Why doesn’t anyone hate anyone anymore?
Remember Detroit’s Bad Boys, so hated that Boston priests probably pondered using the Lord’s name in vain? Remember the Celtics’ Kevin McHale clotheslining the Lakers’ Kurt Rambis hard to the hardwood? Remember when players hated their rivals as much as their fans did?
“I think it’s different now,” Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups said.
In today’s NBA, more than ever before, players slam bodies in the low post and then slam shots together at the bar that night. Some players invite visiting players to stay at their homes when in town. And they even send congrats via Twitter after one guy buries another guy’s team (could you imagine @BadBoyRickMahorn tweeting “nice shot larry legend, y’all are good” and @BostonBird replying “U guys play hard! C ya in the conference finals!!”).
“I think there’s been a unification of the players,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “The players association has more of a camaraderie and a bond that (suggests), ‘We’re in this together, we have to be unified.’ And that’s more so than in the ’70s and ’80s.”
A lot of this Kumbaya-ing is because these days, there are so many high school tournaments, camps and traveling teams, most elite players become Facebook friends and real friends. And then, because the stars stay in college for a couple of years at most, suddenly the dude they chilled with at camp at 17 is now an NBA “rival” by 19.
“That’s true — I never thought about that — but with the grassroots thing now, shoot, you become friendly with all the best players,” Billups said, “and before you know it, you’re all NBA all-stars together or on teams fighting against each other for the playoffs. You build good relationships.”
This is not to say NBA players don’t play hard. Passion and pride are prevalent. But it’s tough to hate a guy on the court when off the court you work together in pitching shoes and sports drinks. Or, he was your teammate in Beijing on the “Redeem Team.” NBA players are linked via power agents and marketing campaigns — the money is bigger than ever and the margin for error is smaller than ever. Image isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.
“I think our world is politically correct these days,” Karl said, “and saying ‘I hate that guy’ isn’t as politically correct as in the 1980s.”
Billups also pointed out that hatred was arguably more ardent a generation ago, when rules allowed players to thrive on physical play.
“Back then, you could be more physical,” Billups said. “You could fight and just get a technical foul (instead of an ejection). The game was just different. Now, you can’t even foul hard without the refs breaking it up or throwing you out of the game. That changed the dynamic.”
Trying times.
Are the Spurs no longer the Spurs? Yes, San Antonio is still in the playoff hunt, but the acquisitions of Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess haven’t put them in the Laker-contending category. Manu Ginobili told : “We have the personnel to be contenders, but at this point in the season we are not. One thing that you can rest assured is that we will do our best to get to that point.”
After today’s home game against Denver, San Antonio embarks on its annual February road trip, because of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. The Spurs have eight consecutive road games, with the all-star break in between. In other seasons, this road bonding has helped the Spurs. This year, more than ever, they need this to happen.
Battling adversity.
Similar to the J.R. Smith situation last week, Karl has dealt with occasional behavior issues involving reserve Renaldo Balkman this season. Karl has praised Balkman’s intangibles on the court, but the reserve forward has made things difficult for the staff with his wishy-washy focus at practice and shootarounds.
“Your job as a coach is to coach them and make them better,” Karl said, “and Renaldo is in an insurance policy situation right now, but with an injury or certain circumstance, I’d like to have more confidence in Renaldo being ready to play.”
Check, check.
There’s no question that Nuggets rookie Ty Lawson has benefited, at times, from the NBA’s rule changes a decade ago, which prevent defenders from contacting a player in the backcourt with hands or forearms.
That said, “You still have to catch a guy to put your hands on him, and Ty is pretty clever in open space,” Karl explained. “But I definitely think the no-hands (rule) has helped the little guards. At almost every timeout, (perimeter defense) is discussed — when to help, how to help, where to help. . . . You’re telling someone, ‘don’t leave that guy open.’ “
Speaking about the power of the rule change, Karl joked: “Steve Nash should send David Stern a kickback check. He’s gone from a darn good player to a Hall of Famer. We used to beat him up, hold him and grab him. Now, we can’t do any of that, and he loves it.”
Spotlight on …
Larry Brown, Bobcats coach
George Karl’s first coaching experience was in the summer of 1974, when Brown invited Karl, a year removed from North Carolina, to be on the coaching staff for a traveling team to Russia.
“I saw practice plans, how practice works, how he builds his defenses,” Karl said. “And then to hang out with Doug Moe and Larry was unique fun. There was a lot of vodka.”
On Monday, Larry, Moe and Georgie were reunited at the Pepsi Center between the Bobcats’ and Nuggets’ shootarounds — three Nuggets coaches and Dean Smith disciples, Brown and Karl still coaching, 900 wins into this thing.
“We both played for the greatest coach I think you could possibly be around in Dean Smith,” Brown said. “The way he respected the game and respected the players, I think we all wanted to be like him. . . . I don’t think I’ve ever worked in my life. To do this in my age, I feel lucky.”
Brown’s Bobcats are having their best season ever, thanks, in part, to Brown’s defensive mind-set. Gerald Wallace is an all-star this season, the first Bobcat to earn this honor, and in the watered-down East, the Bobcats could possibly be as high as a fifth seed in the playoffs.
“I dreamed about being a high school coach. I didn’t know I’d end up at the professional level,” Brown said. “To be honest with you, I felt more comfortable as a college coach and as an assistant at North Carolina. I love to teach. I’m not crazy about the game. But I love to teach, I love being around the players, I feel fortunate that I’ve had this opportunity.”
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
