The NBA Is Dead To Me

[Jibba]

Open Letter to Commissioner Stern. Bash me if you must, but I had to get this off my chest.

Dear Mr. Stern,

I was finally ready to care about the NBA again. I had forgotten about how much the Celtics organization had been harmed by the death of Reggie Lewis and how the NBA and its teams had turned their backs on the Celtics during that time. I had forgotten about how I laughed at the NBA as a whole when, in direct response to Reggie's death, it subsequently changed the absurd rule which had granted the Celtics basically zero salary cap relief upon his death. Of course you would change that rule, as it never made any sense. But of course that was no relief to Boston. I had forgotten about the NBA draft 10 years ago, when the last place Celtics were denied the opportunity to draft Tim Duncan. I had forgotten about laughing out loud as year in and year out, the worst team in the league was denied the best player available in the draft. I had forgotten about over two decades of losing. And I was finally ready to care about the NBA again.

But now this. The 5th pick. The once-great Celtics organization has been tossed away yet again into a vast cycle of losing. The Celtics will improve next year, likely winning 25-30 games. And for their troubles they will receive the same consolation they received this year . . . a mediocre draft pick. They will not receive a Greg Oden. They will not receive a Kevin Durant. Such a player is not even on the horizon in basketball, as was the case in 1997. I look forward to watching the NBA once again change a rule after it has caused long-term harm to the Celtics organization. When you do finally realize that your concept of a draft lottery causes more harm than good, I will once again laugh out loud at the NBA. What else is there to do? The team I once cared about and which brought the NBA into its glory has become the Los Angeles Clippers. It has become a revolving door of mediocre draft picks that can not win enough to be a contender, but can not lose enough to receive a draft pick that can actually change its direction. At least this time we have a companionship in misery, as the Memphis Grizzlies were also denied a chance to truly improve their horrible team. Maybe I'll be ready to care again in another ten years, but I sincerely doubt it. By then I will likely have forgotten that watching the NBA was once entertaining and exciting.

Although you had nothing to do with it Mr. Stern, I'd like to thank the NBA for the good times which have been lost for over 20 years. But I just don't care anymore and do not believe I ever will again.

Sincerely,

Jibba

 

[Legend-I-Aint]

I'm not up on the NBA but isn't it a lottery in the truest sense? Just bad luck right? Help me out here.

 

[thecakeoff]

Of course both #1 & 2 picks go to a western conference team

 

[Legend-I-Aint]

The Western Conference IS the NBA. Those poor teams in the east can't even crack 90 points a game. They really do need some help.

 

[Drewgasm]

The Western Conference IS the NBA. Those poor teams in the east can't even crack 90 points a game. They really do need some help.

I dont understand that........I keep hearing west west west.....but, the East has won 2 of the last 3 titles......true, the west may be MORE of what the public wants to see, but Im old school.....I dont need to see a 131-128 game....88-84 is just as good......defense wins titles....(hear that Phoenix) I dont like the way the Devils or Ducks play in hockey...but it WINS! If they wanna change the rules to make it more up tempo...fine, but in todays day of sports, coaches, players, and GMs, do what they have to do to win......while Golden State was exciting those first couple of rounds, they really werent that good....Utah beat them....yes, frickin Utah! Gotta play defense Nellie! Your still 0 fer...........

I still think the NBA is garbage, stands for Nothing But Assholes......and as far as betting.....you got me, how do I handicap a game, when it comes down to garbage time and fouls......or a Mehmet Okur shot that MIGHT go in.......what they say is true, just watch the last two mins of an NBA game......thats the whole game.......Just My Thoughts!

 

[Jibba]

I'm not up on the NBA but isn't it a lottery in the truest sense? Just bad luck right? Help me out here.

Yes. Teams' fates rest in the way a bunch of ping pong balls bounce. I believe only 2 last place teams have received the #1 pick in about the last 2 decades. The Celtics, as the second worst team in the league, had a mere 38.7% chance to receive the 1st or 2nd pick, which is not right IMO. The fact that the worst 2 teams in the league will be picking 4th and 5th this year just boggles my mind. I don't understand how horrible teams are supposed to rebuild with mediocre draft picks. After seeing the Deputy Commissioner's face when he saw the Celtics logo on pick #5 (he literally winced), I don't doubt the NBA will finally rid itself of this absurd lottery and find another way to deal with teams who tank games late in the season. But like every other time, it won't be of any help to the Boston Clippers . . . err . . . Celtics.

So yeah . . . it's bad luck, but we're going on 2 decades of bad luck now and it's old. And the NBA just isn't fun anymore. Again, sorry to rant, but I had to say it somewhere.

 

[gtc08]

I'm ok with the Celtics getting 5th, karma coming around since they tanked the last month.

 

[Jibba]

I'm ok with the Celtics getting 5th, karma coming around since they tanked the last month.

They didn't tank. They were horrible all year long, not just the last month. Their team is made up of a bunch of 20 year olds who busted their asses every night. I have no idea why you're fine with keeping the bad teams bad while giving gifts to much better teams like Seattle and Portland. But then again, you didn't watch the Celtics lose night in and night out. Fact is, the Celtics are the 2nd worst team in the league.

With all due respect gtc, you know where you can stick your damn karma. I've suffered through Lenny Bias, Reggie Lewis, Tim Duncan, and decades of losing. Just one break is all we've ever asked for. Considering how much impact the Celtics have had on the NBA, I don't think that's asking much.

 

[Drewgasm]

IMO they tanked! But, everyone does.......I dont blame them.....there is no incentive to win when your that horrible........Everyone thinks the lottery and the NBA is fixed anyway.....which Im one of those! Why dont WE* get to see the actual lottery.......noooooooo, its done behind closed doors.....I could see if they tried that on tv with the daily three drawing here......oh, it was just drawn a minute ago....here are the numbers....hell, go back to the coin flip! ORrrrrrrr.....put EVERY team in the lottery.....even the good ones.....let the Spurs or Pistons have a shot at Oden......that would be fair too! Even if they got the pick, do something with the salary cap so it would force the great team to sign him and trade their core group or trade the pick to a lesser team......but I dont really know a fair way of doing it......people thought its been fixed ever since the Knicks got Ewing, the Rockets getting Sampson and Olajuwan....Spurs with Robinson and Duncan.....but sticking these two guys out west, doesnt make much sense....UNLESS they want Seattle to stay, in which case, this would help!

 

[Addict101]

I get what you are saying Jibba, but the team that REALLY needed Oden or Durant IS the Sonics. With the Sonics on the verge of being gone forever, 40 years of basketball in vein, Durant is our last hope in saving basketball. We need to win right now, and he's our best shot. So while I hear all these Celtics fans whine about how they have to endure another garbage season, Sonics fans might not have another season to endure a down season, rather have no season at all.

 

[Drewgasm]

I have to endure garbage seasons all the time with the fuckin Detroit Lions....they have one exactly ONE fucking playoff game in my lifetime....You would think you would accidently win a couple of games, or stumble into a Superbowl one year......Nope.......not yet....not ever....the thing is, they are so poorly run and always have been.......they dont even deserve a winning team....but the dumbass fans around here still go......I soooo wish they would leave town.......the only team in Detroit thats an embarrassment to sports........the other 3 teams are awesome!

 

[Jibba]

I get what you are saying Jibba, but the team that REALLY needed Oden or Durant IS the Sonics. With the Sonics on the verge of being gone forever, 40 years of basketball in vein, Durant is our last hope in saving basketball. We need to win right now, and he's our best shot. So while I hear all these Celtics fans whine about how they have to endure another garbage season, Sonics fans might not have another season to endure a down season, rather have no season at all.

First, the Celtics obviously need one of those two guys more, as can be seen my looking at the records. As much as a Sonics fan may want Oden or Durant, they weren't one of the bottom two teams in the league (neither of which gets either of the top two players). And second, we're not talking about another garbage season here. We're talking about the end of the most storied franchise in basketball history. It's over as far as I'm concerned. Back in '97 I said that it would take the Celtics a decade to get over getting screwed out of Duncan. Now a decade later, I don't doubt for a second it will be at least that long until anyone in Boston cares about basketball anymore. And considering that the NBA seems to get worse every year, I can't even imagine how painful it will be to watch in another ten years.

I'd rather have no basketball season at all at this point. And I'm not alone in Boston. This was pretty much the last straw of getting screwed by the NBA for many lifelong fans. I'm disgusted with the league and the CBA they have. I've never felt this way about any of the four major sports, including hockey, in which the Bruins have been awful for most of my life. I don't mind being a bad team. But at least with the Bruins, we have ourselves to blame. The morons won't spend money and trade away guys like Thornton. Our team and management are just bad. But not with the Celtics. We just keep getting "unlucky." They busted their asses over there putting pieces together to finally give Pierce a decent shot, and they needed one single piece . . . a piece which they deserved. And now by the time they can work this stupid salary cap system to get another piece or two, Pierce will be well beyond his prime, or possibly retired.

Good riddance to the NBA. Enjoy one of the two players we deserve. You can have 'em. And nothing personal, but I hope they both suck in the NBA. The last feelings I have toward the NBA are hopes that both Seattle and Portland fall flat on their faces for the next decade or so.

 

[Jibba]

I have to endure garbage seasons all the time with the fuckin Detroit Lions....they have one exactly ONE fucking playoff game in my lifetime....You would think you would accidently win a couple of games, or stumble into a Superbowl one year......Nope.......not yet....not ever....the thing is, they are so poorly run and always have been.......they dont even deserve a winning team....but the dumbass fans around here still go......I soooo wish they would leave town.......the only team in Detroit thats an embarrassment to sports........the other 3 teams are awesome!

They're certainly comparable to an extent, but at least the Lions, like my Bruins, did it to themselves. They didn't get screwed by some stupid ping pong balls, or by some stupid rule that said retired players come off the salary cap, but superstar players who die stay on the salary cap for years. The Lions made bad draft picks, bad free agent signings, and bad everything. But you have someone right there in Detroit to blame . . . ownership.

 

[Drewgasm]

WOW!!!!!! Bitter Boston fan.......lol..........


Go Sox??????????


:monsters-

 

[prodigy]

a boston celtics fan complaining about suffering? wow. how many banners do you have? and the patriots and red sox have done their part to make it easier on you in your time of 'suffering'.

try living in cleveland where a championship in any sport hasnt come around in over half a century.

trust me, your point is well taken about the celts and the lottery not working out for them with duncan and now oden.

but for christ sake. keep some perspective. you can pencil in the red sox and patriots in as championship contenders every friggin year. take the bad with the good. you sound spoiled by success.

 

[Drewgasm]

Prodigy is right.....Cleveland DOES suck.....lol.......sorry bro, no offense!

But I got a feeling you'll get a title with LeBron IF* he stays there, they get him help, oh yeah, and they fire Mike Brown!

 

[Addict101]

First, the Celtics obviously need one of those two guys more, as can be seen my looking at the records. As much as a Sonics fan may want Oden or Durant, they weren't one of the bottom two teams in the league (neither of which gets either of the top two players). And second, we're not talking about another garbage season here. We're talking about the end of the most storied franchise in basketball history. It's over as far as I'm concerned. Back in '97 I said that it would take the Celtics a decade to get over getting screwed out of Duncan. Now a decade later, I don't doubt for a second it will be at least that long until anyone in Boston cares about basketball anymore. And considering that the NBA seems to get worse every year, I can't even imagine how painful it will be to watch in another ten years.

I'd rather have no basketball season at all at this point. And I'm not alone in Boston. This was pretty much the last straw of getting screwed by the NBA for many lifelong fans. I'm disgusted with the league and the CBA they have. I've never felt this way about any of the four major sports, including hockey, in which the Bruins have been awful for most of my life. I don't mind being a bad team. But at least with the Bruins, we have ourselves to blame. The morons won't spend money and trade away guys like Thornton. Our team and management are just bad. But not with the Celtics. We just keep getting "unlucky." They busted their asses over there putting pieces together to finally give Pierce a decent shot, and they needed one single piece . . . a piece which they deserved. And now by the time they can work this stupid salary cap system to get another piece or two, Pierce will be well beyond his prime, or possibly retired.

Good riddance to the NBA. Enjoy one of the two players we deserve. You can have 'em. And nothing personal, but I hope they both suck in the NBA. The last feelings I have toward the NBA are hopes that both Seattle and Portland fall flat on their faces for the next decade or so.

I tried being polite with you, but fuck it. Maybe you don't care about basketball because of your 'great' tradition or lacktherof now, but we out here DO exist and WANT to win. This city deserves an NBA franchise and this is a great way to save the franchise. Maybe that bum Danny Ainge should consider luring a coupe legitimate players to Boston and getting better via free agency.

By the way, what size jersey do you wear? I'll send you a green n gold Durant jersey the second they hang em up in stores all over here in Seattle. :lolBIG:

 

[Drewgasm]

LOL.......wow.......piling on!!!!!!!!


:lolBIG:

 

[Jibba]

WOW!!!!!! Bitter Boston fan.......lol..........


Go Sox??????????

If that's how it came across, then so be it. I think it's a legitimate complaint.

 

[Jibba]

a boston celtics fan complaining about suffering? wow. how many banners do you have? and the patriots and red sox have done their part to make it easier on you in your time of 'suffering'.

try living in cleveland where a championship in any sport hasnt come around in over half a century.

trust me, your point is well taken about the celts and the lottery not working out for them with duncan and now oden.

but for christ sake. keep some perspective. you can pencil in the red sox and patriots in as championship contenders every friggin year. take the bad with the good. you sound spoiled by success.

This isn't about other sports. I'm very thankful for the great teams we have in baseball and football. That doesn't take away from a legitimate beef here. I don't dispute that we had it much worse a decade ago, when Super Bowls and World Series weren't much of a possibility.

Does anything I say have anything to do with Cleveland? Does it make what they've had to deal with any better? Any worse? Of course not. But again people . . . unless you think the issue at hand here isn't a legitimate beef, then I'm not sure why there's so much hostility.

I can't agree with the spoiled comment, because for true Celtics fans, there hasn't been a bright spot in ages. This is a basketball issue, which is why I put it in the NBA forum. You say that I have a point about the lottery system, so I don't get why you turn around and bring up baseball or football.