Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

I stopped watching Basketball in 1998, during the lockout. I found it nauseating that people who earn an average of 2.5 million dollars a year to play a game would complain that they weren't getting paid enough. I would still watch college, because they don't get paid nearly as much as the pros. Think about it, the average salary for a basketball player in 1998 was 2.5 million dollars. There are 12 players on a basketball team (I think there are more now, maybe 14, extended bench?). That means that the middle player, number 6, who doesn't even start; he's on the bench, gets 2.5 million dollars. Then the higher salaries players were profit sharing with the players who made the league minimum to help them stay afloat while they weren't getting paid. The league minimum of $250,000 a year. And they needed help making ends meet during the hard times of the lockout. It made me sick.

But then something wonderful happened. Larry Brown went to Detroit. He taught the players how to play as a team. There were no egos. Defense was the name of the game. The team took on the persona of the city, blue collar, hard working, unappreciated and underappreciated. Then, when he had a good thing, he made it better, by trading for Rasheed Wallace. Yes, I said better and Rasheed Wallace in the same sentence. And I'm serious.

Think about it. Here's a guy who wants so badly to win that he leads with his emotions. He plays better when he's angry. He lead the league in technicals as a result of having to do so much in Portland, and the fans hated him. Yet, his teammates have never had anything negative to say about him. Everywhere he's ever been, his teammates have thought the world of him. He works hard every night, and always tries his best - something Tracy McGrady admits he doesn't do. And now that he's not the focal point, not the one who has to do everything, he's doing much better, and the technicals are so much less frequent. Think about it. He's a player that the other teams don't like, their fans hate, and his teammates love. Deep down, you have to admit that he is the perfect roleplaying star you'd want on your team. And he keeps it on the court. He talks smack, but only about his opponent, or his opponent's ability to play him. He keeps the family out of it, unlike many of the fans in the stands. He may be emotional, but he's respectful.

With that in place, the team Detroit Pistons beat the Me-First L.A. Lakers, in the first ever five-game sweep in NBA finals history. Then, the next year (last season), they came within a beautiful game winning shot by Robert Horry of winning a second finals against the very respectable Spurs (probably the only other team I care to watch in the NBA). They made the game fun again, and I wish everyone played like that. Thank goodness the Pistons got Wallace, both for them and him.