Make It Quick: Tailoring an NBA Fan

Publisher's Note: This is a new periodical blog feature called Make It Quick, where I make a point quickly and usually leave you, the reader, wondering what all of the commotion was about. The point is to avoid the lengthy stuff that I sometimes write. (That rule is more for myself than it for anyone else. When I do get the urge, I'll write some long stuff, so don't worry. Also, I'm the publisher of this blog, so I can call myself the publisher.)

On a seasonal cycle, the NBA is at its annual peak. The playoffs are always great drama but this is the best part right now with the conference semifinals and the conference finals. (the Elite Eight and Final Four, if you will. Oh, you won't. I apologize.) The best storylines and teams still remain and the quality of play continues to improve. Plus, as odd as this may sound, my interest usually wanes when the playoffs go down to the final two.

The storylines are clear. The Miami Heat are falling apart despite being mostly dominant in the regular season. They could snap at any moment and look great and win the NBA title, too. We know they have the talent but maybe not in the playoffs. The Lakers are a mess and Mike Brown looks continuously overwhelmed. The Oklahoma City Thunder are dominant on their home court and have the all important 'Big 3' that you need to win in the Association. (I feel dopey writing "the Association.") The Spurs are playing the best of the eight teams left but nobody cares because all of their players are boring.

Those are also the storylines fed to us by ESPN (and somewhat by TNT) because those are the most important teams. I don't argue that the Heat and Lakers are the two most important teams. They are.

But I'm uncomfortable in agreeing with ESPN. In this round, it's been almost scary how I've sort of eaten up their coverage. ESPN says the Heat-Pacers and Lakers-Thunder are the two biggest series and they've largely ignored Spurs-Clippers and they've danced with the big market showdown of Celtics-Sixers.

I feel similarly. I don't care about the Spurs-Clippers because that series is over. Celtics-Sixers doesn't do anything for me. And I've been oddly enamored with Heat-Pacers and Lakers-Thunder because I would much rather see OKC and Indy win than Miami and LA. Plus, I don't like LeBron or Wade (FWIW, I liked both before 'The Decision') and I hate every Laker, with a shred of respect for Kobe Bryant. I always root for the underdog and I care about those series because I see the Pacers and Thunder as underdogs, even though they are proving they are not. Now though, I'm interested in how the Heat and Lakers are co-existing as a unit. I'm enjoying it because it's a psychology and group teamwork project more than it is about sports. It's possible that I'm subconsciously hating on the Heat and Lakers and that's fine with me. I'm not sure.

It makes me uneasy to agree with ESPN is all. I've scarfed down a lot of Sports Center in the last week or two, oddly caring about what the Heat and Lakers and Thunder are doing on their off days. I'm becoming the fan that ESPN and the NBA are trying to create and I'm not very comfortable with it. They want to build fans who care about the national teams and the superstars. I don't like it because everything ESPN does is so flimsy and about personal/corporate interests. (I like Magic Johnson and he's a good analyst but I think it remains a conflict of interest to have him loving/hating the Lakers.)

In the end, I'll be alright. This will pass. I'll go back to my usual NBA-hating self by the time the Finals roll around because there's no way I'm taking Kurt Rambis seriously on TV.

P.S: I'm writing this as Game 4 of the Sixers-Celtics game just ended. Why the hell does confetti come down after a Game 4 win? It was Game 4, not Game 7. They made the series 2-2. The Sixers did not win the World Championship or win the Flint, Michigan MegaBowl. If they did, they would have a reason to celebrate. That is annoying.

P.P.S: The Lakers gave away shirts before their Game 3? I never thought that would happen. Another side note, Jack Nicholson is 75. He looks old but not 75 old. You know what I mean?

P.P.PS: I don't think Oklahoma City has committed to a color scheme yet. They use blue, orange, black, red, yellow, dark blue. Unless Adidas just send them factory seconds for warmups and sewed "Oklahoma City" on the front, which appears to be a possible.