New NBA Rules

            The National Basketball Association has implemented a handful of new rules and are on the verge of adding a few more to the pot. Here’s a look at how the NBA may look different in the next year or two.

            Replay is one area the NBA has recently added to the game and now it is expanding the extent to which it is used. To view all of the details they can be found on NBA.com, but in a nutshell, replay will be used on all initially called flagrant fouls to determine flagrant 1 or 2 as the final outcome of the call, under two minutes all goal tending and charge/blocks in the restricted zone will be reviewed.

            Cons of the added replay rules include possibly extension of game time. The pros include getting accurate calls, especially when it involves players getting potentially thrown out of games and within the last few minutes of a game. Overall the added power of replay is a positive because it SHOULD guarantee the right calls to be made.

            The other major rule that is getting the most buzz that is not official but has received an approval vote from league owners is advertising on game jerseys. Initial reaction from the traditionalist crowd is arguing that it will take away from the look of the game and its tradition. Middle of the road people will say they are fine with it as long as it does not overtake the entire jersey like many European soccer jerseys, just Google Manchester United, Chelsea, or Real Madrid jerseys and you will see that the sponsor is at least five times as large as the team logo. While the more, let’s call them progressive? Crowd is totally fine with it.

            Each argument has valid points, however with the commercialization of society it was only a matter of time until this takes place in not just the NBA but all major sports in the U.S. So why fight it, let it happen, it will ultimately bring more money into the sport allowing for further expansion and ultimately the better well being of the game. Take the Premiere League as an example of success, they have sponsors plastered over the front of their jerseys and it hasn’t turned fans away from the sport, in fact soccer has never been bigger. According to ProFootballTalk.com this past year’s Super Bowl had a record audience of 166.8 million and realistically that number isn’t much higher worldwide. Well the U.S.’s largest sporting event isn’t even half as big worldwide as Premiere League soccer REGULAR SEASON matches. The Manchester United versus Manchester City regular season match this past May recorded an estimated 650 million viewers, according to TheRoar.com.

            Moral of the story? Advertising on jerseys will not ruin the game, if anything it will force the game to get bigger because companies will be pouring even more money into the game, which honestly is something the NBA is in dire need of right now as it is on the verge of a potential glory era with stars like LeBron and Durant emerging and Kobe on the backside of his career. Overall all of the new rules only benefit the NBA which is good news after the lockout debacle last season and the negative press Dwight Howard keeps garnering as of late.

Perspective

            John Wall, 16.6 ppg, 6.5 apg, 4.3 rpg, and 46 fg% in 37 games played. Kyrie Irving, 17.5 ppg, 4.3 apg, 3.4 rpg, and 52 fg% in 11 games played. Both performances by Wall and Irving over the 09-10 and 10-11 seasons respectively earned each the honor of going number one overall the in NBA draft and each have earned just over five million dollars in 2012 and set to earn more over the course of the next several years.

            Now let’s look at player ‘x’, 18.2 ppg, 7.7 apg, 3.7 rpg, 45 fg% in 25 games played, of course if you have been following any of the hoopla, or “Linsanity” as it is most commonly referred to, then you know player ‘x’ is Jeremy Lin.

            Am I saying that Jeremy Lin has the same potential as Wall or Irving? No. Am I saying that he will continue to produce with the same caliber he did during his starting stint? No. What I would like to make very clear is that the contract offered by the Rockets is not as “ridiculous” as Carmelo Anthony and the majority of the media thinks it is.

            Each year the incoming rookies are evaluated on less than forty games played, against other college caliber players, then we dub the top performers of the year as top NBA draft picks, future all-stars, and possibly future hall of famers. And this all makes sense to us, we do it every year, because it is normal. Then comes the abnormality, Jeremy Lin. Because Lin didn’t do it the “traditional” way, his performance is questioned. “How could he get that money with only twenty five games?” “He hasn’t proven himself” etc.

            Lin has played in nearly as many games as most “one and done” college players, with as good or better stats and against NBA players, not college players whom the majority will never sniff NBA playing time.

And yet people question if he really has talent. It’s all about perspective, put him in college with the same numbers, and against lesser talent, and we peg him as a top three draft pick worthy of a big contract no questions asked. And it was originally because Lin played at Harvard, weaker Ivy League competition, that no one thought he had true NBA talent. So why do we continue to second guess him after a stint in the NBA.

Since Lin has had solid playing time in the NBA he has played lights out, remember the potential MVP talk if the Knicks made a run, so let’s cut him some slack and let him receive whatever contract the Rockets want to offer.

Blazers Fromula for Success

Four out of five writers claim the Blazers are contenders on ESPN.com’s article 5-on-5 roundtable, while the Hawks cannot claim a single contender title. Unfortunately for the City of Roses, the writers opinions did not affect the outcome of last night’s game. In a horrendous shooting night, the Blazers came up one three pointer away from going into overtime in Atlanta against the Hawks. 38% from the field and 26% from the three will not win many games in the NBA. As the game progressed there was one key moment when I knew it was not the Blazers night. Just half way through the second quarter Gerald Wallace and Wesley Matthews were a combined 2-11 shooting and Jamal Crawford just missed a twenty foot jumper that was rebounded by LeMarcus Aldridge only for Aldridge to turn it over during his re-post up move. The Blazers had seven players with at least eight points, however, only three had at least ten and only Crawford and Aldridge had over twenty. There is no superstar offensive player for the Blazers. In an off shooting night like last night, they do not have a Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant or Lebron James that can put the team on their shoulders. That is the Blazers down fall. On the upside the Blazers do have many players that can score the ball and they are well rounded defensively. By no means is there anything major the Blazers should change in their game planning. Only being 8-6 is slightly disappointing, but, there are many games yet to be played. And despite their poor shooting efforts it was only a loss of three points that included grabbing eight more offensive rebounds than the Hawks and getting twenty one more shots off. What needs to be changed is not a game plan or fundamental problem. Instead it is an attitude adjustment. A team as talented as the Blazers losing a close game on the road like last night and half of their losses being single digit losses shows they have not achieved the winner’s mentality. It can stem from coach McMillan or from Aldridge, but just stemming is not enough. It needs to be spread throughout the entire team. If the Blazers can truly get a hold of that winner’s mentality that they are the best team on the court every night, then with their well rounded team, last night as well as last year’s playoff series against the NBA champion Mavericks could both have different outcomes.