Part of my inspiration for starting RetireSloan was my constant frustration that this incredibly talented team’s best efforts might go to waste in a time where the NBA is in a transition period and the championship is completely up for grabs. All of my predictions have been made through the lens of history—which is why, at times, it can appear as if I have magic powers (I also predicted the Jazz would be swept by the Rockets, so really I'm not that smart).
In an increasingly guard-dominated league, Sloan’s inability to see how necessary Brewer’s athleticism would become during the playoffs has driven me to the brink of insanity, causing manic fantastical theories.
Saturday's game proved I was somewhat wrong about Boozer's worth. It also proves O'Connor has constructed a team so well-balanced it has the capability of overcoming cylon infiltration. In this column I put forth a theory that doesn’t involve Satan, time machines, or robots sent from the fourth dimension. For me, I’d say that is a success.
If Houston’s failures prove anything, it proves the Kobe–Shaq two superstar model is a remnant of a by-gone basketball era. A team game it is, and a team game it will continue to be.
Get ready for the most rude of awakenings . . . despite Jerry Colangelo’s best efforts, team USA will again fail in the next Olympics. American basketball will fall from grace in Beijing—during the moment where the western world witnesses the announcement of the new Chinese economic empire. America’s post WWII dominance of the globe is over and that includes basketball, my friend.
David Stern will then use this collective epiphany to sell the owners on adopting international rules. It will provide both a better product and the European investment Stern has coveted for at least a decade.
In the same way American car companies will either become reliable and green or face extinction, American basketball will soon have to adapt and play a team game where all the players on the court are capable of contributing. Changing the hand check rules was the first step, but next summer there will be no way for American basketball to resist a major overhaul in the rules of engagement — once this happens, all bets are off.
We are 15 months away from a complete revolution in hoops. Fans in SLC and Oakland should realize it’s now or never. It would be oh-so fitting if Don Nelson’s all guard, speed-it-up team went on to win this year’s championship. In a spiritual sense (this is Utah), I could definitely see it happening.
For fanzz there is a silver lining. The Jazz are the second worst possible match up for Nellie’s mismatch extravaganza (the Spurs are the absolute worst). As Kenny Smith pointed out after Game 7, Nellie might be able to guard Dirk Nowitski with Stephen Jackson, but there ain no way—not no how—that gonna work har agains Boozr. . .Same goes for Okr.
The pace of life in Nellieville will have to adjust to the altitude, dry desert air, and a hard-nosed basketball ethic that takes the ball to the rack with its elbows out.
In their pre-game stare contest, Avery Johnson blinked. He played his mentor's game, not his own. That absolutely will not happen with Sloan (you’d have to be awake to blink). Sloan is the immovable object. The Jazz starting line-up will be the same as it ever was. Sloan’s been around too long and faced Nellie too many times to fall for his game. He will give the fanzz just enough hope to have their hearts broken.
