Don't plant this re-seed -- it won't grow
You ask players not to act like punks with me-first style and then get mad at the league when they try and change it by getting tough on technicals. It interferes with the game.
It takes away the personality you say you want and you're sending that message loud and clear simply by staying away.
Rick Pitino had it right at the start of the decade: "Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans."
Neither is Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Magic, Michael or Charles Barkley. He was addressing angry Celtics fans, but it could just as easily have been aimed at many of you. Isn't it ironic how the height of Barkley's popularity has come at the time when it's obvious he's not coming back through that door, either? His race against referee Dick Bavetta, another mainstay from the golden era, bodes as one of this season's biggest highlights. Suddenly, we all love how outspoken he is, when back in the day many resented just that.
We miss our legends, but new ones can be built, if only they're given time and a chance. Part of that can start with the officiating, which has to go back to being more relaxed than it currently is. Players have to play, but physicality has now been replaced by flopping. Every hard foul now has fans expecting a brawl and coaches whining for a flagrant.
Can you imagine one of the greatest games in NBA history, Game 4 of the 1984 Magic-Bird Finals, being waged today? McHale took off Kurt Rambis' head on a layup by clotheslining him into the cameramen, sending a message that the Celtics were done playing nice. Benches emptied and things flared again minutes later when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fired an elbow at Bird, leading two living legends to fire obscenities off at one another.
Play that game today and you wouldn't have enough bodies for it to go into overtime. It probably would've been called off with suspensions and fines looming. Pat Riley calling the Celtics thugs would've been handed a harsh reprimand, because thug isn't a word this league takes lightly or wants to be associated with.
A black eye to the league? Apparently not. The NBA was just beginning to peak.
Keep in mind that this "thug" image didn't come out of thin air. It just started lingering when Jordan started slowing down and the general public stopped watching.
So Stern listened, went a little overboard in "cleaning up" the game, and you thank him by booing him every chance you get. Now that you want a playoff system that facilitates more excitement, he should slam the door in your face.
The Eastern Conference is terrible, but it has two champions over the past four seasons. Making their top seed, which this year would have been Detroit, play Golden State would've robbed us of the upset that made the first round of this postseason so great. Dallas would've coasted past Orlando and remained alive to maybe take down the hated Cavaliers before they snuck into the Finals and wasted all your time.
It sounds appetizing in fantasy land, but would make for a logistical nightmare. Cross-country flights should only be reserved for the NBA Finals, if matchups develop naturally. Teams that upset other teams in the postseason should not be punished for their breakthrough.
Who wants to volunteer to fairly balance an 82-game schedule so all 30 teams feel they're being treated fairly if we disband the conferences?
Then what happens if you get a Utah/Phoenix Finals? I'm sure that won't be whined about throughout the majority of the country.
Greg Oden and Kevin Durant to the Pacific Northwest? Can't we just go back to fixing the lottery?
Want the real quick fix? Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett forcing trades to Eastern Conference teams and Shaquille O'Neal losing a few pounds along with the kids on his TV show this summer. Mix in continued improvement for LeBron, Chris Bosh and all is right with the world again.
Psst ... no matter what goes down, San Antonio still enters next season as the favorite. The Spurs have everyone coming back. Re-seed that.
