A few months ago, as the NBA season was coming to a close, I made myself a promise. I was gonna catch the NBA fever next year. I didn't know how I was gonna do that. Maybe I would just watch every NBA classic game I could find on NBA TV to try and catch a cold at first. Maybe I would go to youtube and look up some spectacular dunks to try and raise my temperature. Maybe I would sleep with a New York Knick cheerleader to try and contract the disease (I still consider this my best option by the way).
However it had to happen, though, I wanted the fever.
Then, the NBA finals hit and I, like the rest of the nation, couldn't find it within me to watch even a moment of that disaster. Then, the NBA draft took place and the two best prospects to come out of college in the last 20 years went to Seattle and Portland, meaning that, for the next 15 years the only time I will get to see Kevin Durant and Greg Oden will be on ESPN highlight reels and a possible playoff game I can actually keep my eyes open for. Then, we got the Tim Donaghy scandal and the allegations that many NBA games ref'd by Donaghy may not have been on the complete up and up. So, sufficit to say, I got a good dose of antibiotics for my NBA fever before I even felt the symptoms.
So the idea of watching the NBA kinda went by the wayside for me. I am an East Coast kinda guy and there isn't much for me to cheer for on that side of the seaboard.
Enter Danny Ainge, Kevin McHale and the saving of basketball in Boston.
Now, I hate the Red Sox, but as a kid I LOVED the Celtics. I was a fan right around the time when Bird, McHale, and Parrish were all coming into their own. I loved watching their games and the way they played their games. And the competition night in and night out was incredible. The Bad Boy Pistons, the Jordan Bulls, the Barkley 76ers, the greatest show on earth with Magic, Worthy and Kareem, Clyde the Glide on Portland, Dominique and his high wire act on Atlanta. There was always someone or something to watch in those days.
Then, Bird, McHale and Parrish retired one by one, Len Bias, the heir apparent, OD'd on cocaine celebrating being drafted by the Celts, Reggie Lewis, my new favorite player in the early 90's, died of a heart condition, and Celtics basketball meant nothing to me anymore.
Little by little I have stopped watching the NBA.
But now, as Kevin Garnett gets ready to join the Celts, i am ready to start watching all over again.
Why?
Well, a few reasons. One, I LOVE Ray Allen.
As a Uconn alum Ray Ray was one of my all time favorite players. He is a silky smooth player with a dream jump shot who rises to the big occassions and plays the game the right way. The fact that Ray has always wallowed on Western Conference teams has always upset me. Had Allen been traded East years ago I would have started watching basketball again.
Now, Ray Ray is getting towards the end of his career, but as long as he keeps himself in relatively good shape (a very big if considering his injury history) there is no reason why the 32 year old couldn't be a productive player well into his late 30's. Could the Celts get 4 or 5 more really productive years out of him? Why not? With fitness training, supplements and the like players in all sports are playing longer and better. Ray Ray could be playing for another 6 or 7 seasons, and unless something goes terribly wrong with those wrists, that jump shot should be as potent as ever.
Secondly, I LOVE Kevin Garnett. Garnett, to me, is everything you want in an athlete. Think about him this way; Garnett has been stuck on a team going no where now for several years. He is hitting his prime, meaning he wouldn't want to be stuck in a rebuilding situation where 3 or 4 of those prime years would be lost to young teams. He has given his all to Minnesota and the Timberwolves are only on the sport's map because of him. Yet, even up to the moment he was traded to Boston, you never heard Garnett demanding a trade. You never heard him screaming about the direction of the team or the franchise. You never heard him killing players or coaches for not being up to snuff. He just went about his business and, any feelings like that were obviously kept in house, away from the cameras and microphones.
Michael Strahan is threatening to retire bcause the football Giants, who gave him $21 mill up front in his last contract, don't want to play the oft injured 36 year old even more money. Johan Santana was rightfully annoyed with the Twins decision to SELL at the trade deadline rather than bolster their roster and he made it known through the media, even threatening to leave if things didn't get better. Garnett?
Stuck in much worse situation than those other two guys, you never heard a peep from him. What a class act. What an amazing person and player. He is the type of guy you can root for and feel real good rooting for every day.
Oh, did I mention he is one of the greatest players to ever put on an NBA uniform? Did I mention that he plays hard night in a night out? Did I mention that he is still only 30 years old, has never had a major injury in his life, and is destined to be a Karl Malone, chugging along at All Star levels until he is 40? Did I mention that watching him, Allen and Paul Pierce walk off one another is gonna be an absolute thrill? Did I mention that Garnett is the single best player to walk through the Celtic's doors since Larry Bird? Did I mention I'll be able to watch his ass almost every game now?
Finally, the last reason I am in on the NBA is because, with the Garnett trade, the east is, to me, again viable. The Celtics have got to be looked at as a real, legit contender for the title as early as next year. The Pistons are still gonna be in it, the Nets should be much better next year, and a fun team to watch night in and night out, the Magic made a HUGE acquisition for Rashad Lewis who, combined with Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson will make them a big time contender, the Bobcats are gonna be a really fun team to watch now with high flying Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace, up and coming point guard Ray Felton, and major big man Emeka Okafor holding down the middle, and the Bulls have one of the youngest, most exciting teams in basketball and could be even better if Joahkim Noah provides the big man presence they think he can for them.
Then, don't forget about Lebron and his Cavs (who, with one move this offseason could be right back in the hunt for a title) and Dwayne and Shaq and The Heat, who also are one move away from being right in the hunt.
Oh, and how about The Knicks? There would be nothing greater for me than to see the Knicks pull off a trade for Ron Artest. I still believe that could happen. If they do, the Knicks will be the perfect villian, compiling problem children, all with talent. As it is, getting Zach Randolph was, to me, a very good move and should improve the team. With bat shit crazy Marbury, underrated Jamal Crawford, super sub David Lee, Zach attack Randolph and Eddie Curry, that will be a team that could be fun and dynamic one night and a train wreck the next. If they could only add Artest, I would so be on board with the Knicks right now, and what a perfect foil they would make to The Celtics, who will throw three of the classiest, team first guys on the floor every night. PLEASE Isiah, please get Artest in here now. By the way, the nut job would actually make the team better because he is not just bat shit crazy like Marbury, but an exceptional player. I am holding out hope. Get it done.
So, by my calculations, next year the Celtics, Bulls, Pistons and possibly the Magic all have a legit chance of knocking out a Western Conference team and winning a title. If Shaq is healthy and the Heat get one more legit player they would be in the mix as well, and, if nothing else, Lebron and the Cavs, the big three in New Jersey (Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson), the young guns in Charlotte, and the wack jobs in New York will all be interesting teams battling it out for a playoff spot. That, to me, is pretty damn good for one season. I look for the east to make a huge comeback next year.
So that means that From the Free Seats will be spending a lot more time watching the NBA next year than in years past. My team? The Big Ticket and The Celtics. My prediction? At least an NBA Finals appearance for the Celtics. My belief? The East is worth watching again. My hope? I get to sleep with a Knick's cheerleader before the year is out.
The NBA baby, it's fantastic.
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