"Where have all the rivalries gone..." (November 21, 1997)

Another week down in the NBA. I don't know if any one else has noticed this, but this year has not been exciting. There was no big lead up to the season tip-off. It's almost as if the NBA is flat. Last year, people wondered if the Bulls could repeat. Before that, could Michael Jordan come back. Before that, Hakeem, the Knicks, Shaq and Penny, etc. Now, there is nothing. There is almost a Pete Rozelle type parity in the NBA. While it does give the fans a chance for a good game almost every game, there still remains the superstar teams. This year is no different, except instead of the Lakers and the Bulls, it's the Lakers and the Hawks. Trust me, the Bulls will do well when Scottie Pippen comes back, and Rodman screws his head on straight. Even playing half-hearted he's still pulling down ten boards a game. There are no great rivalries that the fans look forward to. I can't think of a rivalry that pits fan against fan, team against team and player against player. What happened to teams that truly hated each other. Some could argue that the Knicks and Bulls have it. But I don't think so. The Bulls (except for one series without Michael Jordan) always beat the Knicks, which makes for an angry team and a winning team. Not what I'm looking for. Maybe the Heat and the Knicks, because of Riley. I don't know if you can base a rivalry on a coach. That's kind of cheap. Besides, you can't just create a rivalry in a year or two. What happened to the rivalries that were based on true hatred? The Celts and the 76ers? The Celtics and the Lakers? The Bulls and the Pistons? The Celts, 76ers and Pistons all got bad quick. (Time out for a second: I stopped writing here yesterday and now I'm trying to continue a thought so it might not be totally coherent, but I'll give it a shot). These storied franchises never replenished their talent bases with poor drafts or via free agency. Sure it's easy to say that when you're good for so long you're bound to draft poorly and not get good players. But the Lakers got some really good talent with their late picks. I still laugh though at the Lakers two highest picks in the late 10 years, George Lynch and Anthony Peeler. Both decent players, but not Jerry West's best picks either. I guess he needs to pick around 25 or later to get a quality player like Nick Van Exel or Vlade Divac. Where was I? Oh yes. I think Clinton's stance with Iraq should be a hardline one with military force if necessary.....oops, wrong thought. Yes, I remember now, it was about rivalries. You can see where how I made that error there, rivalries, Iraq and the U.S., and so on. Aw, forget it. Now in the NBA you get what I like to call packaged rivalries. Rivalries that should happen, that the NBA and NBC wants to happen, but just hasn't and may never. On NBC, rarely do you see commercials that say 'The Bulls vs. The Hawks.? It's always, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls versus Dikembe Motumbo and the Atlanta Hawks. NBC an instigator of the individual over the team. They are trying to create rivalries where there are none. They are trying to create individual rivalries if they can't create team ones. Sure John Starks vs. Reggie Miller is fun to watch, but there are few rivalries between players who are highly skilled. Charles Oakley vs. Xavier McDaniel was fun. They hated each other when X wasn't on the Knicks. There are others, and I'd like it if people to write their favorite rivalries, either individuals or teams. Here are a few so-called rivalries they NBC and others have tried to create through scheduling and their pasts: Miami vs. Orlando: New teams. Geographically close. Now both are considered playoff contenders. Why haven't they beco me true rivals, instead of hypothetical? I don't know. Both have the quality coaches. Cleveland vs. Chicago: This is more a drubbing that a rivalry. CEO Jordan and Co. come in, win the playoffs, and Cleveland goes home. Need I say more. Chicago vs. Detroit: Try to renew an old rivalry with new blood. Grant Hill, the Air Apparent, has never taken the Pistons to the next level and still can't consistently beat the Bulls. See Cleveland. Maybe it's those stupid uniforms. That would account for Cleveland as well. Portland and Seattle: for us on the East coast, we rarely see either team, but it's like Orlando/Miami except both teams have a lot of talent. Only one was good when the other one wasn't and now the other is good when the other isn't. San Antonio vs. Houston: The Dream vs. The Admiral. It's that simple. Let's face it. David Robinson is one of the greatest players in the game. He's incredible. He's nice, smart and charismatic. You also can't hate him. This is a major reason why it's hard to create a rivalry with San Antonio. When they have Dennis Rodman, they had a chance, but that's a long time ago. So I guess what I'm trying to say, is that without conflict, basketball is a pretty boring game. Sure it has its exciting moments, but it's much better when teams play with that raw emotion that brings it to the next level. Just think about the time when you got hit taking a charge in street ball. You probably were really pissed off. You were really angry. You took it personally. You wanted revenge. That's what I'm talking about. Like every possession is like the last possession of the game. Too bad we can't bring that to the NBA on a consistent basis. We got the players. We got the attitude and trash talkers. We just need environment.