On the Knicks, the Lakers, and “Good for the League”
“Idleness is fatal only to the mediocre.” – Albert Camus
The Lakers are in town tonight, and it doesn’t matter. That we’ve reached the point where this isn’t shocking or controversial suggests that the NBA, more popular than ever, should reconsider old notions of what’s “good” for the league. That the Knicks were murdered here just a game before only confirms it.
When Phil Jackson lifted the corpse of the 1999 NBA season for one more punch earlier this week, Gregg Popovich responded with nothing more than an eye roll and a shrug, straining to squeeze out humor from one of the NBA’s oldest running gags. “Ooh, that makes me mad,” he told reporters. “Just write whatever you want, and I’ll say I said it.”
Jackson’s achievements are, of course, untouchable. He’s a maverick, a living legend who’s left an indelible imprint on the league. It’s this history that brought him to New York, marching on freshly laid palms as the gathered throng proclaimed him Savior of Basketball Mecca and predicted playoffs for the Knicks. At 4-20 on the season, things have hardly gone according to plan, and Jackson can do little but stand and watch as a team of misfits and expiring contracts attempt to grasp a complicated offensive system that requires years to achieve mastery.
Compare the Knicks this season to the Lakers and the picture is strikingly similar. Expressions of disappointment leak out that indicate dissatisfaction with what was an entirely predictable result. Quotes from inside the organization come from shocked and flabbergasted sources saving face for putting together a garbage product and promising success.
This doesn’t have to be something for the NBA to lament. Obviously the bottom line matters, but the league is flourishing in spite of its flagship teams being terrible. Around the NBA, franchises free from the unrealistic expectations of New York and Los Angeles are doing well. LeBron James chose to go to Cleveland. So did Kevin Love. Chris Bosh chose to stay in Miami. Pau Gasol chose to get the hell out. Each one of those players chose something good, and none of them chose New York or Los Angeles.
This is perhaps the most crushing bit of reality for the Lakers and the Knicks: right now, their being good is insignificant to the NBA. It has no bearing on the league’s success at the moment, good or bad.
This is a bed the two franchises have made for themselves. “The Lakers don’t do that.” “New Yorkers don’t tolerate that.” Each of these franchises have spent decades relishing under the exceptionalism that now prevents them from being able to approach franchise maintenance with patience or prudence. They don’t have the luxury of starting slow or resting players or developing talent or staying the course. There is no task but the game at hand as the doors revolve and the cycle continues until all the old dogs have died and the slate can be clean once again. Only it never is. And it might never be. Because struggle cannot be tolerated it has been guaranteed.
Tonight, Kobe Bryant will suit up for his 1488th game as a Los Angeles Laker. And in what is becoming a sad recurring theme, there will be no talk of future titles or even playoff aspirations. The only thing left for Bryant to care about this year is a personally achieved (and awesome) record in a team sport. Bryant will bulldozer everything in his path to make history, but he’s found the path lonely and frustrating. The Lakers, like the Knicks that limped through San Antonio last week, are setting franchise lows left and right. Los Angeles will surely miss the playoffs for the second year in a row, a first for them. (New York, for its part, is off to the franchise’s worst start ever with no sign of change looming over the horizon.)
There is salvation to be found in NBA realism. Acknowledging struggle does not have to commit you to it. But in markets as large as Los Angeles and New York, patience is viewed as the virtue of the poor. In this way, the Spurs are lucky to be relishing away from such a crushing spotlight. This is what Kobe Bryant is referring to when he talks about the difference between him and Tim Duncan. Each player has been great, legendary, but the Spurs built their excellence toiling away from the anxiety of a big market, preaching patience and staying grounded with meticulous planning for the reality of long NBA seasons. When you watch Kobe Bryant shoot his way to the top tonight, consider the states of the two franchises represented on the court. Only one of them is presenting a model that is good for the league.
