Did you happen to catch that game over the weekend? Sure, the Mavs didn’t win, but it was great to see that Dirk hadn’t lost a step, continuing to dominate in the paint with his patented fade-away jumper. I basically became an unattractive male cheerleader when he finished the first quarter with 20 points. After his clutch three put Dallas in front by two, I really thought they would hold on for the win. But, that 13-4 run by the Spurs to end the game obviously didn’t help the Mavericks one bit. I still can’t believe San Antonio somehow overcame a 39 point night from Nowitzki.
Wait…You didn’t see it? And you have yet to watch one NBA game?
So I guess you didn’t know that Durant is currently leading the league in scoring with 35 PPG. Or that Kris Humphries must have learned something from his one month marriage since he’s averaging just under 14 boards a night (it doesn’t get mentioned enough that Humphries is now the luckiest man in the world. Think about it. He basically only had to spend a week with Kim Kardashian in order to sleep with her, gained 18 million in profit from selling his wedding, and now can practically walk around and choose any woman he wants simply because he was the guy who once married a Kardashian. The only way that gets better is if he started writing a sports column that only his family, friends, and 14 year old girls read).
It makes sense that you havn’t seen a game yet, though. How could you with this whole lockout thing going on? (Don’t even get me started on it. This could’ve all been prevented three months ago if the owners and players sat down with flexible negotiating points. Split the BRI (basketball related income) 51/49 in favor of players, and the owners instead get the 51/49 split of television revenue. Now maximize contracts to four years and X amount of dollars, yell at one another until a certain cap has been reached, and break the news to Charlie Villanueva that there’s no way in hell we’re going to allow him to make 80 million a year. See how easy that was? But no. Instead, we’ve gotten to the point where there’s even a ripple between the owners because splitting the BRI down the middle is apparently giving too much leeway. Even Tom Hicks is laughing at the way they do business.)
There’s only one problem. If the NFL stayed in lockout mode for one month, the Earth would’ve exploded. The NBA, however, is on the verge of canceling an entire season and only the die hards are noticing. Everyone else (even those who basked in the glory of last year’s Top 5 In The History Of Ever postseason) is enjoying their college football and NFL every weekend. To many, the NBA has already come and gone.
But not for me.
Don’t get me wrong. I was almost to the breaking point. But then I discovered Strat-O-Matic and cried with joy.
Now I’m up to date about how Stephen Curry was injured in the first quarter against San Antonio last night and will miss the following week. Or how this year’s young Timberwolves team (Rubio, Love, and Williams) is an absolute force. Or how the Bucks somehow lead the power rankings after the first week of the season.
Because the NBA, though locked out, is not dead. It still lives through simulation.
In a way that even Albert Einstein couldn’t possibly explain, Strat-O-Matic.com has been simulating the entire season via their computer system. The details might be a bit confusing, but it’s the closest thing to basketball that we really have right now. It might be a bit sketchy, but I can’t help but trust an imaginary league where Griffin is still dominant, Lebron still hides in the final 12 minutes, Paul and Nash still fight for the league lead in assists on a nightly basis, and Vince Carter still sucks.
It’s the best simulation I’ve ever experienced too. Kobe won’t take turns lighting different opponents up for 60 every night because he doesn’t actually do that on the court (anymore, that is). The randomness of the simulation is what makes it true to life. When a starter goes down (such as Curry eight minutes into last night’s game), the last guy off the bench could come in and go 4-4 from behind the arc ( Kerr in the 03 Conference Finals ). Just like in real basketball, the possibilities are endless.
(During last night’s Mavericks/Raptors matchup, Dirk hit a three with 2 seconds left to put the Mavs up by one. Toronto called timeout, inbounded the ball from their side of the court, and Chandler blocked a Derozan jumper to win the game. I havn’t yelled that loud at a document since reading the “Game Six” box score.)
And that’s the point we’re at now. While the deadline to complete a deal is about to come and go, few of us still latch on to hope, checking online created statistics every morning to get our basketball kicks. So what if it’s like a heroin user converting to big league chew for four months. It’s as close to the real thing that we have right now.
Most will choose to ignore a forgotten season, while the owners and players march forward without budging, but a small percentage of us will continue to put our hope into false statistics and averages.
Atleast that’s more then what we really have