A Few NBA Observations

By Finesse

In an effort to be a comprehensive, one-stop-shop for all the news you need and even some you don't want, here are five observations on the NBA.

5. Dirk Nowitzki is really good.

4. Andrew Bynum is not.  Putting aside his flagrant foul at the end of the Lakers' meltdown, he is one of those players who is immensely overrated because he is on a good team that is always on TV; hence, he gets talked about 50 times more than players on less popular teams who are just as good.  This is why Alfonso Soriano makes $18 million per year (salary approximate).

Standard.

3. NBA refs get a bad rap. Putting aside the betting scandals and the fixed games, reffing an NBA game is very difficult.  First, the players are all 6 inches taller than football players, but close to equal in strength.  How are you supposed to know how much contact affects them?  Second, and something that compounds the first problem, these guys flop like fish on dry land.  Paul Pierce survived a real-life stabbing, but pretends that he gets assassinated at least 3-4 times per game.  I think that deep down, NBA players are jealous that their counterparts in football (and hockey, I guess) get so much more credit for being tough and physical so the NBA guys start posing like they are on SEAL Team 6 when they are held on an inbounds pass.

2. Chris Bosh is a joke.  It's another case of GTOG Told-You-So.  Bosh pretends that he is in Wade and Lebron's league, but he isn't in the same hemisphere.  We told you this in March when we called him expensive dead weight.  On Saturday in Boston, he had 6 points and 5 rebounds more than I did.

Makes more money than Lebron.

1. Stop with the complaints about small market teams.  This goes for the NHL too -- everyone seems to lament the possibility of a low-rated finals if two non-popular teams get there.  In the NHL, it could be Tampa against San Jose or Nashville.  In the NBA, it could be Atlanta against Memphis (must see TV!).  Sure, the ratings for those matchups would be abysmal, but long-term, getting a small, non-traditional market to the finals is good for the leagues.  It helps to build that franchise in the local market, sells tickets, builds its brand, makes it a destination for free agents, etc.  A league where teams in all markets have a chance, and where the local interest and ratings in the smaller market teams is strong, is a good league.  A league where that isn't the case is baseball.  So while you won't watch a lot of a Hawks-Grizzlies or Lightning-Predators finals, it isn't an apocalyptic scenario for the leagues.  Short-term pain, long-term gain.