Nipping hype in the bud
For all the chatter about James and Durant, Brian T. Smith says don’t forget about MJ.
The end is not near. The King is not the greatest of all time.
The best can always be beaten. OK. Glad we settled all that. The silly season is normally reserved for gazillion-dollar contracts casually being passed around and civic heroes calmly changing allegiances. But right now, I would gladly take the annual absurdity of free agency over the gross hyperbole that has drowned out these NBA Finals.
The NBA receives much of the blame. What do you expect when international superstars play once every few days, leaving average human beings like us to fill up all the in-between space with constant chatter?
But my Lord has the talk been absurd. And I’m increasingly convinced that while we know more than ever about the sports and athletes we’re so obsessed with — stats, facts, trends, opinion, analysis, insight, etc. — we really don’t know anything at all and have never been this prone to instant overreaction.
Hype of the day
LeBron James was suddenly greater than Michael Jordan. Until Cleveland was down 3-0 and gave away Game 3 at home.
Kevin Durant had eclipsed The King. Until the Cavaliers destroyed Golden State in Game 4 and the useless talking heads were reminded that James is averaging a ridiculous 32.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 7.8 assists while leading a lesser team this postseason.
The Warriors were untouchable, unstoppable, unbeatable and clearly ruining the future of the NBA. Until they took Game 4 for granted — just like they did Games 5, 6 and 7 in last year’s Finals — and were forced to prove themselves for the third consecutive season.
Here’s a crazy, behind-thetimes idea: How about we wait until something happens before we proclaim it the greatest thing ever? Crazy, I know.
After one game — and I mean it: one game — all the geniuses were convinced Golden State was another way to spell doomsday. The end had arrived and all hope was gone; good luck to anyone else trying to win an NBA title before 2020.
After Games 1 and 2, James’ legacy was again at stake — for about the 82nd time in his 14year career — and the Warriors had been handed another crown.
Durant vs. James
Um, didn’t we learn anything last year?
Golden State took the initial two games of these Finals by a combined 41 points. Which is funny, because the Warriors won Games 1 and 2 last season by a total of 48, went up 3-1 against James’ crew, then unleashed a historic collapse.
The James is better than Jordan and Durant is greater than James nonsense is almost as embarrassing as blowing a 3-1 lead in the Finals.
James is suddenly the greatest of all time just because his team made the Finals again? Yeah, OK.
Durant has replaced James as the greatest basketball player alive just because he sank a late pull-up 3? Cool. I’ll still take James’ four MVPs, three rings and once-in-a-generation power and precision. But, hey, I’m just old school like that. Speaking of ancient history … Jordan is only 14 years removed from his final season. He won six NBA titles in an eight-year span and traded the hardwood for the diamond in the middle of the run, all while becoming a global icon before social media and smartphones existed. His Bulls three-peated twice. The game was mostly played inside the arc; hard fouls, interior defense and big men still existed.
Running of the Bulls
Jordan’s Bulls never, ever would have gone down 3-0 or 3-1 in the Finals. And that’s a fact, because they never did. Jordan also would have buried the Cavaliers last season, just like he would have ended Cleveland on Friday night in Game 4.
Jordan never fled to form a superpower, which James has done twice, or willingly added his talents to a team that had just won a regular-season record 73 games.
The greatest team of all time? The end of parity and competitive balance in the NBA? James and Durant have eclipsed MJ? Please. This is a special time for the league. This was the season of Russell Westbrook vs. James Harden, The King approaching the end of his prime and the often unstoppable Warriors.
But we are not watching the greatest players and team we’ve ever seen. If we were, the Finals would be over and we’d know what we were actually talking about.