By BIJAN C. BAYNE
ProBasketballNews.com
CLEVELAND: Basketball is a team sport. Five words so oft-repeated, so simplistic in their brevity. The problem is, the words are forgotten as often as they are stated.
One might reach the conclusion that NBA general managers will never learn. The word team is not spelled f-a-n-t-a-s-y. Need proof? How many 25-point scorers did the 1960's Boston Celtics, the 1970's New York Knicks, the 2000's Detroit Pistons, or the 2007 champion San Antonio Spurs have?
Yet the Spurs' fourth championship propels them into a discussion of where they rank in terms of excellence displayed for a decade. In the post-Red Auerbach era, four rings constitutes a dynasty. And while television viewers may not tune in to the Spurs' brand of ball, general managers need take note.
If the New England Patriots and the Derek Jeter-led New York Yankees were dynasties in their respective sports with three world titles apiece, the Spurs merit such mention. More important than the dynasty debate, is what their success tells us about team play.
This year's Allen Iverson-Andre Miller trade demonstrates that the leadership of playmakers such as Avery Johnson, John Stockton, Steve Nash, and Tony Parker has fallen on blind eyes. In this case, "blind" is synonymous with "starry." We saw what Golden State, as a balanced team led by Baron Davis, did to Dallas. Successful teams are founded around the proper combination of skills, not an amalgamation of stars. Formulas that have worked include the shotblocker and the quick defenders (Bill Russell and the Celts), the inside and outside one-two (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, Shaq and Dwyane Wade), and the balanced, unselfish unit (the 1970's Knicks, the 2000's Pistons and Spurs).
Super-ego combos have not fared as well. Tracy McGrady sought separation from Vince Carter. Stephon Marbury felt Minnesota too small for both he and Kevin Garnett. Antoine Walker has parted from Paul Pierce. Even Kobe and Shaq, for all their success, had a relatively short shelf life. That doesn't bode well for Messrs. Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. It is not as simple a matter of there not being enough shots.
When teamed together, superstars' skills must be complementary. Stockton's vision, anticipation and endurance made him the perfect complement for a strong giant like Karl Malone. When Malone developed a dangerous jump shot, Stockton not only fed him on the break, but in halfcourt sets. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were both long, quick wing defenders who could shut down prime scorers in playoff games. Though Jordan could beat many double-teams off the dribble, he often passed out of them to perimeter marksmen.
Tim Duncan and David Robinson were all-around talents given more to shot blocking and rebounding than boasting and whining.You know how it is said an NBA player must do two things well to survive? The secondary skills of scorers such as Marbury, Carter, and Iverson are not those that seal championships. No matter what one thinks of Shaquille O'Neal's defense at this stage of his career, the defending champion Heat are 11-14 without him.
As numbers-minded as Wilt Chamberlain's detractors say he was, his 1967 Sixers finished 68-13, and his '72-73 Lakers won 33 straight. Defense and boards played a huge role in that. His talents fit the mix.
Several years back, Portland had Arvydas Sabonis, Rasheed Wallace, Damon Stoudamire, J.R. Rider, Dale Davis, Rod Strickland and Shawn Kemp on the same team. No shortage of stars, but Strickland and Stoudamire served the same purpose, and neither defended well. Wallace, Davis and Kemp occupied the same space, and their playing time froze out young talent Jermaine O'Neal. It wasn't an All-Star team, it was gridlock at key positions. Unfortunately similar examples abound.
NBA fans were spoiled for 15 years. The best three players, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Jordan, played on the three best teams. They were all products of the NCAA Final Four, and all committed to winning at any cost. Not only were they unpredictable and fun to watch, they were money players. Today, one reason TV ratings for the playoffs are down from previous years is that most of the league's bigger names -- Iverson, Anthony, Garnett, Kobe, Yao Ming, Wade and Shaq -- were not around to watch after Memorial Day. Ditto Jason Kidd and Vince Carter.
Today's NBA general manager is living in a unique era. Bigs interested in playing big are back. Raised on a TV and video game diet of Shaq and not Ralph Sampson, players like Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Joakim Noah and Greg Oden like it inside. Howard and Bosh are, by all accounts, hard workers without ego problems -- as Ohio State coaches assure us Oden is. Another college 7-footer, Georgetown's Roy Hibbert, even removed himself from the draft to go back to school and improve his game (shades of the Florida Gators' bigs last year).
Yao Ming (yes, he has a soft touch, but now he also rebounds and changes opponents' shots) was having an MVP campaign before he was injured this past season. Why build a team from the outside in, when the new face of the game is that of the post player? How can Iverson be "The Answer" in the West, where Amare Stoudemire is a force returning to 100 percent strength, Duncan is only 31, and Oden is drawing comparisons to a young Russell (albeit unfairly)?
Iverson's scorer's mentality does not suit him to find Anthony and J.R. Smith where they like to score, or when. His bruised body is not suited to chasing Davis, Parker and Nash every night. Since Smith and Anthony are young scorers who can shoot and move, the Nuggets should have kept Miller, who must have seen a lot of Stockton's Jazz games while attending the University of Utah. Denver didn't need more scoring, as Miller and Marcus Camby filled in the role player blanks quite well, and some day, frontcourt strongmen
Nene and Kenyon Martin will be back. When all their bigs were healthy, one could have been dealt for a wing defender or some veteran bench strength. Or a lottery pick.
The Spurs have won four titles since the Duncan draft because of the type of players they sign -- unselfish defenders like Bruce Bowen, savvy wings like Manu Ginobli, valauble backups such as Jaren Jackson, Malik Rose, Robert Horry and Francisco Elson. They may not have a Kobe or a T-Mac, but they exemplify ball movement, penetration and kickout, second shots, and clutch 3-pointers. Recent Team USA losses in international competition have been at the hands of countries who play just this style of basketball.
The 2007 draft will be a deep one. Oden and Kevin Durant appear earmarked for stardom, and Mike Conley could be the next Parker. Any of a number of prospects such as Jeff Green, Julian Wright, and Brandan Wright could be the missing piece for a contender. In the long run, winners may lose the fantasy leagues, but build championship teams.
Bjan C. Bayne is the author of "Sky Kings: Black Pioneers of Professional Basketball," a member of the United States Basketball Writers Association, and the media relations director of the Association for Professional Basketball Research. He is a popular radio talk show host and regular contributor to ProBasketballNews.com.
