"Invincible" Celtics not doing anything that we haven't seen before.
By Kyle Bauer
After only 14 games and well I suppose an off season adding two veteran but premiere players in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, the Boston Celtics have clinched the 2007-08 NBA Championship. Congratulations!
...Wait a minute....that’s right you actually have to play 82 games and win at least 16 playoff games to reach such a feat but in such a short time, the obnoxious NBA hype machine is in full swing.
In their conjoined effort with TNT and ESPN, the NBA is trying to influence the next flavor of the month to push down our throats and try to push into our hearts. The Celtics have pushed the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns aside, or rather the NBA and national sports media has for them. Sure Boston has in the standings as of this point but see my afore mentioned point IT'S ONLY BEEN 14 GAMES. While several teams just in the Eastern Conference alone have accomplished more or is more proven with chemistry and continuity being they actually have a returning core group, you would think Boston was in the middle of a dynasty run. Dwade and Shaq who? Duncan, Parker and Ginobli, what have they done!? The Celtics led by KG, Peirce and Allen are coming off back to back titles aren’t they? But that’s the ora the NBA is creating.
Like Hollywood, "The Association" creates its own stars. Through the tabloids of ESPN the Mag. and Sports Illustrated, they tell you who to like and give you the cute photo shoot of the "big 3," with the cute stories of how much fun they’re having together and how right it feels, like a hot new Hollywood couple. You get the cover, preview and the story the NBA wants you to see. Through their intense individualistic marketing campaigns that isolate stars or in a supernova such as Boston’s case, you want to see, cheer for and attach yourself to this team because they’re sexy and gooosssshh dayum if they’re not the hottest thing you’ve ever seen. This is what you want because this is what they want. Forget your home team, forget a team like the Spurs who ARE in the middle of a dynasty, or a perennial contender like our Pistons. These teams consistently win with teamwork, hard work and defense.....yawn?
Don’t misinterpret my anger. I'll admit, watching a team light it up like the Suns is fun, seeing LeBron James take over games by himself is great. This is America and majority of us love hype, pomp and pageantry, note my hollywood comparison above. I never said the NBA marketing campaign wasn’t smart, it's brilliant, I just believe it's depraved and shady. Teams should have to earn the attention, not have it shine on them.
Also, I never said that the Celtics aren’t a damn good team, they’re a contender for the NBA title no doubt. Actually they remind me a ton of the Heat once they acquired Shaq, NBA marketing darlings, lacking depth and youth but being top heavy with a superstar big man was ultimately enough. Still they haven’t won anything yet and so far they’re not even doing something that is uncharted. That brings me back to my point about the NBA's hype machine and ability to pick and choose their spotlight.
Sooooooo anyone remember the 2005-06 Pistons, who got off to a remarkable 39-6 start? They were coming off being 3 minutes away from back to back titles, disposing of teams night after night with ease, winning games by averages of 20 + points. From my memory, while local pride for the Pistons swelled, on ESPN and other national outlets there was nowhere near the excitement or focus for the Pistons as we’ve seen in the short time for the Celtics already. I do remember at the Pistons zenith of that season (the 45th game) analyst and basketball pundits began handing the Pistons the championship, still with hesitation. Well that was the problem with the Pistons reaching their zenith at the 45th game. It was obvious why the Pistons didn’t garner the same attention, they didn’t have KG, Allen or Peirce, shouldn’t be as simple as that but it is, there’s my gripe.
My point maybe derived out of jealousy. It would be nice for the spotlight to shine on the Pistons for once. It never has. In 2004 the Lakers lost in the NBA finals, the Pistons didn’t win. 2005 the Heat were favored all year, the Pistons upset them just because Wade was injured and then the Spurs beat them in somehow "the most boring NBA finals ever" as many people illogically and profoundly dubbed the '05, 7 game series. With the afore mentioned 05-06 the Pistons got off to that great start but the Suns and Heat were always more fun to watch. Then the Pistons never deserved the spotlight last year and don’t this year. The Celtics don’t deserve it yet either, the Spurs do, no matter how boring they seem to be, they’re the team of historic caliber and they actually have the credentials to back that up. I want to see credit where credit is due in the NBA, not the rhetoric and marketing propaganda network the NBA works in.
If you think I'm crazy, look at the sports headlines today and while the focus on some of the game stories for last nights Celtics destroying of the Knicks are on Isiah Thomas' ineptitude, many of them tagged the game "historic." The 45 point win is not really historic unless the Celtics 3rd biggest margin of victory, the Knicks 3rd worst margin of loss, and second lowest total of points scored in Knicks history really means something. I don’t believe it does when the 2005 Pistons who got off to the second best first half start to an NBA season in history, are now irrelevant. So why is second and third best "historic" when in the Pistons championship season, they won a game by 52 points on the road, at one point leading by 60, their largest margin of victory ever, second largest road victory in NBA history, and handing that franchise their biggest loss ever, why was it not tagged as "historic?” Why do I remember it barely being mentioned outside of a basic highlight package on ESPN? That's just interesting to me.
Oh and if you’re wondering who the Pistons handed that truly historic loss...it was the Boston Celtics.
The media should take a lesson from the Pistons in a couple different ways. What type of teams they should be giving fair attention to and that looking at the 05-06 Pistons, no one should hand the Celtics a title just yet. It's nothing that we haven’t seen before, then again a franchise like the Pistons aren’t worth remembering or referencing in the NBA's platnium plated eyes.
You can hear me doing the pre game and intermission reports for OU hockey aswell as on the OU hockey show every Wednesday from 5 to 6 pm.
After only 14 games and well I suppose an off season adding two veteran but premiere players in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, the Boston Celtics have clinched the 2007-08 NBA Championship. Congratulations!
...Wait a minute....that’s right you actually have to play 82 games and win at least 16 playoff games to reach such a feat but in such a short time, the obnoxious NBA hype machine is in full swing.
In their conjoined effort with TNT and ESPN, the NBA is trying to influence the next flavor of the month to push down our throats and try to push into our hearts. The Celtics have pushed the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns aside, or rather the NBA and national sports media has for them. Sure Boston has in the standings as of this point but see my afore mentioned point IT'S ONLY BEEN 14 GAMES. While several teams just in the Eastern Conference alone have accomplished more or is more proven with chemistry and continuity being they actually have a returning core group, you would think Boston was in the middle of a dynasty run. Dwade and Shaq who? Duncan, Parker and Ginobli, what have they done!? The Celtics led by KG, Peirce and Allen are coming off back to back titles aren’t they? But that’s the ora the NBA is creating.
Like Hollywood, "The Association" creates its own stars. Through the tabloids of ESPN the Mag. and Sports Illustrated, they tell you who to like and give you the cute photo shoot of the "big 3," with the cute stories of how much fun they’re having together and how right it feels, like a hot new Hollywood couple. You get the cover, preview and the story the NBA wants you to see. Through their intense individualistic marketing campaigns that isolate stars or in a supernova such as Boston’s case, you want to see, cheer for and attach yourself to this team because they’re sexy and gooosssshh dayum if they’re not the hottest thing you’ve ever seen. This is what you want because this is what they want. Forget your home team, forget a team like the Spurs who ARE in the middle of a dynasty, or a perennial contender like our Pistons. These teams consistently win with teamwork, hard work and defense.....yawn?
Don’t misinterpret my anger. I'll admit, watching a team light it up like the Suns is fun, seeing LeBron James take over games by himself is great. This is America and majority of us love hype, pomp and pageantry, note my hollywood comparison above. I never said the NBA marketing campaign wasn’t smart, it's brilliant, I just believe it's depraved and shady. Teams should have to earn the attention, not have it shine on them.
Also, I never said that the Celtics aren’t a damn good team, they’re a contender for the NBA title no doubt. Actually they remind me a ton of the Heat once they acquired Shaq, NBA marketing darlings, lacking depth and youth but being top heavy with a superstar big man was ultimately enough. Still they haven’t won anything yet and so far they’re not even doing something that is uncharted. That brings me back to my point about the NBA's hype machine and ability to pick and choose their spotlight.
Sooooooo anyone remember the 2005-06 Pistons, who got off to a remarkable 39-6 start? They were coming off being 3 minutes away from back to back titles, disposing of teams night after night with ease, winning games by averages of 20 + points. From my memory, while local pride for the Pistons swelled, on ESPN and other national outlets there was nowhere near the excitement or focus for the Pistons as we’ve seen in the short time for the Celtics already. I do remember at the Pistons zenith of that season (the 45th game) analyst and basketball pundits began handing the Pistons the championship, still with hesitation. Well that was the problem with the Pistons reaching their zenith at the 45th game. It was obvious why the Pistons didn’t garner the same attention, they didn’t have KG, Allen or Peirce, shouldn’t be as simple as that but it is, there’s my gripe.
My point maybe derived out of jealousy. It would be nice for the spotlight to shine on the Pistons for once. It never has. In 2004 the Lakers lost in the NBA finals, the Pistons didn’t win. 2005 the Heat were favored all year, the Pistons upset them just because Wade was injured and then the Spurs beat them in somehow "the most boring NBA finals ever" as many people illogically and profoundly dubbed the '05, 7 game series. With the afore mentioned 05-06 the Pistons got off to that great start but the Suns and Heat were always more fun to watch. Then the Pistons never deserved the spotlight last year and don’t this year. The Celtics don’t deserve it yet either, the Spurs do, no matter how boring they seem to be, they’re the team of historic caliber and they actually have the credentials to back that up. I want to see credit where credit is due in the NBA, not the rhetoric and marketing propaganda network the NBA works in.
If you think I'm crazy, look at the sports headlines today and while the focus on some of the game stories for last nights Celtics destroying of the Knicks are on Isiah Thomas' ineptitude, many of them tagged the game "historic." The 45 point win is not really historic unless the Celtics 3rd biggest margin of victory, the Knicks 3rd worst margin of loss, and second lowest total of points scored in Knicks history really means something. I don’t believe it does when the 2005 Pistons who got off to the second best first half start to an NBA season in history, are now irrelevant. So why is second and third best "historic" when in the Pistons championship season, they won a game by 52 points on the road, at one point leading by 60, their largest margin of victory ever, second largest road victory in NBA history, and handing that franchise their biggest loss ever, why was it not tagged as "historic?” Why do I remember it barely being mentioned outside of a basic highlight package on ESPN? That's just interesting to me.
Oh and if you’re wondering who the Pistons handed that truly historic loss...it was the Boston Celtics.
The media should take a lesson from the Pistons in a couple different ways. What type of teams they should be giving fair attention to and that looking at the 05-06 Pistons, no one should hand the Celtics a title just yet. It's nothing that we haven’t seen before, then again a franchise like the Pistons aren’t worth remembering or referencing in the NBA's platnium plated eyes.
You can hear me doing the pre game and intermission reports for OU hockey aswell as on the OU hockey show every Wednesday from 5 to 6 pm.
posted by Kyle Bauer at 12:04 AM
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