As fantastic as the NBA Playoffs have been in the early going, I can’t help but watch them with a nagging feeling of dismay. It’s like a shadow creeping slowly across the court, as “40 games in 40 nights” becomes 39, then 38.
The lockout is coming.
Most reputable NBA writers and experts predict a prolonged work stoppage that could cut deeply into next season’s schedule. These playoffs may be one last hurrah for professional basketball as we know it, and this is both frightening and deeply saddening.
Anyone who knows me understands just how unconditional (and irrational) my love for the NBA is. I eat, sleep and breathe basketball. Give me a Pacers-Bucks game and I’ll watch it, gladly. I throw down $150 for the NBA League Pass TV package and would easily pay twice as much. Call me crazy, call me shallow, call me ignorant; it’s simply part of who I am.
So, on a personal level, losing the NBA for any prolonged period of time would be devastating. But that’s not the real issue at hand. I could write thousands of words about my own addiction for basketball, but no one else is interested. I’m sure you’re already bored.
No, the truly upsetting aspect of this impending lockout is that the NBA has never been more fun to watch. Almost every team has at least one player worth watching, and there is a perfect equilibrium between the old guard fighting to maintain supremacy and a fresh batch of stars looking to imprint their own legacy.
This past weekend was a perfect example of the league’s abundance of entertainment. Quite literally, every game was exciting. The “worst” game was probably Atlanta’s 10-point victory over Orlando, and it featured a 46-point, 19-rebound outburst from Dwight Howard. Even the most ardent of NBA naysayers would have little to complain about after watching those eight games.
Presumably, the games will only get better as time goes on. If this is the last we see of the NBA until next year then, well, send-offs don’t get much better.
But I can’t look at this as anything but a travesty. The most recent lockout in the 1998-99 season was unfortunate, but few can deny that the league was in bad shape in the wake of Michael Jordan’s retirement.
Now? David Stern and the Player’s Association would be abandoning a garden in full bloom. As a result, many fans, including those who embraced the NBA as an alternative to the wasteland that is college basketball, would be turned off for good. Diehards like myself, meanwhile, would be robbed of precious time with a stable of superstars and left with a bitter taste in our mouths.
It’s hard to see how Stern could look at all of this and allow a work stoppage. There are issues to be solved, sure. The NBA has a money and salary problem — don’t believe me? Travis Outlaw made $7 million this year — and it won’t go away without some sort of action that will leave either the owners or players unhappy.
In all likelihood, there will be a lockout. No one knows how long it will last, whether it will cut into next season or eliminate it all together. Neither I nor any other loyal fans can do anything to stop this.
That doesn’t mean we have to like it. It doesn’t mean that we have to look at this as anything but a robbery of delightful basketball. It will be a black mark for as long as the league exists.
All I can say is enjoy the next month and a half. Try to ignore the shadow looming over the court.
It won’t be easy.
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