You Want to Fight? Fight With Me, One-to-One, Man-to-Man

(Props if you recognized the song in the title.)

As I discuss topics related to bygone days, one of the things I’m trying to avoid is lamenting on how much better everything used to be. Nothing causes a conversation to devolve into utter lack of substantiality, and me to cringe, much as a statement like, “Oh, X used to be so much better back in the day, now it just sucks” (insert variable for X: post play, guard play, physicality, NBA on NBC intros, ad infinitum). True or not, you miss out on the subtle nuances by making such categorical assertions (for example: big men are more versatile than they’re ever been, the guard play right now is criminally exciting, NBA on TNT is some of the most entertaining content on television now, etc.).

That said, I came across this video of a classic duel between MJ and Glen Rice in 1997. Rice, fresh off the All-Star Game MVP (which he won on the strength of an All-Star record 22 point third quarter, beating out MJ, who had the first triple-double in ASG history [yes, that’s a 21-part video of the 1997 ASG- sorry for ruining your planned afternoon of productivity]) hit some clutch shots en route to a 32 point night, but Jordan was Jordan, hitting the game winner and dropping 43.

First, quick thoughts from the video:

• I forgot how much I loved the 90’s Hornets- Muggsy, Dell, Grandmama, Vlade.. the list goes on. They deserve another post.
• The 10 seconds starting at 0:44 are Exhibit A to be filed under “Why I Love Dennis Rodman”
• You knew that shot was going in.

Anyways, the topic of discourse that the Rice-Jordan duel inspired: player rivalries nowadays. Kobe-Lebron media hype aside, when’s the last time two players have sincerely risen to the top of their games when challenged by each other? The most recent one I can think of was Lebron-Pierce in Game 7 of last year’s Conference Semifinals, but the self-references to Dominique-Bird (combined with the Celtics’ posse cut) kind of killed that one for me.

The other one that stands out off the top of my head is Iverson v. Carter in the 2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals, replete with following statlines:

Gm 1: Iverson scores 36, Carter hits game winner. Raptors W

Gm 2: Iverson scores 19 straight Sixers points at 1 point and 54 overall. Sixers W

Gm 3: Carter hits 8 straight 3 pointers, 50 overall. Raptors W

Gm 4: Iverson scores 30 and game winning 3. Sixers W

Gm 5: Iverson drops 52. Sixers W

Gm 6: Carter hits 39. Raptors W

Gm 7: Iverson hands out 16 assists, Carter misses that fateful game winner. Sixers W

(click through at the end for part 2)

I recognize that the above is by no means an exhaustive list. But compared to the liberal doses of goodness we had in the 90s (Miller-Jordan. Shaq-Hakeem*. DRob-Hakeem*.), examples I can think of nowadays are sparse**. Is it me or do head-to-head matchups these days fail to deliver on their promised hype? Is this because of:

• some weird positional asymmetry established in the NBA, where my power forward shoots 3s and yours has a back-to-the-basket game? Perhaps this versatility of player roles precludes any significant one-on-one matchups.
• a lack of continuity precipitated by ceaseless and sporadic player movement? (How can a rivalry evolve if you’re just as likely to play on my team next year as challenge me for the title— or in Kobe and Artest’s strange case this year, both?***)

Or is this merely a case of nostalgia, where I’m missing epic duels happening right before my eyes? Lots of questions; looking for answers.

* Not quite a rivalry so much as Hakeem imposing singlehanded destruction on his challenger.

** Rose-Rondo looks promising, especially after Round 1 last year. I find the Williams-Paul “rivalry” laughable; while Williams destroys Paul head-to-head by virtue of his size and strength, Paul is simply in another league.

*** See Artest, “Still Crazy”.