The NBA may be a Super Team or bust league at the moment, but we should be thankful for our stars
Did you know that time travel is a real thing? If you think I’m lying, check this out:
Every star you see in the night sky isn’t how it currently looks like in space, it’s how it looked thousands of years ago. In fact, the star may have been dead for some time now; it’s just now reaching your eyes. Sometimes it can take millions of years for light to reach Earth, which means you really are time traveling every time you look up in the sky. How neat is that?
If the NBA had access to a time machine, I feel that a lot of things would be different. Chris Paul probably would be a Laker, and D’Angelo Russell might the face of the franchise somewhere else; maybe Minnesota? Speaking of the Sixers, they probably wouldn’t have selected Jahlil Okafor No. 3 overall if they’d known how good Kristaps Porzingis was going to be (and will be…could you imagine an Embiid-Porzingis frontcourt?)
While I could go on and on fantasizing about what could (or should have been), it’s not reality. What is reality is the alarming rate superstars are being used.
I don’t think LeBron’s comments about needing another playmaker were made because he was upset the Cavs were losing games back in January (despite his ultra-competitive nature), but rather because at age 32 he’s averaging 37.5 MPG while 24 year-old Kyrie Irving is averaging 35.1 MPG and only four players on the Cavaliers (including James and Irving) are averaging over 30 MPG.
The Cavaliers are still first in the Eastern Conference with a 40-17 record, but teams like Boston and Washington are only a few games behind them in the standings.
On the flip side of this, the best run organization in the NBA only has two players averaging over 30 MPG – the Claw is averaging 33.3 MPG and L.A. is averaging 32.2 MPG – and the next highest minutes per game average belongs to Danny Green at 26.6. Pop has long been lauded as the best in the game at managing his players’ minutes, but he should claim the G.O.A.T. title for extending players’ careers by the time his own is over.
The Spurs are 45-13 and only 4 GB the 1 seed despite Golden State’s spectacular season.
You know what’s coming next – does the NBA need its stars? The short answer to that question is still yes*; but note the asterisk.
I understand there’s a big difference between watching a Finals series of Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa versus Matthew Dellevadova and Iman Shumpert versus Steph and Klay versus Kyrie and J.R.; but COME ON:
Let’s dig in, shall we?