It has been said many times by those of us who ply our trade in the media that if you repeat something long enough and make it sound as if the position is indisputable, then a majority of fans will suddenly transform into a band of lemmings and make for the sea with no coaxing whatsoever. Such is the case with this year's NBA Finals. This edition of the "3 Ring Circus" will set right the lack of reasonable thought.
Kobe Bryant is no Michael Jordan
Perhaps the single most overused word in the global sports lexicon is "great." It has become little more than a throwaway syllable over-rating players, teams, victories, cheerleaders, you name it. Such is the case with Kobe Bryant.
From the network promos to some of the more uneducated members of the media, most of whom would only know a basketball is it rolled towards them from a Wii platform, the comparison has become almost a staple of this Series. Ignorance, misinformation, hyperbole and downright stupidity are the various hallmarks of this comparison.
To place Kobe Bryant in the same sentence as Michael Jordan is a blasphemous insult to Jordan for a number of obvious reasons.
Kobe Bryant is no leader. Off the court, his incessant whining early in the season may have forced Jerry Buss to make a few roster moves and bolster the lineup, but they were the cries of a petulant child.
As Jordan did in his career, you make your displeasure known to a few select insiders, such as the head coach, general manager, and owner only. You don't seek out media counsel and use them as a mouthpiece. If word leaks out, you issue a simple "no comment" and move on. Bryant is a byproduct of an era that believes in making as much noise as possible to force change and to use the press gaggle to your own advantage. A true leader does not air the laundry on a public clothesline.
On the floor, take nothing away from his talent, but Kobe Bryant cannot by simple force of will alone change the course of a game. Jordan could do this by seemingly sending telepathic messages to the other four guys on court. Every single player on every single roster that MJ played on looked up to him for guidance and support. He was another head coach that simply wore a uniform. He made other players excel around him, or he left them in the dust.
Conversely, Kobe Bryant is made great by the players who support him. Don't get me wrong, because it's obvious that Jordan could not and would not have been the icon that he is without the proper supporting cast.
But that cast changed around him and he still was able to perform feats of basketball legerdemain seemingly without missing a single beat. He fed off their energy and their skills, while at the same time allowing some of that magic to rub off.
Bryant is the polar opposite. No one could or should argue that Kobe turned the Lakers season around when he was given the right players around him. Players that for the most part would be viewed as little more than spare parts for other rosters.
Pau Gasol? Being the owner of 12 franchise records with the Memphis Grizzlies can be compared to being the only clean and shiny car on a dingy lot of previously-owned specials. While we cannot overlook the fact Gasol was one excellent reason for Kobe's scoring freedom this season, a case can be made that his game has not substantially improved working with Bryant. After the first two games of the Finals, one could conclude his game has been underachieving at best, invisible at worst.
Other comparisons are too plentiful and would take hours to cite. Suffice to say, the argument is a specious one, propagated by those who either have little knowledge of the NBA or have been hired to write sizzling and dynamic advertising copy for those who have a financial interest in making sure these Finals are one for the ratings ages.
This is not another chapter in a fabled sports rivalry
From the cover of national magazines to the increased volume level of broadcast promotions, we have been bombarded with this being the renewal of the storied Celtics-Lakers rivalry that for years made the NBA Finals must-see viewing for even those who thought basketball was still contested with a peach basket.
While comparing Kobe to Michael Jordan shows a lack of any real understanding about what it takes to be a sporting legend, this is just an attempt by marketing masterminds to brainwash an unsuspecting public. At the very least, those who cannot read nor use the lame excuse of not having been born when the giants of this rivalry thundered from one coast to another. Even old video can be converted to play on an IPod.
Thanks to expansion and a changing schedule, the Lakers and Celtics barely even know each other, playing a couple of times during the season in what amounts to the standard jockeying for position. Even Paul Pierce has been quoted as saying the two teams barely, if even, know each other.
There is no familiarity here, no history, no real passion. Not only have the players changed, but so have the franchises, the skill levels, the officiating, the fact that no one can watch rats scurry across the rafters at the demolished Boston Garden while teams were playing, and even Jack Nicholson is this side of using a walker to take his court side seat.
The names are the same, but don't allow yourself to be suckered into this media creation. It's a new era, a very different time, and there is no current rivalry between these two teams. Using past meetings to discuss fond memories makes for great conversation around the bar, but is meaningless and more laughable than laudable.
Officials do not win or lose games and there is no conspiracy
Former Miami Dolphins Head Coach Don Shula taught me an invaluable lesson once when peppered with questions about how a late game call by an official cost his team a chance at victory.
Decisions by the referees do not cost one the opportunity to win any game at any time. What your team did or, more to the point, did not do in the earlier stages of the game is what really comes back to haunt you when the final score is tallied.
Phil Jackson knows this never-wavering rule of sport. Same as Shula. Same as Doc Rivers. Same as any other head coach or player who faces reality in the course of defeat.
The fact there was such a lop-sided disparity in foul shots called in Game 2 was not due to some dastardly plot by David Stern or his officials to fix the NBA Finals and create more drama heading back to LA. The bony skeletal hand of Arnold Rothstein did not emerge from the earth to drop a few sheckles by the refs dressing room prior to tip-off. Tim Donaghy was not reinstated after undergoing weeks of extensive plastic surgery to make him look older and shorter.
The Lakers were caught and called for more fouls because it's what the Celtiics forced them into. Boston came out for the second night in a row and not only stole, but perfectly played, what was to be the Lakers game plan. Waste no time smacking the other guy in the mouth, strike a little defensive wariness in his soul, and make him think that every time he touches the ball you're going to be all over him like a Bill Clinton accusation.
Watching almost helplessly while the Celtics poured in 14 more points than the Lakers in the 2nd quarter and 10 more in the 3rd is what made for desperate times and desperate measures. One would have to then assume that, according to the people wearing their Oliver Stone masks in the audience, the refs then hit the 4th quarter and decided to relax and artificially create the aura of an amazing comeback fallen short. Guessing these are the same people who believe "JFK" was historically accurate.
Too many people underestimated the Boston Celtics defense of this season. More than a few discounted their overall play because of the East vs. West bias, depending on which side of the Mississippi you live. They forgot about Kevin Garnett being happier when dishing to someone else for the dagger instead of delivering it himself. They decided to call amnesia in noting Paul Pierce can teach Kobe Bryant more than a thing or two about playing defense.
They won't forget now. And unless something drastically changes in the next 10 days or so, they will be reminded of it every time they read a story or view a tape of the 2008 NBA Finals.
Ed Berliner's "3 Ring Circus" commentary can be read exclusively here at The Bleacher Report. National commentary and opinions on every sport from a wide range of reporters, columnists and analysts can be heard 24/7 at www.speedingbulletnetwork.com.
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