Rockets owner Les Alexander doesn’t have a clue on how to fire a coach properly, but most of Yao Ming’s fans are happy with the move, anyway.
Meanwhile, NBA Commissioner David Stern’s absurdly stubborn ruling last week that effectively derailed the Phoenix Suns’ chances of defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semi-finals has reinforced the overall lack of competitive balance in the NBA:
Of the 30 current N.B.A. teams, 14 have never won a championship. Five franchises ó Celtics, Lakers, Bulls, Pistons and Spurs ó have won 70 percent of all titles. Although the Celtics and the Lakers were not serious contenders this season, with the defeat of the Mavericks, there is a better chance that the Bulls, the Pistons or the Spurs will once again be crowned champions.
This pattern, in which the same franchises keep taking the leagueís top prize, is not seen in other sports. In the past 20 years, 11 different N.H.L. teams have hoisted the Stanley Cup. In the N.F.L., 12 different teams have won the Super Bowl. And in baseball, the league in which competitive balance is perpetually thought to be a problem, 14 different teams have won the World Series in the past two decades.
The reason for the imbalance? Somewhat surprisingly, it’s simple demographics. Read Dave Berri’s explanation here.
Speaking of demographics, did you know that the Spurs are having trouble selling tickets to the Western Conference Finals games against Utah?
Moreover, Kevin Grier over at MR proposes these common sense modifications to the NBA, to which I would add including all teams to the playoffs and using the regular season schedule to seed the playoffs and provide weighted home court advantage (say, the first three home games and the final two in a seven game series) for the first couple of playoff rounds.
Interesting Times article. I will say this about the ruling on the Suns…the rule is a bad one. The league should have leeway as to how to determine punishment based on the excessiveness of the infraction rather than the simple “if you get up off the bench and your foot goes over the out-of-bounds line, you are suspended.”
However, they are correct to rule as they did. This rule was put in place to protect players and fans. It originated, ironically, during the Knicks/Heat series with Jeff Van Gundy clinging to the leg of Alonzo Mourning in a classic brawl moment. It was re-inforced during the Indiana/Detroit brawl in Michigan where two players went into the stands.
From that perspective, it is really important that severe consequences be set for breaking this particular rule. However, the league needs to adjust its policies so they can have more room to allow for the mildly stupdid (what Stoudamire and Diaw were for not keeping their butts glued to their seats since they know the rule) rather than the patently aggressive.
I think most fans whine because the Suns are more “fun” to watch than the Spurs. Boo hoo. I’m not a fan of slow-it-down basketball, but they aren’t the only run-and-gun team that have been ousted from the playoffs. Actually, ALL of them have. Besides, I still think the Spurs would’ve won the series. They are like a machine.
You know, regardless of the turnout, I’m pleased to say that Houston has some of the best fans and noticeably loudest crowd than most cities.
In the last game of the series, a real estate agent I know from Utah attended and commented that regardless of the loss, Houston fans were one of the best crowds to play with; assuming your the Houston Rockets of course.
I have a long winded retort on my blog: http://docdadfan.blogspot.com/
It boils down to how do good teams choose and utilize their tall players, not just how many tall players exist. If Tim Duncan played for the Celtics- he’d be Paul Pierce.
I think the real problem is that Houston and Dallas (with or without tall players) will never be San Antonio 🙁