The Start of a Future Trend?

One of the facets of the NBA lockout is the desire by the owners to have a hard salary cap. This cap number, which is thought to be around $60Million, would serve to lower the salaries of players across the NBA, which would make the ridiculous contracts given to role players seemingly a thing of the past.

As such, players, particularly those that would not be considered star caliber, may look to other avenues to maximize their income. One such way would be to play for a professional team overseas, where they do not have such guidelines. Previously, foreign leagues had been seen as a last resort for those not good enough for the NBA, or for those players whose peak had passed them by, yet they still thought they had something to offer (see Iverson, Allen).

However, this has begun to change. In hockey, Jaromir Jagr spent three seasons playing in the KHL for Avangard Omsk before returning this past week to the NHL. Evgeni Nabokov later joined him in the KHL, signing with SKA St. Petersburg. Even in basketball, Josh Childress played for Olympiacos Piraeus in the Euroleague, turning down a contract from the Atlanta Hawks for one that was worth the equivalent of $15Million per year in Greece.

Fast forward to yesterday, when Real Madrid in the Spanish ACB offered Rudy Fernandez a six year contract that would make him the highest paid player in the history of the league. The proposed contract would pay roughly $4.25Million per year, which is a million dollars more than the qualifying offer that he would receive next season as a free agent. Given the potential of a vastly altered financial landscape in the NBA, this contract may be better than what Fernandez could get in America.

Now, Fernandez is a decent player, but he is a role player. He is not, and will never be, a centerpiece for a championship team. He is a bench player who can come in and drain a three. That's all. In all likelihood, it would make sense for him to go overseas, where he could be a primary scorer and make more money there than to play for ten minutes a night here.

Now, this is just the possible tip of the iceberg. Role players going overseas won't matter a big deal to most teams, as a lot of players with a similar skill set can be found elsewhere. But what happens if a star player gets a Godfather offer from a foreign club once the hard cap is instituted? Let's say that Kevin Durant becomes a free agent, and a Euroleague team offers him $25Million a year. Does he take what would be much less to stay in the NBA, or does he jump overseas for the money?

Sports like basketball and hockey have to worry about foreign teams going after some of their players as it stands now. The NBA may need to worry a lot more about this in the near future.

Anyone Seen LeBron?

Remember the old television show/computer game entitled 'Where in the World is Carmen SanDeigo'? Well, it appears that a sequel has been made, and it stars LeBron James.

This recently completed NBA Finals was a matchup of two superstars that had a reputation for choking when it mattered in Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron. In what was supposed to be a coronation for the Heat, it was Dirk who shook off the mantle of being a choker, and turned into a cold-blooded crunch time assassin. LeBron, meanwhile, has an APB put out on him, since his fourth quarter whereabouts are completely unknown.

The playoffs are where legacies are made, and reputations confirmed. The Finals cemented LeBron's legacy alright - that he is a passive choke artist without the heart and determination to force his team to victory. No longer can he claim that he did not have the talent around him, and that it was the fault of the Cavaliers that he never won a title. Even with the talent the Heat surrounded him with, he still has the same amount of championships as the family pet.

Dirk, meanwhile, was surrounded with what could be considered a collection of role players and castoffs. If that description sounds familiar, that would be because LeBron thought that was what Cleveland put around him. The Mavericks, unlike the 'Champions-In-Waiting' Heat, understood the concept of being a team, that no one player was bigger than everyone else. They all played hard. They fought for everything they got in the series and in the playoffs. And, on Miami's home court, they slapped the crown off of the self-appointed 'King'.

And so, LeBron is left without a title yet again. Only this time, the only person he can blame is looking back at him in the mirror.

Not Your Father's Mavs

In one corner, there were the L.A. Lakers. The two time defending NBA Champions, coached by the legendary Phil Jackson. They are led by the ultra intense Kobe Bryant, who practically seems to will his teams to victory. They are a team forged by the wars of the playoffs, tempered and galvanized by winning, and winning often.

In the other corner, there were the Dallas Maverics. A team that never played to expectations when the playoffs arrived, choking under the spotlight. Their owner Mark Cuban was known not just for helping to pull the Mavs out of continued mediocrity, but more for his continual wars with the officials and the league. Their biggest name, Dirk Nowitski, has the same reputation as his team - a force in the regular season, but invisible when it mattered most.

During the first round, the Lakers had issues with the New Orleans Hornets, specifically Chris Paul. The Lakers were the older team, and it would make sense that smaller, quicker guards would give them issues. However, the Lakers responded as they always have under Phil Jackson, and won that series in six games. Nothing to worry about here, just a minor blip on the radar.

Like the Lakers, the Mavs won their series in six games. However, that was the only similarity. They got to face off with another team that perennially disappoints in the playoffs in the Portland Trailblazers. They watched a 22 point lead slip away during Game 4 of that series. While they did end up winning the final two games, absolutely nothing suggested that the Mavs would pose any threat for the Lakers. In fact, the Mavs were actually the older team in the matchup.

So, the Mavs and Lakers were set to face off in the playoffs for the first time ever. This seemed surprising, given how both were constantly playoff teams over the past decade. Yet, they never ran into each other, mainly due to the Lakers extended runs in the playoffs, and the Mavs history of early exits. Easy series win for the Lakers, especially with home court advantage, right?

In Game 1 of the second round, the Lakers jumped out quickly, holding a 16 point lead in the second half. Looked like the same ol' Mavs, a team that just could not handle the glare of the playoff spotlight. Then something strange happened - they fought back. Rallying behind Dirk, the Mavs took their first lead with 19.5 seconds left, holding on as Kobe missed his final shot. Strange, but nothing to worry about yet. After all, the Lakers lost Game 1 in the first round and came back to win the series.

So, on to Game 2. Here the Lakers would redeem themselves and show that they were still the team to beat, right? Wrong. The Mavs utterly dominated the Lakers in practically all facets of the game, hitting clutch free throws and making three pointers while the Lakers found the rim with amazing consistency. Once again, Kobe did his best to keep them in the game, but defensive lapses continued to lead to easy baskets. In fact, this caused center Andrew Bynum to claim that there were 'trust issues' with the Lakers, particularly on defense. Hmm..... Now some cracks were beginning to appear in the armor.

To Game 3. This time, the Lakers were without Ron Artest, who was suspended for a game after his clothesline to J.J. Barea in the final minutes of Game 2. To start the game, Jackson rolled the dice and came out with a jumbo front line, with two seven footers in Bynum and Pau Gasol, and the 6'10 Lamar Odom. The lakers controlled the paint for much of the first half, holding a 51-47 lead at halftime. The game would go back and forth, with the Lakers holding a seven point lead with 5:05 left to play. The Lakers can't blow a second game in the series, right?

Wrong. The Mavs, once again led by Dirk, rallied with an 18-6 run to win the game by six. Phil Jackson had never coached a team that fell behind in a series 3-0. In fact, he had only been behind in a series 2-0 on six other occasions. Uncharted territory for both the Lakers and for the Mavs, who never had this type of playoff experience.

Now, there was no chance the Mavs would sweep the Lakers, right? I mean, this is still the two time defending champions, with a Hall of Fame coach and one of the top two players in the league on their side. While no NBA team had ever blown a 3-0 lead in a playoff series, it felt like the Mavs would be the team to do so, given their playoff history. So, the Lakers had to win Game 4, right? Wrong again.

The Mavs jumped out quickly on the Lakers, hitting a record 20 3-pointers as they would go on to rout the defending champions in a 122-86 victory. Continuing their pattern of playing Jason Kidd on Kobe, and defending the perimeter, the Mavs were in control from the start. While they only led by 4 after the first quarter, it felt like a much bigger deficit. As soon as the second quarter started, the Mavs just continued to pull away, and the Lakers frustrations began to show, as Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum got thrown out of the game for cheap shots just 45 seconds apart.

All in all, not quite the ending for Phil Jackson that anyone expected. His last series in the playoffs culminating in his first time being swept as a coach? To the Mavs, a team with a history of underachieving? To quote Vizzini from The Princess Bride - INCONCEIVABLE!!

Now the west is wide open for the Mavs, as they match up well with either Oklahoma City or Memphis. Could the Mavs finally get back to the Finals, and avenge having the championship stolen from them in 2006?

Mavs Lose Tonight - Take It To The Bank

Furthering the perception that the NBA is as scripted as the WWE, certain officials seem to have a direct impact on the games they are assigned to. When a home team is in danger of losing a playoff series that the league would benefit from by have the series continue, certain referees work those games. Certain referees work games based on what team winning would benefit the league. And, of course, there is the entire Tim Donaghy scandal, where David Stern still maintains that he was the only one betting on games, and that he was a 'rogue official'.

Despite Boss Stern claiming that he does not run the league as though he is a Mafia boss and that the games are not fixed, there are some disturbing trends with teams and officials. For a prime example, there is tonight's playoff matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trailblazers. The officiating crew is headed by Danny Crawford, an official that has adversely affected the Mavs whenever he is involved in one of their playoff games. With Crawford as an official in playoff games, the Mavs are 2-16, 4-14 against the spread. Without Crawford, the Mavs are 48-41 in the playoffs. The Mavs have been called for roughly 2.5 more fouls per game than their opponents, and have averaged 6.8 fewer free throws per game as well.

In fact, Crawford was the lead official in games 3 and 6 of the 2006 NBA Finals, where it is universally believed that the NBA gave the title to the Miami Heat. After falling behind 2-0 in that series, the Heat had a free throw advantage of 71 to 49.

Crawford being assigned to this games comes directly after the Portland Trailblazers coach, Nate McMillan, questioned how the Mavs had a 19 to 2 free throw advantage during the fourth quarter of game one. Well Nate, you won't have to worry about the Mavs having any advantage there tonight. Crawford being in Dallas pretty much assures that the series will be tied at one game each when the series shifts to Portland.

If gambling was legal, put your money on Portland. It would be a major upset if the Mavs won tonight, since they will be playing five on eight.