Indianapolis and the Death of the American Game

As the Indiana Pacers heroically staved off a late Miami Heat run to tie the Eastern Conference Finals series at two games a piece, I couldn't help but reflect on what had taken place in that same building eleven years ago. Then known as Conseco ( now Bankers Life) Fieldhouse hosted the 2002 FIBA world championships, a tournament that will forever be etched in the memories of American basketball fans. For the last ten years, dating back to the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, America had dominated a sport that it had practically created, though Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of the sport, was born and raised in Ontario. The United States was hosting a major international basketball event for the first time since the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta. Again, the Americans were highly favored to breeze through this tournament, as they had done in every major event for the last ten years, with the exception of the 1998 world championships in Athens, in which they had finished third, due to the absence of locked out NBA players. That was during the league's first major labor dispute that delayed the start of the 1999 season until February. Aside from that, the U.S. was dominant as long as it sent its NBA players to compete. In fact, they hadn't lost a game in which NBA stars were playing.

Former Indiana Pacer Reggie Miller was on the U.S. team that finished 6th at the FIBA world championships in 2002

The Americans breezed through group C, defeating Algeria, Germany, and China respectively. In the second preliminary round, the United States won its first two matches against Russia and New Zealand. It appeared as though the Americans were on pace to do what they had done in previous years, win with ease. But on September 4th 2002, the U.S. squared off with Argentina in a match that changed the sport forever. Led by Manu Ginobili, Argentina stunned the U.S. on its home floor in America's heartland of Indianapolis by the final score of 87-80. Reeling, the Americans headed into the knockout stage to face a very tough and experienced Yugoslavia team that featured Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic, two players who had literally been robbed of a Western Conference title with the Sacramento Kings a couple months earlier by crappy officiating. In a closely contested game, the Yugoslavs came out victorious by a score of 81-78. The disappointing finish sent American basketball to the drawing board to conjure up a plan to bring the glory days of the Dream Team back to life. The American team wound up finishing 6th in that dreadful tournament, losing to Spain in the consolation round. The Americans would not win another major tournament until the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but it took all the effort they could possibly give to sneak by Spain in the championship game.

Fortunately, the United States has won the last two major international events, the 2010 world championships, and the 2012 Olympic tournament, thanks to the guidance of Mike Krzyzewski. With the help of Kobe, LeBron, Carmelo, and Kevin Durant, it appears that American dominance in their sport has returned, but the loss in Indianapolis was truly the death of the American game, and the reincarnation of basketball as a legitimately international sport that any country can now have a chance at becoming a powerhouse in. With the FIBA world cup coming up in 2014, we may be entering the most globally competitive era of basketball yet.

NBA Strikes Out With Small Market Conference Finals

After the Indiana Pacers received every ounce of favoritism from the referees in order to advance past the demoralized Knicks, it  has come down to four teams left to compete for American basketball's top prize, the NBA title. San Antonio and Memphis will kick off what is sure to be a competitive Western Conference Finals series this afternoon. Meanwhile, Indiana and Miami will square off in South Beach in game one the East Finals on Monday. Despite the teams being somewhat interesting to watch, the NBA will have a major problem trying to get people to maintain an interest in these games, considering that three out of the four teams represent small markets.

Following the 2011 lockout, NBA commissioner David Stern has worked hard to make the league more competitive, and with the help of the new CBA (collective bargaining agreement) structure the league to be more small-market friendly, disallowing teams from exceeding the salary cap without paying an enormous luxury tax. One of the main causes of the labor negotiations that took place between the players, owners, and league office in 2011 was disgruntled ownership in smaller markets who felt that they had no chance to compete with the Knicks, Lakers, Bulls, and Heat. Now, small market teams suddenly have hope, and we the fans have a glimpse at what the NBA could look like in the coming years. Suddenly, its possible to envision finals between Indiana and Memphis, Minnesota and Cleveland, and New Orleans and Charlotte.

Brooklyn native Lance Stephenson celebrates Indiana's game six victory over his hometown Knicks

Although this new-found parity around the league sounds great, it also suddenly means that we can look forward to more finals match-ups that lack interest from the most important markets in the NBA, those being L.A., New York, and Chicago. Without the interest from those markets, NBA ratings will be sure to sink faster than rocks. Suddenly, teams like the Pacers and Grizzlies can think about building championship contenders year-after-year that could potentially oust teams from bigger markets. What this suggests, is that the small market teams in the league are just as important as the large market teams, and this is simply not the case. If teams from New York and Los Angeles can spend more money to make themselves better, let them do it. Those are the cities that hold the key to the prosperity of the league, not Indianapolis and Memphis.

When small market teams complain that they have no ability to compete financially with big market teams, they must consider the fact that the big markets are what drive, not only professional basketball, but America's economy in general. When ratings for these games begin to flounder, Stern can only blame himself for giving in to the whining ownership of small-market teams that claimed they couldn't stay afloat with the, then current, structuring of the league. Instead of downsizing the league, and removing some of these irrelevant cities from the basketball map, he has handed over the reins to them, and now fans in America's biggest cities must sit back and watch teams from much smaller ones battle for hoops supremacy.

Bring In The Heat

After winning the NBA title last year, the Miami Heat were putting together another stellar season, highlighted by a 27 game winning streak spanning from February through March. As they made their way into the Verizon Center for the last of four meetings with the Washington Wizards, Miami had already won 61 games, good enough to clinch home court throughout the playoffs. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh had already planned to sit the game out. At the last minute, LeBron decided to take the night off as well.

Heat point guard Mario Chalmers is averaging 8.6 points and 3.5 assists per game this season

Fairfax, VA native, and Heat forward Jarvis Varnado has only played in 11 games for Miami this season

Needless to say, there were a lot of disappointed fans in attendance for tonight's game. Many had payed big money to see LeBron, Wade, and Bosh in action. At least half of the arena must have been Miami fans, or more specifically LeBron fans.

Heat forward Chris Andersen, nicknamed "Birdman", has averaged 4.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 38 games with Miami

Many thought Heat sharpshooter Ray Allen would finish his career in Boston, so signing with Miami over the off-season came as somewhat of a surprise.

Heat forward Shane Battier has averaged 6.6 points in 24.9 minutes per game for Miami in 2012-13

Now in his second year out of Cleveland State, Heat guard Norris Cole has averaged 5.3 points and 1.9 assists in 2012-13

Heat players lineup before the game for the national anthem

Washington had already beaten Miami once this season. That was on December 4th, before John Wall made his comeback. Jordan Crawford led the Wizards on that night with 22 points. Since then, Crawford had been shipped to Boston, and the Wizards had lost twice to the Heat in South Beach. Tonight, the Wizards were intent on evening the season series with the defending NBA champs.

Wizards forward Jan Vesely jumps for the rebound

Chris Andersen, Norris Cole, James Jones, and Rashard Lewis discuss strategy late in the game

Wizards forward Kevin Seraphin tries to pass out of a double team

Without the stars in the lineup, Miami held on for a 103-98 victory behind 23 points from Ray Allen. Former Wizards Rashard Lewis chipped in 17.

A.J. Price led the Wizards with 23 points off the bench. John Wall added 17 points and 11 assists.

The Wizards will wrap up their home schedule on Friday night, as the take on the Sixers at the Verizon Center.

Heat Burn Wizards

After winning the 2012 NBA title, the Miami Heat were having another stellar start to the season in their 2013 campaign. At 22-9, Miami was again at the top of the Eastern Conference, as they hosted the 4-27 Washington Wizards on Sunday night in South Beach.

The Wizards were victorious in one of the two previous meetings against Miami this season, beating the defending champs at the Verizon Center 105-101, but falling two weeks later to the same team in Miami 102-72.

Miami jumped out to an early 13-3 lead, but the Wizards went on a 12-4 run to pull to within 2. Miami closed the first quarter strong, leading 27-19, behind 11 points and 4 rebounds from Chris Bosh. Miami maintained a steady lead during the second quarter, leading 52-44 at the half. The Wizards were able to draw no closer than to within 5 points, after trailing by as many as 11.

By the end of the 3rd quarter, Miami was still in control with a 69-60 advantage heading into the 4th, behind 20 points from LeBron James and 4 blocks from Chris Bosh. With 8:27 left in the game, Miami took a 14 point lead, their biggest of the night, but the Wizards stormed back with Miami's big three on the bench, cutting the lead to 7 with 6:58 remaining. After an Erik Spoelstra timeout, Miami regained its balance, and with LeBron and Dwyane Wade back in the game, went on an amazing 21-0 run to close out a 99-71 victory.

Heat forward LeBron James drives on Wizards forward Kevin Seraphin

LeBron led Miami with 24 points and 7 assists, while Ray Allen contributed 20 off the bench, 9 of them coming from three-point range. The Wizards were led by Kevin Seraphin with 14 points, and Cartier Martin chipped in 13, including 3 three-pointers of his own. The Wizards will travel back to D.C. Monday night to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Verizon Center in what could be the return of forward Trevor Ariza, who has been out since December 4th with a strained left calf.