Good morning, all! I hope your week is off to a terrific start.
The NBA regular season is a joke! Do I have your attention. I used to be a big NBA fan, particularly attuned to the regular season, when it meant something. I would be glued to my transistor radio (This was obviously pre-cable TV), listening to the likes of Marv Albert call the New York Knicks games on 660-AM WNBC, the inimitable Johnny Most describe his beloved Boston Celtics on 1030-AM WBZ and Joe Tait broadcasting the Cleveland Cavaliers on the 50,000-watt blow torch WWWE.
The regular season has now become tedious with starters sitting out many games for fear of getting injured for the lengthly post season. It has gotten so bad the NBA now has a rule that a player must play in 65 percent of his team’s regular season games to qualify for season-ending awards, such as the MVP.
That did not stop the Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid from being a late scratch Saturday afternoon against the defending champion Nuggets in Denver. Embiid was coming off of a 70-point game and the stage was set for a battle against Denver superstar Nikola Jokic. The contest was being presented as a clash between two MVP candidates. Jokic was a scratch, following pregame warmups. Something about a knee issue.
Who am I to comment on someone else’s pain? The Nuggets were supposedly going to protest Embiid’s absence, upset that their fans, who play premium prices to witness a regular season game, were denied the matchup. After the game, Embiid was spotted in the locker room with his knee wrapped. I hope he is better. Again, I am not in any position to second guess someone else’s pain, but the NBA does have an issue with its top players sitting out many regular season games, otherwise they would not have put that qualification rule for awards into place.
I long for the days of Bird vs. Magic, Frazier or Monroe against Havlicek, Heinsohn coaching against Holtzman. The NBA regular season has become a joke. Wake me when the playoffs begin.
What was Dan Campbell thinking?
The New York Yankees are changing their uniforms
That is going to do it for this week’s newsletter. As always, thank you for subscribing and have a terrific week.
DAN LOVALLO
I agree, Michael. Those were the days. Tonight the Lakers are in Boston and Lebron James is sitting out the game; in a city, by the way, where he has an ownership stake in Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, soccer teams, NESN, and now part of the PGA Tour.
for me the golden age of the nba was the late 60s (knicks were my team) until the magic lakers and bird celtics rivalry came to an end. still follow the nba but its not the same