Lakers, Celtics and Some Other Jazz
By Tony Serri
 
Jazz is Dead: With the series tied 2-2, the Jazz has introduced a little tension into
their Western Conference Semi-Final tussle with Lakers.   However, the Jazz have had to wrench their guts out to win at home, where the atmosphere for visiting teams is about as friendly as the atmosphere in the Roman Coliseum was if you were a visiting Christian.

Meanwhile the Lakers have cruised over the Jazz at home and despite losing two in a row, are still on track in this series.  This version of the Jazz feels like the early 00s Sacramento Kings teams.   Deep, talented and bustin' with small town pride, but without enough championship mettle to close the deal.  Boozer is their version of Chris Webber - smart and versatile yet too small to dominate and too big to create shots.    Kirilenko is their version of Vlade Divac - goofy, prone to flopping and too often ending up with face full of dunk-pie and coffee.

Last year's weaknesses for the Lakers have become this year's strengths. His teammates with the exception of Derek Fisher all but pull out the popcorn as they go into "Watch Kobe" mode during close road games.  The difference now is that Kobe is better than before.     He's an MVP now, and you can hear 20,000+ nails being bitten every time he starts his moves.  The Jazz have no one that matches up well enough to stop him individually and as a team, they can only claw and scratch at him like angry old ladies trying to stop a purse snatcher as he blasts through the lane.   They have no one to create shots the way the Kobe can and so the Jazz have to rely on execution which is more difficult as the pressure mounts. 

While the Lakers have the luxury of riding on Kobe's coattails for stretches at a time, for the Jazz, it's execute or be executed.  

God Bless Chris Paul: for hopefully ridding us of the Spurs mini-dynasty once and for all.   America never embraced the Spurs during their championship runs and now we've lost our patience with them.  Their brand of basketball is ugly:  flopping, taking charges, zone defense and referee lobbying.    A lot of teams have been playing this form of NBA Muzak for years including the Pistons, the Jazz and any team coached by a Van Gundy but the Spurs elevated this sort of basketball inertia to an art form.  

There were some things to like about them.  They have one of the most spectacular players on the planet in Manu Ginobli, an All-Time great in Tim Duncan, and a point guard married to a B-list celebrity in Tony Parker.   But not every champion is charismatic and the fact that they has been the subject of much NBA and network executive hand-wringing.   They may be talented but collectively the Spurs lack magic. 

Magic is indefinable.  

Michael Jordan had it.  Dominique Wilkins didn't.   Superman has it, Captain Marvel doesn't.   The NBA should stop trying to package the Spurs to us as worthy champions.  They are the Sonny Liston of the NBA, a champion representing an unremarkable era and somewhere out there is a Cassius Clay waiting to be crowned.  

The sooner we get on with the new era, the better. 

Celtics vs. Lakers:  NBA watchers are drooling over a potential Celtics versus Lakers finals hoping it will spark a renaissance for the NBA artistically and stop the ratings bleeding that started with Jordan's retirement.  It's possible that aside from a Los Angeles and Boston spike, the ratings will be disappointing.   Sports in the post -ESPN era are about highlights and not about games.   In the 80s, if you wanted to see Bird vs. Magic, you had to watch the game.  In watching the game, you grew to love the game.    Now, ESPN gives us all the highlights, interviews, reaction shots and back-story and we never need to watch a single game moment.   
Back in the 80s, when the NBA set ratings records, many homes didn't even have cable and the airwaves were still dominated by the major networks.   When given the choice of Lakers v. Celtics and say, "Murphy Brown", you can see why the ratings for the NBA soared.   Basically, we watched Bird vs. Magic not only because they were great, but also because they were the only thing on.

If the NBA doesn't see a big ratings spike from the playoffs of what many call it's greatest regular season, then there may be no bottom for NBA ratings and televised sports ratings in general.   In that case, ESPN may begin showing "Murphy Brown" highlights.