Introduction: revisited
Alright, I figured I’ve let this languish for as long as necessary; it’s time to get down to The Meat of Things. I love basketball; I love writing; seems like this is the appropriate venue to wax poetic about both. Rereading my earlier introduction piece, I can’t help but change gears as to what I’m going to write about. I’m going to step away from solely analyzing the premise of team-as-a-concept, and more broadly examine the big picture of NBA evolution. If Buddhism has taught me anything, it’s that overemphasis on words and symbols does nothing but direct you away from the “suchness” of reality and truth (see also- Don’t Overcontemplate, Appreciate); as a result, I’m going to focus my writing on being as deceptively descriptive as possible. I don’t purport (or plan) to provide sophisticated statistical breakdowns, or in-depth analysis, I merely want to help bring about as many of those “Aha!” moments that you get when you remember something that you truly cherish being a Witness of (and not in a manufactured Lebron way, I’m talking about witnessing 51 point duels between young Kobe and Jamison, seeing KJ throw down on someone he had no business going up on, that-shit-is-REAL-jump-out-of-your-seat visceral experiences…).
I’ll throw in some period music (whatever that means, in this case it’s mid-90s rap, that halcyon age…) to boot. I hope you enjoy reading about and watching videos of the good ol’ days while listening to some great music on the Streampad down below. And that’s really the key word to all of this (this meaning everything)… enjoy.
Let’s Get It On
Much has been made of the fact that basketball is a sport where an individual can have a disproportionate impact on his team and the overall game, especially compared to sports like baseball and football, where success depends more on a synergistic functioning of different components (for example, disparate offensive and defensive units). However, it is impossible to deny the ability of a certain system, style of play, or set of teammates to redefine how we view a player, the team, or even color the lens through which we see the game. Playing in Mike D’Antoni’s Phoenix system elevated Steve Nash from an All-Star point guard to 2-time league MVP and lock-for-Hall-of-Fame status. Jason Williams, despite his championship success in Miami, will always be remembered for his hotdogging antics with Chris Webber and Co., driving the resurgence of Sacramento. Scottie Pippen is recalled as the second piece of arguably the best 1-2 punch in NBA history, not as the driving force of a near-championship team in Portland.
It’s clear that perceptions of individual players are determined by how they perform in their environment, and that this is a highly stochastic variable. If we place such an emphasis on individual success and accomplishments, why not devote more time to the teams that drove them there? In an almost anthropological perspective, we’ll look at some of the NBA’s most memorable teams- their lineups, their rivals and great matchups, their rise and fall- and try to develop an understanding of how today’s game has been shaped by the great experiments of the past.
