The thing in my mind when I was reading it was "but... but... The Timberwolves play as a team, and their key players all have pretty well-rounded games..." It's tough for me to tell if they're really an exception, or if I'm just blinded by fandom. Sacramento and San Antonio also seem to play as fully-evolved teams, at least to me.
I would've mentioned the same teams as exceptions. And to be fair, the successful playoff teams function as well-oiled units. But its the general perception of the game, i.e. "Mr.Robertson, how do I up my ups?", that is the problem. And this symptom is primarily why alot of people like NCAA hoops more than the brand of ball the NBA sells.
I caught the Sixers-Nuggets game the other night, and it was really ugly. You can chalk some of it up to knocking off the rust from the All-Star break, but I was really amazed at how bad the product actually was. There was very little movement on the offensive end, and the transition D was nonexistent. I don't know why people pay to see these games. I don't think it's any secret that the decline of fundamental skills is closely related to the increase in early entry draftees. Surely there's a GM out there who's read Moneyball, right? That was the first NBA game I'd watched in a long time.....at least since the 02 playoffs. And yeah, I love me some college hoops.
But one player, no matter how gifted, does not build and sustain a championship franchise. I'd have to say mostly right, but if he didn't do it, Jordan came damn close.
pivo: yeah, it's mostly not possible, but it's a lot closer than you can do in any other major sport.
