18 THE MIRROR SPORTS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3. 2004 NBA season begins amid drama MARCUS THOMPSON II it used to be. NUA game is now in rerior to 'he K NICHT RlllIH: R When La l rell Spl'cwe ll I't!st of the world. [,'s become choked h is ｣ ｯ ｾ ｣ ｨ Ｌ the com· trendy to "dis· the NBA a nd itS Allen Iverson is what's wrong plaint was NBA playe rs wc re players. lL 's become vogue to with the NSA. Right? pampered athle tes \vho can ' t illuminate the league's Il aws. His cornrows. lauoos, i .. rc\'· SI.w el disc ipline. Aro und the But is the criticism justil1 ed ? c rcnl disposition. His 25 shotS time of the lockout in 1999, Several people cO llil ecled with per game. His crew. Ivcrso n is they wcre labeled overpaid and th e league say some o f it is but lhe model for how NHA p laye rs greedy. In 2001 , when four high also that many perceptions arc h ave ,'egressed; he embodies sch oulers and six unde rclass- Il awed. the ills that plagu<: the league. m e n we re d rafted in the IOlLt r y. -(The perception o r the Right? people cried the NBA ｜ ｾ ｡ ｳ get- league) is bad from the SlOlnd- You've heard the knocks in ling tOO young and immallirc. that people look :It the recelll years, aboUl how NBA Now, afte r the histOric f;:til - NIlA ;IS too much o r an indh'id- pl.tye rs don 't play the gam e lIrt! in the At he ns Ga mes this ua listic sPOrt," said Philadelp hia right, how the NBA is not what summer, many contend the Inquirer columnist Step he n A. Smi lh, who doub les as an N IlA analyst fO,r ESPN. "Since the days or Michael J u rdan , his dunks, his he roics, his aerial auack, the NIlA and ｷ ｾ ｲ ｲ ｍ ｾ ｾ ｍ ｃ ｴ ESI)N and the like gmvit3ted to that .wd started marketing to ｓ Ｎ ｭ ､ ｡ ｾ Ｌ him, Cone were the limes when #Ilt, 7, 7:00 ",", UC Sabl!lS yo u saw rast breaks with Magic J o hnson and James WOrl h y where the ball wo uldn' t touch Philadelphia 76er guard Allen Iverson drives to the basket against TIckets on Sale lIle n oor, Individual exploits Gilbert Arenas and the last season, .Juf...... ｾ ..ｾ were magni fi ed and displayed more than anything else. T hal in team , in the NBA, there is a fo rccmelll to the fact tha t indi- $7 UNC Students had a conmgious erfect on Ｂ ｭ ･ ｾ Ｌ vidual stars arc great, but unless you ng players watchi ng a nd O thers conte nd it's no t fa ir they make thc p layers a round ..,• .., ..., IIrWIif coaches," to malign an e ntire spon based thcm beller, and their teams Kohe Bryan t is what's wrong o n the actions of rew - pointing win, they're really not gelling it with the NBA. Right? LO Minnesota's Kevin Garnell, do ne," He's chosen his bl oated ego San Antonio's Tim ｏ ｵ ｮ ｣ ｭ and Despite all the slams and over win ning, He chased away the li ke as proof it ain't all bad. knocks on the league, there is Phil Jackson and Shaquille They point to the many cases no sign o r fans losing in terest. O'Neal, shunning authority and where star players lake less It seems th e perceived short- choosing to shine among med i- money or a lesser role ror a bet- comin gs a re not e n o ug h to ocrit.y than share the spo tli ght. tcr chan ce to wi n a ti tl e. T hey dete r consumel'S, Bryant epitomizes the se lf-over- po in t to occasions when a team Uerore the 2002-03 season , group nature of the NBA, exem- saCl'il1 ces a box-office star to the NBA signed a six-year, $2.4 pli fies the rampant in solence in im prove its roste r as a whole, billion deal with ESPN and a the league, Ri ght? This season , it was g ua rd six-ycar, $2,2 bi lli o n deal with Players have been con- Bre nt Barry leaving Seattle to TNT, T he league th en de li vered d emned by fans and media for join talent-laden San Antonio, ratin gs percentage increases in caring abom statistics and slyle where h e will have to share a double-digits for both net- mo re than wi n ning. ulbe ls like backcourt wilh and works. Also, the NBA ncxed its scilish a nd disrespectful have Manu C inobili. inte rnational muscle earlie r been affixed to the shoulder It was the O rl ando Magic this Illonth in Chi na, I'owt:red blade of the NBA li ke a -kick giving up T racy McCrad y, one or by the appeal of Chinese ce nter me" Sig n, the league's most populal' p la)'- YOlO Min g, th e twO gam es Ri cky Davis' stunt in March e rs, ro r three sta rt e rs, It was for- between the 10 2003 with the Cavaliers, shoot- ward Anto nio McDyess leaving and the Sacrame nto Kings we re ｈ ｡ Ｇ ｴ a minimum ing at his own basket in hopes o f Phoenix ro r Detroit, where he a huge success, so much so that Oversee SRC el""i0'i'''iID. securing ,ｾ triple-d o uble-clinch- may come orr the hench , Stern said the league is looking ing ; Denver's Carm elo "The combination of the loss at p layi ng a regular-season An tho ny refusing to re-enter a a t the O lympics and the stellar game in Ch in a, game against Detroit last year teamwork o f the (Detroit) It doesn ' t seem li ke. much is after teammates criticized his Pistons in the (NBA) Finals was wro ng with the NBA afler all. shot selection; Carlos Boozer the occasion ror lou or com- " I think thal basketball is a t leaving a promisi ng situation in me ntary about the style o r p lay its h eig h t, " TNT NBA analys t Cleveland for rich es in in the United States, in the said, "I think. the Utah_are all fuel for those who NBA, th e colleges, even high OlympiCS only h e lped pique say the N8A has lost its way. The schoo l," NBA commissio ner people's inte re,st, because now in-fighting through the media, said in a confer- th ere are players around the trade demands, chest-bumps, ence call earlier this mo nth. world tha t think they might shimmies and screams serve as -I thi nk t hat's healthy, I have the opportunity to play in p roof that while there is no "1- think that it was a good rein- the best league the re is." . - ...,. -.. . .