Kevin Garnett's Cancer Quote and the 15 Most Overblown NBA Storylines in 2010-11
Kevin Garnett's Cancer Quote has come and gone like most of the story lines that dominated the NBA in the first couple weeks of this still-early season.
This got me thinking of the most over hyped news items that we delved into in the past month. In each of these cases, most of us treated each story like it was a life-or-death circumstance.
What we fail to realize so often is that the NBA season is long and arduous. We can't give ourselves heart attacks with every news wire item. Here are the most overblown so far this season.
15. Nets New Owner
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New Jersey Nets fans were given a bit of hope in the off-season when they met their new owner, billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. This would be the man who would finally turn around the franchise.
There were rumors he could sway LeBron James in coming to New Jersey. More recently, there was talk that he could land Carmelo Anthony in a trade.
While he very well may turn things around, it has not happened yet. The Nets are still what they were last season: a bad team.
14. Shaq To Boston
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When it was announced that Shaquille O'Neal was joining the Celtics, there were two schools of thought.
One group thought he would add depth to an already deep center position. Others thought he would drain the already-geriatric Celtics.
It turns out neither was correct. It seems that Shaq will be largely irrelevant this season. He was only playing 20 minutes a game before he suffered an injury and is now listed as inactive.
When he does return, he will not be the reason the Celtics win or lose. Shaq is more of a glorified spectator now. Please enjoy Boston.
13. Oklahoma City Thunder
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The Thunder were supposed to arrive as soon as the first tip of the 2010-2011 season. It seems as though there will be a few more moments of uncomfortable growing pains.
The Thunder have looked shaky to start this season's campaign. While there has been a lot to like in their game, losses to the Clippers, Jazz, and Celtics have me questioning where I placed them in the power rankings.
They will be fine in the end. I just thought they would have jumped out of the gate in a sprint, not a hobble.
12. Allen Iverson
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For a couple of weeks in October, we questioned what was to become of Allen Iverson. The former All-Star just had to catch on somewhere. While he did catch on, it wouldn't be in the NBA. He now resides in Turkey.
The most overblown aspect of this story is that we still cared about Iverson. Now that he is out of the NBA, we have all realized that we don't need to care about the selfish malcontent anymore. It feels really good.
11. Blake Griffin Rookie All-Star
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It was very easy for us to laud Griffin with praise before he even picked up a basketball during an NBA game.
I thought he would be the missing piece that the Clippers were searching for. He was going to be their savior.
I failed to remember that the Clippers are not only horrible but they are cursed. Griffin may be having a decent start to the year, but the Clippers are 1-6. It seems as though Griffin isn't saving anything.
10. Carmelo Anthony Saga
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It seems that there was a time there when every day there was a new rumor of Carmelo Anthony being traded. In hindsight, we overlooked the possibility of what happens to most trade rumors: nothing.
It is very difficult to trade a superstar in the NBA. The losing team has to feel they are getting fair enough value. More than that, salaries have to match.
Most of us never thought that what was more likely and seems to be happening is just this, Denver will keep Anthony until the Nuggets lose hope of contending.
Their best hope of winning is with Melo; why not hold onto him for bit longer?
9. Cetics Age
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The Celtics are a lot like the Spurs. Every year we hear about how old the Spurs are. They then make the playoffs and go deep into them.
The Celtics may be old, but they are wise. They know that the NBA regular season is fairly meaningless if you do not win in the playoffs. They will put together a good season. They may make it into the playoffs as a third or fourth seed. But none of that matters.
What does matter is that they get there healthy. If they are, they are automatically a contender regardless of record. Keep in mind, this is a Lakers fan talking.
8. Charles Barkley's Mouth
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Back in July, Charles Barkley voiced what he thought of LeBron James and his "Decision." Barkley referred to James as a "punk" and has since had to clarify what he had really meant to say.
The fact that this was news had me laughing. Whether it be for shock value or his actual personality, Barkley says what is on his mind. That is what he does. That is precisely why he is still so popular after being retired for so many years.
The fact that his statement made headlines was laughable because it was one of his more benign statements.
7. Chris Paul
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Chris Paul wants out and his demands are going to tear apart the franchise.
Both of these things were given to us by the media. It turns out that the Hornets are a good team whether Paul wants out or not. The Hornets are currently 6-0 after facing some good teams. They have wins against the Bucks and Heat.
Most importantly, they look like a cohesive bunch out there.
6. Mike Miller Injury
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I have to take this one. I thought the Mike Miller injury would be much more detrimental to the Heat.
I thought a team that lacked depth would have suffered at his absence. They seem to be doing just fine without him.
While they are not exactly lighting up the Association, they are just fine beating bad teams without him.
5. Kevin Garnett Cancer Quote
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Earlier this week Kevin Garnett hurt Charlie Villanueva's feelings. Instead of running home to tell his mommy, Villanueva chose to hop on Twitter and tell the world.
Look, I am positive that Garnett is not in the right state of mind on the basketball court. We have all seen him mutter to himself as he runs back on defense. The man is just not correct in the head.
Whatever he said to Charlie was, I am sure, uncouth. I am sure it was said with disdain and expletives. But it was said during the heat of battle.
There have been worse things muttered, I am sure.
4. Heat Winning 72
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In this instance, we the NBA faithful forgot that winning in the NBA is tough. It is not enough to just sign a couple of legends and call it a day.
The 1995-1996 Bulls posted 72 wins after playing in a single system for a few years. Sure Jordan had just returned, but the core group of players were still intact.
The Heat may be able to win 72, just not this year.
3. Kobe's Knee
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Kobe Bryant was not 100 percent coming into this season. We all knew it and the media made sure Kobe was reminded of that fact. At every practice and post game interview, he was asked about it.
This might be a news story if there was any evidence of him not playing at a high level.
He just finished off the Kings with a triple-double and his Lakers are now 7-0.
2. New Rules
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Before the season started, the NBA instituted new rules in respects to player's reactions.
Referees would now be called upon to dish out technical fouls for players that become overly demonstrative to their calls. Many thought this was a ridiculous turn for the NBA.
It is.
It is quite evident that the NBA is now dishing out unearned technical fouls. They are asking players to not be human out there.
The reason I call this overblown though is that the NBA is already a ghost of their former selves.
This was the league that saw McHale clothesline Rambis. It was a league of the hard hitting bad boys of the early nineties Pistons.
David Stern has turned it into a benign sport that does not celebrate demonstrations of emotions. The new rules came as no surprise to me; they shouldn't to anyone else.
1. LeBron Losing His Legacy
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This was the worst off-season LeBron James will ever have in his career. But when it is all done, we will have forgotten it. The man is only 25. Ten years from now we will be talking about where he matches up with all the greats.
If Kobe Bryant was able to turn around his image, LeBron James can do so as well. Many fans, mostly those in Cleveland, treated James like he ran over a bunch of Girl Scouts with his Range Rover.
All he did was leave Cleveland. Wouldn't we do the same given the chance?
