Outside Oberlin

Pro basketball still on the downward slope

For better or for worse, this has been one of the most talked-about NBA seasons in several years. From the venom thrown at both sides during the lockout, to the forgiveness and excitement when the season finally commenced, to the almost-immediate playoff run, there has not been so much excitement about the NBA in many years. And now come the playoffs, with many new young stars leading their teams to the mantles promised by their astronomical contracts. Be it Allen Iverson in Philadelphia, Kevin Garnett in Minnesota, Chris Webber in Sacramento (who now hold an imbrobable 2-1 lead over the Utah Jazz) or Tim Duncan in San Antonio (though it should be noted that David Robinson still does play for the Spurs), there is much talk of and excitement surrounding the new generation of players assuming the upper echelon of play in the NBA. But there are still reasons for pessimism.

Iverson, this year's scoring champ, plays on a 76ers team devoid of any other stars, and to his credit he raises the level of play when he's on the floor. But I dare you to name the second-leading scorer on the team? (here's a hint: it's Matt Geiger). Still thinking? And Iverson also plays for one of the finest coaches ever, in Larry Brown. For these two reasons, many have drawn comparisons to Jordan, who stepped into a team of unknowns and turned them, after several years, into one of the greatest teams ever (with the help of Phil Jackson).

But this is not valid. One of Jordan's great talents was to immediately make the players he played with better - Scottie Pippen is a prime example of this. Pippen, in his first season away from the Bulls, averaged 14.5 points per game, the lowest since his second year in the league, and shot 43.2 percent from the floor-his worst ever. In the end, Pippen is a very good defensive player who was made into a great offensive player by teams keying on Jordan, and hitting the wide-open shots that arose from those situations. Jordan, for all the charges of ball-hogging, knew when to give it up. But Iverson, who is ostensibly a point guard, does not seem able to do so. He can dominate a game, yes, but dominate it by himself. He averaged 4.6 assists per game, half an assist more than Sherman Douglas, who played part-time for a 9-41 L.A. Clippers team that won only one game more than the Vancouver Grizzlies. Iverson is not the next Jordan, at least not yet.

On the face of it, Webber had a breakthrough year, establishing a dominating presence for a Kings team that was very mediocre without him. But a closer look reveals a different story. Webber averaged 20 point per game, the lowest total since his rookie season, and a total that is currently his career average. He did average 13 rebounds per game, the highest total of his career, but it also was the first time he was playing power forward and not center, and had a legitimate center to play with (Vlade Divac). Most importantly, however, he did not have to play a full season, and missed time even this year. In his NBA career thus far, Webber has yet to play a full season full-time, and played only 69 games over his second and third seasons combined. And Webber also benefitted from one of the league's biggest surprises, rookie point guard Jason Williams. Williams, a point guard who actually distributes first and shoots second, was instrumental in Webber's success.

The seeming breakthrough also made everyone forget about perhaps Webber's biggest problem-his judgement. Faded from memory now is his arrest little more than a year ago, and his many clashes with management. Or at least they were faded, until Webber's thuggish flooring of John Stockton in Game 2 brought them all rushing back. Webber may be able to keep his head and body together for a first-round upset here, and maybe even a good showing in the second round, but don't ever count on him for consistency.

But more important than individual selfish or hot-headed players in promoting pessimism in the NBA are the league-wide problems that players such as Iverson and Webber cause. They and players like them should not, despite their seemingly great performances, be held up as the league's new hope. Webber shoots free throws at an abominable 45 percent rate, and often crosses the boundary of acceptable on-court physicality. Both have off-court rap sheets a mile long, and a history of acidic interactions with the media and fans.

It would be unfair, however, to blame all of this simply on the disappearance of Michael Jordan. True, he did provide a much more entertaining game than any other in the league. But even this shows that the league was in decline while Jordan was still playing. Scoring has been falling for some time now, and while Jordan was able to transcend the new style of play, few are now able to do so.

Many players have become so concerned with getting the huge, set-for-a-lifetime paycheck that they take ill-advised shots rather than passing and resetting, because when did a reset pass ever get on SportsCenter? The exception to this rule is the Portland Trailblazers, who boast half a dozen players that regularly score in double figures, and who run an exciting, wide-open offense. But they are the exception.

Rather than playing the wide-open, high-scoring game that made basketball the world's second most popular sport over the past decade, the NBA now plays an NFL-style game of frequent stoppages, chest-bumping and injuries. Even hockey is now more fluid than basketball. So unless they want to become a slower-paced version of the NHL without the ice, a direction they are rapidly heading, the NBA ought to rethink just what it is that they celebrate.