Why Do I Follow the NBA?

There are lot of people a generation older than me that have lost touch with the NBA. They no longer keep up with it. The league they followed as kids is no longer enjoyable to watch. It's not fun anymore. I never imagined I would go down that path as well. I never imagined I would fall into the same category, but after tonight's Game 3 of the 2010 NBA Finals I am there.

This has nothing to do with me rooting for Boston or my loathing of Lakers it has to do with the sport of basketball. It has to do with watching the highest level of a sport and realizing that the game is not decided by the players, or coaches, but by the referees.

You think the NFL, college basketball and football are bad? Please! You have not experienced the NBA. You have not "enjoyed" a basketball game where at the end of the night you really asked yourself, "Did Team A ever have a chance tonight?"

I have always stood by the NBA. People have bashed it and strayed away, but I have stood by it. I am a loyal fan. I believed the league had good intentions and would let the players decide the outcome.

In the summer of 2008 the scandal of former NBA referee Tim Donaghy hit its peak. Donaghy reported that Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals was called in a way that favored the Lakers. Plain and simple: NBA referees cheated. Donaghy took the fall and the NBA swept the mess under a rug. Donaghy was the outcast. The NBA said he was the lone person involved in this operation. We, the fans, were lead to believe that officiating was fine now that Donaghy was brought to justice.

Foolishly I actually believed this.

But after Game 3 tonight I am again faced with the reality that the league has not changed. The ticky-tack fouls are always coming and the referees always control the outcome of the game. And tonight in Boston it was disturbingly evident. The offensive foul on Kevin Garnett in the final thirty seconds of the game was yet again another confusing call by the NBA referees.

David Stern has done a lot for the league from expanding the teams, to globalizing it to the world, but I can not for the life of me understand why he, year after year, keeps the same group of referees on the court. Does a 58 year old man have the same eye sight as a 30 year old? The NBA thinks so. Donaghy has been prosecuted, but still the NBA's games remain heavily influenced by the officials. They really make you think as the viewer, "Now why should I think things are being called fairly again?"

I want to believe the league has integrity and is being fair, but I all too often experience games where the referees play a huge part. Basketball is an aggressive sport. Stern wants to remove that and in turn he has created a league that centers around favoritism towards star athletes all while making the game a free throwing shooting contest.

The officiating in 2010 NBA finals has not been bad, not it has sucked. It has painful to say the least. This continuous presence of a terrible officiating crew night in and night out of the NBA has drained me of my motivation to watch anymore NBA games. I was anxious to watch a Celtics/Lakers series. I was anxious to see a rematch of the Finals from two years ago, but after Game 3 I could care less. I am lost for words as to why I keep coming back and defending this league.

David Stern will continue to ignore the fans and continue to implement a style of basketball that drains the sport of emotion and aggression. I still believe the league fixes games and after tonight's game I have no reason to think otherwise.

Watching the NBA is not fun anymore.

Robert Horry: The Infamous, Average Ballplayer

The NBA Playoffs are amongst yet again, and much like every other year the constant suckling of Robert Horry carries on. The life or death stories of Horry's incredible postseason shots are once again told to large audiences. People gasp at the man who now has 7 NBA titles.

But, it's all overhyped. All blown out of proportion because when you get right down to it. When you really look at Robert Horry's career you see Big Shot Rob was nothing more than an average player on some very good teams. In my mind, I see him as a leach.

In 16 seasons Horry's career numbers are about 7.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, and yes of course we have to add in his staggering playoff numbers as well where Horry has averaged 9 points and 6 rebounds.

Listen Robert Horry has been an incredible clutch shooter in playoff time, but please let's cease from putting him in the same paragraph as playoff legends Micheal Jordan, Larry Bird, Jerry West, and so on. Horry's name should probably be mentioned alongside someone such as Bill Laimbeer.

If that.

Simply put, Horry made a living on jumping on teams on the rise. He was drafted by the Houston Rockets and where he stayed for 4 season. It was here Horry was his most most dominant. (10.6 points, 5.5 rebounds in the regular season; 12 points and 6.3 rebounds in the postseason) Horry won 2 titles with Hakeem and Co. Following a brief stop in Phoenix, Horry latched on in LA with the Lakers where he helped win 3 titles. When that title run was over Horry jumped ship and struck land in San Antonio where he has already won two titles.

After leaving Houston that impact on games was seen less and less by Robert Horry. From the 1996-97 season to present day, stats for Horry are around 6 points and 5 rebounds per game, with a slight increase in playoff times.

Pretty impressive, yet I sit here waiting for the long time vet to make his next move. I mean in a couple of years Boston may be his next stop. His next destination to win 2 titles and further embellish his career and yet again let us, the fans, hear his name thrown around with legends such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Horry will be remembered for his countless big shots, but remember, Big Shot Rob was never the focal point on any of his championship teams. He was never the dominant player, the guy who was the focal point of a team. It seems to me the media loves embracing the fact that there is a basketball player in the league who has 7 rings. That simple fact drives all of this. It is the underlining reason Horry's career is held in such high regard when in all honesty Robert Horry is nothing more than the most infamous, average ballplayer we have ever seen.