In my previous post I attempted to outline why a "superstar" player on any given NBA team doesn't necessarily translate into a championship. Names such as James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Chris Paul were mentioned.
Consider what some superstars have accomplished, or not, during their careers.
Bill Russell of the long ago Boston Celtics won lots of championships, but he had a terrific supporting cast as well.
So did Michael Jordan of Chicago Bulls fame, on both fronts.
Kobe had Shaq, Kareem had Magic, and all four enjoyed the luxury of very talented teammates when the Lakers were all the rage.
Bird had McHale, Parrish, and a couple mighty fine guards when the Celtics peaked again back in the late 80s.
For all his talents, Dr. J and his 76ers couldn't win until they acquired Moses Malone.
A phenomenal talent himself, the late Pistol Pete Maravich never did sniff a championship in all his years in New Orleans. He didn't have any help.
Arguably the best player of all time, Lebron James, couldn't get over the hump in his first go-round with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He would eventually win championships in Miami, but without the likes of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and others, that likely wouldn't have happened either. Superstars are a good thing, but standing alone aren't enough to win championships.
There have been exceptions, notably the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons of the late 80s. It was thought they just out-muscled, out-willed, and out-toughed everybody. But that's not exactly accurate. They had two future Hall of Famers in Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars at the time, plus a terrific supporting cast of their own. Everybody knew their roles, did them well, and they had the perfect coach in the late Chuck Daly to bring it all together.
Back to the present. Certainly the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks have all but lapped the field during the regular season in their respective conferences. But can either close the deal in the next several weeks of the playoffs? Maybe. Maybe not.
Here's two teams to watch out for.
San Antonio. As defending champs and a veteran team, the Spurs have been there, done that. Plus they have the best head coach in the game. They have a mixture of aging stars and terrific young players. On both ends of the court, nobody plays better team basketball than the Spurs. While others have grabbed the limelight, San Antonio is quite content to fly under the radar. And don't look now, but they've won their last 10 in a row and might well wind up the #2 seed in the West. Bet against Coach Pop and his Spurs in the playoffs at your own peril.
The name Lebron always rings a bell. A superstar indeed, maybe even the best all-around player ever. Yet just last year in the NBA Finals, the King and his band of Miami Heat mercenaries were humbled at the hands of the Spurs. So he went back home to Cleveland. Nothing wrong with that.
The Cavs themselves have been flying under the radar all year as well. But after a slow start, they finally gelled, and have put together a very impressive record of 51-28 at the time of this writing. True, Lebron doesn't have D-Wade and Chris to help him anymore, but he might have something even better. Kyrie and and Kevin. Also true is the Cavs hired a nitwit coach with zero NBA credentials on any level, appropriately enough named Blatt. But hey, they're owned by Dan Gilbert. It has been said even an incompetent clueless boob can occasionally strike it rich in America. People are free to draw their own conclusions about such things. Is this a great country, or what?
But in the East, there really isn't that much serious competition. After a quick start, the Toronto Raptors have been wilting in the last couple months. The Chicago Bulls, with or without Derrick Rose, appear to be a good, but not really good team. The Washington Wizards? Please.
It appears only Atlanta and Cleveland will be serious contenders in the playoffs. And who do you think would win that series, even given the Hawks would have home court advantage? Did I mention betting against Lebron and the resurgent Cavs at your own peril?
Who will eventually advance to slug it out in the NBA Finals is anybody's guess. Possible future injuries aside, I'm just saying that star players are a terrific asset, and the talking heads will continue to rant and rave over them. That's what they teach them in talking head school. But without a very good supporting cast, and a coach that has the wisdom to put all the pieces together in the right places at the right times, even the best of players will find themselves kicked to the curb somewhere during the course of the playoffs. Scoring titles, MVPs, and a bazillion endorsements and/or more moronic TV ads are one thing. Winning a ring is quite another.
Sometimes the low profile guys that work the hardest wind up coming out on top. You didn't see Coach Pop or any of his Spurs selling insurance last year. Likewise, we haven't witnessed Lebron James or any of his Cavs teammates in any dopey commercials lately either for a few more bucks they don't need.
And all in the above paragraph continue to fly under the radar of the terabyte-per-second talking hypester droid machines.
Idle thought: Do these guys and gals rant like that when they go home? Is it any wonder wedding rings on their fingers appear to be scarce? Who would put up with that crap for long?
Bottom line. Listen to the hype if you will, but in a month or so, don't be surprised if a couple teams that have been patiently working and planning for the playoffs all along wind up clashing in the Finals for all the marbles.
I'm just saying.......
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