Jordan-esque tendencies reappearing
To those that watched and followed the NBA playoffs this year, one thing has become pretty obvious: the Jordan days seem to be back. I’m talking about the days when the home and visiting teams played by a certain set of rules and Jordan played by his own; days when fouls such as an offensive three-second violation didn’t apply, and when giving Jordan a funny look resulted in a personal foul.
Except Jordan has retired.
King James now has the gift.
As the ESPN stat sheet will show, rules for the Magic and Cavaliers (except for LeBron) are pretty similar. Both teams had players foul out, both had amazing and poorly played quarters, and, in general, both had decent parity.
I think what’s been most overlooked about these stats, however, are the fouls and by who. This, I think, is a stat that deserves more attention.
Far too many times the referees have shown preferential treatment for the superstar, basically awarding him free throws every time he sets foot on the Magic’s side of the court. I’m all for letting the players play and calling the calls that need to be made, but letting one player run free because he puts people in arena seats and makes the league money tends to ruin the spirit of the game, as well as the chance for small market teams to break out.
It’s so superstar skewed sometimes in the East, I think Kobe Bryant is wishing he were LeBron.
Rob @ May 29, 2009