Reynolds Rap

Since the 1979–80 season and the adoption of the 3-point shot, the NBA has spent less time on making the game better and more time on:

(a) making it easier for players to score;

(b) creating statistics that blatantly inflate and skew the performance of athletes; and

(c) being an advocate for "social justice."

There's literally a horde or "Johnny-come-lately" sports reporters and sports analysts who take every opportunity to "inflate" the value of "current" players (Stephen A. Smith at ESPN) and egostictical players who inflate their own self-worth (LeBron James), while blatantly ignoring the existence of players who played a game that was far more challenging and far more physical. Clearly, to promote revenue streams for the NBA, ESPN, Turner Sports, and a host of sponsors, yes, the "Johnny-come-lately" sports reporters and so-called analysts ignore Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, etc., and instead champion Michael Jordan and LeBron James, but an objective assessment of "facts," as detailed in the editorial, "G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All-Time)" validates why Wilt Chamberlain is the greatest basketball player of all time.

Howver, the immediate "issue" of this editorial is the failure of the NBA to establish a truly competitive playoff season. Arguably, the annual NCAA Division I National Basketbasll Championship should be the "template" for all team sports, including NCAA football, baseball, etc., and especially professional basketball. Why? The NCAA Division I National Basketball Championship invites the highest performing NCAA Division I schools throughout the United States, typically sixty-eight-(68) teams, to a single-elimination tournament. Note the following from Wikipedia:

It has become extremely common in popular culture to predict the outcomes of each game, even among non-sports fans; it is estimated that tens of millions of Americans participate in a bracket pool contest every year. Mainstream media outlets such as ESPN, CBS Sports and Fox Sports host tournaments online where contestants can enter for free. Also, there are many sites that cater to corporate marketing and public relations to get in on the excitement such as BigTourney.com. Employers have also noticed a change in the behavior of employees during this time: they have seen an increase in the number of sick days used, extended lunch breaks and even the rescheduling of conference calls to allow for more tournament watching. There are also many handicappers and pundits which offer advice for winning their own bracket.

Conversely, the NBA created a convoluted system that does not showcase the robust character and scope of individual teams and individual players. As usual, teams in the major television markets (New York, Dallas, Boston, etc.) and/or teams that are perennial champions (Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, etc.) are showcased - and the hell with everyone else. In the NCAA a #1 rank college team is often at risk of being eliminated, but such is never the case in the NBA.

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Conversely, the NBA created a convoluted system that does not showcase the robust character and scope of individual teams and individual players. As usual, teams in the major television markets (New York, Dallas, Boston, etc.) and/or teams that are perennial champions (Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, etc.) are showcased - and all other teams and players must twiddle their thumbs, as usual, for perpetuity. In the NCAA's Division I "March Madness" single-elimination tournament a #1 ranked college team is often at risk of being eliminated - and "is" eliminated, but such is never the case in the NBA. As represented by the exhibit below, there's a better way to conduct the NBA playoffs. As proposed below:

(a) every team has a chance; every team is at risk - period;

(b) the "current practice" enables teams and players to give less emphasis to the regular season;

(c) teams intentionally prohibit "key" players from regular season games to "save" them via "load management," which establishes prolonged and/or repetitive absences from games (Kevin Durant, Zion Williamson, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin, Gordon Hayward, Kristaps Porzingis, Klay Tompson, etc.), to keep them fresh and injury free for the playoffs or indefinitely;

(d) at the detriment of fans, advertisers, and sponsors - officials/referees inconsistently apply rules which kick "key" players out of regular season games, thereby making games of no further interest, unwatchable; and

(e) the NBA can monetize more revenue from 30 teams in the playoffs than from only 16 teams.

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Again, the NCAA Division I National Basketball Championship (playoff) invites the highest performing NCAA Division I schools throughout the United States, typically sixty-eight-(68) teams; conversely, the NBA has only thirty-(30) teams, but restricts their playoff to only sixteen-(16) teams . . . and you're okay with that? Really??

I bet, if given the chance to quickly eliminate "favorite teams" from tournament play, there's a bunch of spunky, very energetic, focused, and talented young players like Trae Young (Atlanta), Ja Morant (Memphis), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans), Devin Booker (Phoenix), Zion Williamson (New Orleans), Luka Doncic (Dallas), and older players like Taj Gibson (New York Knicks), Chris Paul (Phoenix), Carmelo Anthony (Portland), and JJ Redick (Dallas) who'd jump at the chance.

I welcome your feedback.

Trip Reynolds
trip.reynolds@yahoo.com

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