It’s official. We’ve reached the halfway point of the NBA season. And what have we learned so far?
For starters, on an L.A.-saturated All-Star Weekend, Justin Bieber can upstage real basketball players. The vertically challenged Ken doll continued his path to world dominance (without messing up his ’do) by scoring eight points in the weekend’s celebrity game. Former NBA All Star Scottie Pippen scored more points, and his team won, but “basketball fans” voted Bieber the MVP.
Isn’t democracy grand?
In true Hollywood style, we also learned that the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant still enjoys hogging the spotlight on basketball’s biggest stage, scoring 37 points on his home court and capturing the All-Star Game MVP award for the fourth time. This came just after Bryant became the first athlete ever immortalized on the Walk of Fame at Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Apparently, a little wet concrete on the hands and a gold star is good for your jumper.
The weekend also taught us, once and for all, that yes, L.A. Clippers rookie sensation Blake Griffin can dunk. In an elaborate display of product placement, Griffin leaped over the hood of a brand new Kia Optima™, throwing it down with two hands to capture the Slam Dunk Contest. His daring rim-rocker led the Miami Heat’s LeBron James to claim he would have dunked over a giraffe to beat Griffin. So let’s see it, LeBron. In fact, bring a whole menagerie next year.
Oh wait, that’s right, you won’t. James, like most of the league’s biggest superstars, refuses to enter the contest despite public demands to the contrary. I’m old enough to remember Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins matching dunk for dunk in epic battles dwarfing the All-Star Game itself. Somewhere along the line, the contest lost its luster. Where we once had Air Jordan and ’Nique, we now have Washington Wizards center JaVale McGee and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Serge Ibaka. Not exactly the recipe for captivating television.
But with little to gain from appearing in the contest, you can’t really blame James, Bryant, and other stars for opting out year after year. What does the league have to do to get the true fliers back in the game? Maybe letting the winner skip practices the rest of the year would be an incentive. How about a tax break? Oh, and ditch the props; they’ve ruined the contest.
Besides showcasing players most fans around the country have never heard of, the All-Star break gives us all a quick breather. Use it to look back on how the season has progressed and ahead to how it might turn out. The team James walked away from, the Cleveland Cavaliers, is suffering through a truly awful season of historic proportions. Though the Cavs did match the all-time record for consecutive losses (in any pro sport no less), recent wins at home against the Clippers and Lakers allowed them to avoid the ignominious possibility of finishing the year with the league’s all-time worst mark. That dubious accomplishment belongs to the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who won only nine games all season long. On the bright side, the Cavs are assured a great shot at University of North Carolina freshman Harrison Barnes. In the immortal words of Jon Bon Jovi, you got to keep the faith.
Perched at the other end of the standings, the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat continue to battle it out for Eastern Conference supremacy, but it could be a three-horse race to the wire. With the emerging Derrick Rose, the surprising Chicago Bulls are right in the thick of things, running away with the conference’s Central Division. Meantime in the West, the San Antonio Spurs are continuing to look like the team that won three championships in the 2000s, while the Lakers appear very beatable. It’s not panic time yet, but nipping at L.A.’s heels are the Dallas Mavericks (led by the ageless Jason Kidd) and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are proving last year was no fluke, on pace to win another 50 games or more.
Despite the intriguing plot lines on the court, All Star Weekend was dominated by “MeloDrama”—the ongoing Carmelo Anthony trade watch. In a New York minute, the Knicks changed the face of their franchise, landing the prized forward. Sure, they had to give up just about everything but the Guggenheim to get him, but the prospect of lining Anthony up alongside Amare Stoudemire in the frontcourt could be a game changer down the stretch. Or, like many moves the Knicks make, it could blow up in their face. Either way, it will be fun to watch.
Even bigger than the news of Anthony’s possible relocation at the break was the impending move of the Sacramento Kings to the Magic Kingdom. Seems appropriate doesn’t it?
Anaheim Ducks’ owner Henry Samueli has reportedly offered the Kings’ owners, the well-coiffed Maloof Brothers, a $100 million loan to move the team to the Honda Center of Anaheim. The brothers, Joe and Gavin, own the aging Power Balance Pavilion/ARCO Arena (the Kings’ home since 1988), and are petitioning the city for public money to fund a new stadium. As owners of The Palms hotel and casino in Las Vegas, the Maloofs are no strangers to wheeling and dealing in order to get the buildings they want. Considering Sacramento’s mayor is Kevin Johnson, a former NBA All-Star point guard, it seems like procuring the money should’ve been a slam dunk. However, Sacramento voters already defeated a 2006 tax measure to fund an arena’s construction, making another plea to taxpayers unlikely. Johnson said he’s not throwing in the towel yet.
The deadline to apply for relocation is March 1, and if the move to Orange County does come to fruition, it would turn the Kings into the NBA equivalent of carpetbaggers. In less than 50 years, they’ve gone from Rochester to Cincinnati to Kansas City and Omaha before taking up residence in the state’s capital. Though Kings fans have shown the patience of Job over the years, loyally suffering with the team with few exceptions since the franchise came to the state capital in 1985, attendance has dropped off significantly this season. However, expect relocation, which would have to be approved by a majority of the rest of the NBA owners, to be fought tooth and nail.
For one, Los Angeles already has two basketball teams, and can barely support one of them, Griffin’s Clippers. Plus, the last thing we need to see would be the Kings’ Beno Udrih and Pooh Jeter co-starring in a Disney film adaptation of a fictional NBA championship, won thanks to the help of angels, kids, a time machine, or some combination thereof.
But what do I know? I’m just a bum. And that’s my view from the bleachers.
The Bleacher Bum can be contacted through jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 24 – Mar 3, 2011.