Okur and then, sub for Okur’s sub, sending the Jazz to places they’d hoped they’d never have to go - especially against a team as good as the prohibitive favorites to win it all.

The Jazz played as hard as they could and quite often, make big shots to keep the game relatively close.  It’s just that when they would make a big bucket, and they really needed a stop, they dug down . . . and the Lakers, not only would score, but make it look easy doing so.  In that same postgame interview, Sloan mentioned they weren’t as mean a team as he’d like, that they were still working on that aspect of their identity (if anyone’s old enough to remember Jerry Sloan, his version of “mean” probably differs from most people’s, including the members of his current squad).  Since we’re in the playoffs, it’s fairly safe to assume that what Sloan was referring to was next year’s version of the Utah Jazz, since if you’re not mean enough now, choosing to become so, in a best-of-seven series against the number one seed, is probably not a good starting point.

The Jazz can’t play much better on offense and, because of the Lakers’ pure talent (and the abundance of it), they can’t do much to stop the Purple and Gold offense (short of Sloan going back in a time machine and strapping it on himself - another thing guys don’t do anymore thanks to compression shorts), so it would seem like they’re doomed.  They’re not on the road where the hotel can make a “mistake” and the entire team come down with food poisoning prior to tipoff, so unless a case of the flu wipes out the top seven, make it eight guys from LA, there exists no chance for the guys from Salt Lake. 

Phil Jackson probably thought his club was flirting with disaster a little too much because he’s seen crazy things happen in all the time he’s been in the game, so he might remind his guys to step on it and focus at both ends, so the press conference is much more brief, allowing Jeannie and him to leave a little earlier for their nice, leisurely dinner somewhere on the marina.

I’m not sure whether even Jerry Sloan would want to be on a team with the task facing his squad, but I know he subscribes to the Frederick Douglass theory when faced with such tasks:

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress . . . power concedes nothing without a demand.  It never did and it never will.”

Before someone asks, “How can pain be helpful,” think about a time you were in pain and what you learned from it.  You don’t have to be an athlete to have a painful (and I’m referring to physical pain to your body, not an emotional pain, like the loss of a loved one) experience.  Pain happens daily in life - for a variety of reasons.

What can’t be overlooked is the educational factor a person gains from being in pain.  Usually, especially if it’s a serious enough injury or condition, you find out things you probably never would have known otherwise.  As the doctor or whoever’s treating you is explaining what happened (or trying to gather information from you as to what is the source of the pain), even the least observant person is attentive, if for no other reason than wanting to avoid this ever happening again!  You end up learning more about that part of your body that’s in pain than you would have in ten classroom sessions, because the subject is your number one interest - you.

Other ways pain or injuries help (and this does deal more with the athletic world) is it often shows you how far your body can be pushed and when to say “enough.”  That said, the tolerance level for different people varies; sometimes the circumstances can cause the variance within the same person.  Most people over thirty remember Michael Jordan and his bout with the flu (or food poisoning as some have claimed) in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Playoffs against the Jazz.   Love him or hate him (and I can’t imagine anyone hating MJ), no one could have faked looking as bad as he looked that night in Salt Lake City.  Teammate Scottie Pippen had to nearly drag Jordan off the floor at times out, yet the (arguably, although not to me) greatest basketball player of all-time still managed to play 44 minutes.  Oh yeah, and he put up 38 points to keep the Jazz from sweeping the middle three games of the series (all in SLC).  Jordan has said many times since, he wasn’t sure how he did what he did, but one thing he learned from that episode was - and he has repeated this many times over - when your body is that much out of synch, it takes all the concentration you have to just try and compete - to do what it is you’re out there to do. When you’re in good health, you often can get distracted, but when the body is in such a dreadful state, it takes everything you’ve got to function, so it’s actually easier to completely focus on the task at hand. 

Ditto for Tiger Woods in the last tourney in which he competed - and, of course, won - naturally, it being a major, the U.S. Open.

Do not get me wrong for one instant.  I am in no way, shape or form, comparing myself to Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods.  I am, however, going through a stage - as I bang on this keyboard right this second - where I am in serious pain.  And I’ve faced pain on several occasions in my 60 years (yet nowhere near what some people have and don’t think for a moment I don’t empathize with anyone in such a condition). 

Athletically, although I’m not so old that I played football in the “no helmet” days, I did play in the era of the one bar face mask and, although I was a fullback and DB, I also was a place kicker, so anything more than a single bar was a distraction when kicking.  During one game, I got into position to tackle a running back from Carteret (NJ) HS.  I considered myself a student of the game (probably why I got into coaching - it’s what guys do who can’t play anymore) and I knew every coach in America told their backs not to jump because, then, you had no control of your body and could cause yourself a great deal of harm.  Up until this, his senior year, however, this particular running back had only been a sprinter who the football coaches had finally talked into going out for their sport.  It proved they were right, as he became an All-Central Jersey selection, but apparently he wasn’t one to listen very well to coaches’ instructions.  As I bent, he jumped and kicked me squarely in the nose, the point of his shoe hitting me right in between my one bar and the top of my helmet.  That moment, I can easily say, was the most painful I’d ever experienced.  And as anyone who’s had his or her nose broken, that one time leads to others, in my case, five altogether.

When I finally left the field, (our home jerseys were red with white numbers), you could barely see the bottom of my “38″ and when I got to the sideline, I looked up and saw a cheerleader make such a face that it was obvious she was seeing something very nasty.  Luckily, it was a girl I knew or else I might have lost as much of my self-esteem as I did blood.

In 1987, I had the first of eight back surgeries and currently have implanted both a spinal cord stimulator (left side of my abdomen) and a morphine pump (right side of my abdomen), and neither are working as they should.  The former was a mistake to have done, but shows the lengths people will go to when they’re in pain.  The latter was implanted a few months after the former and was a life saver in terms of keeping the pain at a tolerable level - until about a month ago.

Then, for some yet to be discovered reason, the pain returned - worse than ever.  The reason I say worse is that I coached a high school team from 2002-05 in constant daily pain and, thinking about those days, realize I couldn’t do so now.  Maybe I was tougher then, maybe more committed, or maybe should have been committed.

All those years in between the nose and the back, I performed in pain or while I was under the weather (be it competitively playing or coaching) and I’ve learned the difference.  I continue to teach, in between my (what’s becoming weekly trips to the Stanford Pain Clinic) and can tell how much less effective I am.  Why do I keep doing it?  One reason is that while laying bed is a major relief physically, from an emotional and mental aspect, it’s eventually gets to be more draining.  Another is that I have a commitment to the kids I’m paid to teach - and I really enjoy doing it.  Not necessarily every last one of the little cherubs, but, then again, I imagine I’m not their favorite either.

Mainly, I think it comes down to a line attributed to Bishop Richard Cumberland:

“It’s better to wear out than rust out.”