NBA's NEXT ERA WILL BE THE BEST EVER

AARWICH NEWS!!!  -  5/21/09



       I grew up in the 80's watching the the greats battle it out on the
hardwood. It was a time of true parity and drama. As I became more and
more enamored by the perennial mach-ups, I remember thinking, wow, I
can't wait to witness the future talent that will inevitably surpass
the now.
Of course at the time, it would have sounded more like,  “pretty
soon... um... those guys... um... aren't like... gonna be as good
as... um... the guys that are gonna be... um... playing pretty soon ya
know.”
Yes, I was hyper and mentally challenged. Much like now. I was also
wrong. They never got better.
Yeah, we had the Michael Jordan era. But were was the competition?
Were was the drama? After MJ (& the refs) dismantled the Detroit
Pistons, the equality vanished.
       For two decades, NBA basketball has been stagnant. It's had its
moments. Like when MJ retired. That opened it up a little bit, but the
league was watered down. The '98 Bulls-Jazz finales were OK, But you
knew what the outcome would be. The '02 Western Conference Finals with
the Lakers and Kings was entertaining, yet short lived. The '04 Finals
were sweet, watching the impossible happen as the Pistons embarrassed
a Lakers team everyone thought would go down as the greatest team ever
bought. Still, It didn't come close to the 80's.
       Fast forward to today. We're already seeing flashes of greatness all
over the league. Drama laden playoff series like the Bulls vs.
Celtics, arguably the most entertaining seven gamer ever. This is just
the beginning. There have been some pretty heated exchanges in the
post season this year. The young talent in the NBA today, and the
promise of more to come tells me more drama isn't far behind.
       So yes, I'm saying it. I believe the next decade of professional
Basketball will bring more talent and more drama than ever before.
       Let's take a look at the past for a second. First of all W.
Chamberlain, B. Russell, P. Maravich , and O. Robertson are exempt
from the conversation. They're the Fore (Four) Fathers of basketball,
and the league wouldn't be what it is today if not for them. However,
there is absolutely no way to compare their individual talent against
todays much more gifted athlete. I know you old guys don't wanna hear
it, but bottom line, it was pretty much them against everyone else.
       The general consensus “best of all time” are MJ, Magic, Bird, Kareem,
Dr. J, Olajuwon, K. Malone, Barkley, Isiah, Pippen, Stockton, Shaq,
Kobe, AI and Duncan, give or take.  Yes?  OK.  Now we eliminate the
frauds. Pippen: glorified role player.  AI: you can't be great if you
can't make your teammates better. Malone: no Stockton, no Malone.
Next, minus Shaq, Kobe and Duncan, because they didn't play in the
80's.  Right?  Bare with me. Although Stockton, Olajuwon, Barkley and
The Air Apparent played the majority of there carriers in the 90's,
for the sake of argument we'll add them to the  80's. Why? It's my
game!
       Alright, we can start our comparisons. Honestly I'm not a LaBron
James slappy, but I know eventually, he will be the King. He probably
won't have six rings, but that's were parity comes into play. He will
however, be crowned the indisputable all time great. He is the first
and only complete player. An enigma. So who of the greats does he
compare to? No one. He's a high-bred, that until now, has never
existed. But, for the sake of argument we'll say Magic Johnson. Magic
was the best all around player of all time.
       Magic/ Bird – LaBron James / Carmelo Anthony - It starts in this
years finals, watch.
       So who compares to MJ? How about Dwyan Wade? At this time in MJ's
carrier, He had 1 ring, like Wade. He had a FG% of 51%, Wade 49%. MJ
scored 30.1pts per game, Wade 30.2. MJ's 3pt% was 27%, Wade's 32%. MJ
had 6 RPG, Wade had 5. Steels, 1.8 for MJ. 2.2 for D. Wade. Mike
helped with 6.1 assists, Flash had 7.5.  Listen, I'm not saying Wade
is better than Jordan. But what could he have done if he had MJ's team
around him. I mean come on, a rookie, a broken Center and Haslem,
compared to Grant, Cartwright, Paxon, Armstrong & Pippen.
       Play along at home. Comparisons, Bird / Garnett. Too old, OK, Kevin
Durant, no, Al Jefferson, no wait, Carmelo Anthony. Ya, that works.
Check the stats. Kareem / Dwight Howard.  Isiah / Chris Paul.  Dr. J /
Josh Smith, no, Andre Iguodala. Man I'm good. And I haven't even
started yet. Look at the talent. Bosh, Stoudemire, D. Williams, Rondo,
Biedrins, Big Baby, Harris, Lopez, Lee, Rose, Gordan, Roy, Thomas,
Stuckey, Granger, J. Johnson, Beasley, Gasol, Bynum, Oden, Love, Mayo,
Brooks and more, much more.
       Look, this is a good thing. So sit back and enjoy. The NBA is back.