Violence and the Sacred Hoops

by

Henry Abbott has a pet theory. Henry thinks the “boring” basketball that followed the Bulls’ championship era was an ugly, unwitting response to the athletic splendor of Michael Jordan. “Muscled-up wing players” like Doug Christie weren’t capable of reproducing Michael Jordan’s offensive genius, but they were capable of shoving people around on defense. Chippy, physical perimeter defense was not only an attempt to corral Michael Jordan, it was an unintended consequence of our fascination with him.

But Michael Jordan was a shove-alot muscled-up wing player, and one the best perimeter defenders to play the game. He was chippy and physical and let-the-referees-blow-their-whistle tough. He was a winner. And he knew winning required grit. He wasn’t a consequence of himself.

Phil Jackson likes to espouse hardwood zen, but it’s striking that his best defenders (Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, and Kobe Bryant) aren’t overly contemplative. If the NBA has a zen master, it’s Tim Duncan. Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and Bryant force the issue. For them, the conflict is the competition. Their pursuit of beauty and greatness and simple dominance requires bloodshed.

I subscribe to Emerson’s “beauty is its own excuse for being” maxim. My interest in basketball could begin and end there. Basketball is beautiful. Beauty is enough for me. Â But I don’t see beauty and conflict as mutually exclusive. Violence is capable of poetry, too.

The thing I remember most about Michael Jordan is not contained in any highlight reel, at least not explicitly. It’s not Jordan’s physique or athletic prowess. What I remember most about Michael Jordan is that he wanted to crush his opponents, and he usually did. The question before us is whether this was a byproduct of his desire to win or whether winning was a byproduct of his desire to conquer? Which is the cart? Which is the horse?  When we say, “I want to be like Mike,” what do we mean?

Bruce Bowen is the Spur whose adherence to the let-them-bleed credo is most villainized. But what the Spurs need more than anything is a Bowenesque wing defender. If Richard Jefferson is a disappointment, he’s a disappointment in this sense: he has never given the impression that he would delight in suffocating his opponent.

The Spurs have a glut of wings in camp, but not a single one shows the shove-alot mentality that is common in great perimeter defenders. Alonzo Gee possesses the athleticism and Richard Jefferson has the muscle, but the Spurs are still searching for a single wing who puts it together with a desire to vanquish.

Bruce Bowen was strong, but not He-Manish. He didn’t have the athleticism to compete with the NBA’s best players. But long after a player of his skill level should have moved on to a second career, he was still on the court defending the league’s best players. It’s for this reason that I place the desire to defend before all other defensive necessities. Players like Dennis Rodman and Bruce Bowen don’t ugly up the game, they understand it. Bumps and nudges and aggressive invasions of space are not devolutionary. These things represent defense in a state of heightened awareness.

When Richard Jefferson came to the Spurs, Gregg Popovich openly talked about San Antonio’s desire for RJ to become a wing stopper. Jefferson has enough athleticism, and he certainly has the physique. Jefferson’s inability (thus far) to play great man defense for the Spurs is a failure of the heart.

Gore Vidal famously said “every time a friend succeeds, a little part of me dies.” What the Spurs need is a wing defender who will take delight in the failure of his friends — a defender whose principle motivation is pushing his friends to failure.

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  • Eric Westerman

    Disagree on the last point. While RJ is a superior athlete, saying that the difference between he and Bowen on the defensive end is a matter of heart cheapens the amount of SKILL that Bowen had on that end of the floor.

    Bowen is often reduced to a decent athlete who became a great defender out of sheer “want to.” While his drive was clearly a huge factor, that distorts his actual abilities. His footwork, technique, and ability to read the opponent were unmatched. He was to perimeter defender what Peyton Manning is to the QB position.

    Fans of the Spurs (and other teams) have often speculated that they can take an equal athlete, and mold them into a great perimeter defender in the mold of Bowen if the player just has the will to do so. That’s more than a little unfair.

  • Chris K.

    Agree with Eric.

    Defense is a lot about “heart” and “want-to” but it’s also a process. Bowen could go from understanding a player’s scouting report to translating that understanding into performance through quick decision-making and anticipation.

    That process takes skill and intelligence which few players have - even fewer combine that with the physical and emotional make-up to be a stopper like Bruce was.

  • td4life

    i always said there was never a ‘Big 3’, it was always a ‘Big 4’

    I also don’t understand why “Super Glue” Bowen didn’t, uh, stick, at least as well as “Big Shot” Rob did.

    We still miss you, Bruce.

  • Hollywood Jones

    48MOH,

    Great article. I love the appreciation for Bruce Bowen. Perhaps he was a late by-product of the hyper-competitive nature of 80s/90s NBA basketball, unlike most players now who would rather be friends with each other than destroy each other. What I like about Manu (and to some degree, dislike about Parker) is how they interact with players on the other team. Manu isn’t there to make friends on the court. He isn’t dirty, but he’s there to win. Befriending his peers is the last of his concerns.

    A few small points about PJ and zen…I actually think you’re interpreting the situation 180 degrees in the wrong direction. To me, “zen” is about being in the moment and NOT thinking. It makes perfect sense that non-contemplative players would excel in PJ’s zen system, whatever that means, because there is nothing to think about - they are reacting to the moment.

    And, I would say TD is the exact opposite of the zen master. He is hyper-analytical and often overthinks the situation. As proof, consider him and his problems shooting freethrows. He stands at the line way too often, seemingly deep in thought instead of casually going up and shooting them in rhythm and with confidence. A zen master clears his thoughts of clutter.

    And for the record, I think the term “zen” has been thrown into confusion by PJ. His constant mind games seem antithetical to zen.

    (Tangent: As for Henry Abbot, I could see how he would deplore the “violence” of post-Jordan defense. He comes across in his writing like a namby-pamby bloviater who wants to keep things “nice” and “pretty”. I know he’s your boss and all, but that’s how I see it. His dismissal of the amateur Miami Heat blog in favor of paid journalists was not in spirit with what I thought this truehoop network was all about, nor with what I thought his writing was about. Maybe I got it wrong. I thought truehoop was written by fans and not journalists. Now it seems like it’s a stepping stone for journalism students to get jobs. If that improves sports journalism…well, then at least that will be a good thing.)

  • Francesco

    @ Hollywood Jones
    Congratulations, excellent post, all of it

  • andy

    seconded @hollywood jones, especially about zen. people misuse the term way too much.

    re: skill vs. heart
    i’m sorry, when we say jefferson doesn’t have the heart that bowen had, we mean he doesn’t have the commitment to perfecting the skills that bowen developed. let’s face it, bowen didn’t begin his career with those skills; he developed them through the legendary work ethic that resulted from… that’s right, heart. if you’re calling jefferson an idiot who can’t grasp the finer points of basketball defensive positioning, well then maybe you’re right, but i’ll give the guy the benefit of the doubt on his intelligence and only question his motivation.

  • McShane

    Enter Shane Battier…..

  • rob

    Bottomline. There are certain players that can “will” things to happen and there are those that can’t. I’ve seen it all too often in athletes as a whole. Some players may have an abundance of talent or physical attributes only to perform subpar compared to their physical gifts. And some players who can seemingly draw out of there gut an ability to perform better than their talent or physical attributes seem to suggest an ability to do.

  • Bankshot21

    You guys are being way too hard and unfair to RJ. Stop comparing that man to Bruce Bowen. They are different people. Bowen wasn’t asked to score at all. His main focus was defense and defense alone. RJ is a former All-Star and former 20+ppg player. Defense was never his calling card so please stop expecting the leopard to change his spots. There is a new wealth of small forwards in the league. They now dominate the way the power forward dominated in the early to late 2000’s. For what it’s worth I think RJ was not a complete bust. He came from a system in which he was 1st or 2nd banana and now he’s asked to be 4th….even 5th. He’s better than what he gave us last season and his stats prove that. Let’s give the man a chance and quit looking for things that he does “wrong”.

  • The Beat Counselor

    Great Post.

    Zen and the Art of Basketball Defense. Love it.

    Although I agree that the term Zen is misused in today’s world, I agree with Tim Varner on his interpretation. When discussing strictly defense (ie not considering free throws), TD IS the model for zen in the non-thinking zen practioner mold. Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Kobe and Artest would indeed be the opposite, always attacking and forcing the issue.

    The confusion comes in because Zen is also viewed as a very “violent” form achieving awareness and inner peace (compared to other eastern religions, eg the Tibetan’s compassionate approach) because from the perspective on the teacher (as opposed to the zen student), their role is often to harrass, play mind games and even hit the student to “shock” them into the present moment.

    So Phil Jackson is a Zen master in the instructor mold. What he teaches in his triangle (read and react) offense is zen because it teaches being in the moment, the interconnectedness of the team and being in the flow (although “the flow” draws from Zen’s Toaist, not Buddhist influence) .

    But on defense, it seems like PJ and his minions do not practice Zen. Unless they are playing the role of the instructor and the ballhandler is playing the role of the student. But as they are not on the same side, trying for the same goal, I don’t think this analogy stretches that far.

    What is a spiritual philosophy that preaches violence? Hmmmm…without offending anyone, let’s go with Sith.

    Of course I agree that TD is not a Zen master at the FT line as he does tend to overthink stuff. But I think he might be “in the flow” in the low post or at 12 feet out with that bank shot. Although I picture Timmy to be more a Boddhisatva than a Zen master personality wise (although I’m rooting for secular humanist;)).

    David Robinson is, of course, some sort of Christian preacher.

    Anyhow, thanks for the great article. Damn I miss Bowen.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    @Beat Counselor,

    I was painting with big, broad strokes. But it seems like I failed our readers by not better introducing the first part of the title: Violence and the Sacred. I invite everyone to the nearest Google search bar.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Lenneezz

    Interesting article, I especially enjoy the attention paid to the mental aspect of the game.

    A players game on the court is a direct extension of their personality. Over the years, their mental strengths and limitations directly correlate to their strengths and weaknesses on the court.

    On a side note, people need to get off MJ’s back about his acceptance speech. What do you think made him the GOAT? A level of competitiveness that us mortals will never experience and hence can’t truly comprehend.

  • The Beat Counselor

    @Lenneezz

    Whatever. MJ’s acceptance speech was arrogant and petty. It made me actually LIKE Kobe better because now I feel they are truly of the same mold.

    I just threw up in my mouth a little.

    At least before the speech, I had this boyhood naivete that Jordan was the smiling charmer.

    Tim Duncan was nearly as great in his prime and he didn’t have to be an a-hole. He was arguably the greatest player in the league during his prime and he didn’t have to be a jerk about it (if only he was more athletic and had a more durable body…but I digress). And I guarantee you TD won’t be a douche when he gets inducted.

    Point is, you don’t have to be an a-hole to be the GOAT, just because currently the GOAT just happens to be an ass.

    Just accept the great honor and thank the people that didn’t get enough recognition on your way to your top (trainers, rehab therapists, assistant coaches, family, etc…). Would you want your kid to make an acceptance speech like Jordan?

    Classless.

    On the upside, Jordan’s speech made me appreciate Tim Duncan all that much more.

    #21 baby.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Lenneezz

    TheBeatCounselor

    It sounds like you haven’t even listened to his speech.

    Here ya go.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owbYN3XstVQ

    In his speech, Jordan responds to the question “What made you so competitive?” He explains that’s the question he is asked the most often, so he answers it.

    That’s why he talked about his high school coach cutting him. He wasn’t calling him out, he was explaining why he became so competitive in his life. He was explaining why he had something to prove.

    As far as talking about Jerry Krause. I lived in Chicago during the Jordan years. I happened to have a father who was friends with Tex Winter. I heard first hand the jokes about Krause. He is a racist. He is the kind of owner than completely took MJ for granted. He figured that since his team gave MJ the chance to play in the NBA that he was more important than MJ. How would you like to be the GOAT, completely build a franchise and have an owner that didn’t treat you as an equal? Krause was an awful owner and isn’t a much better person.

    To tell the truth, Timmy might have walked away from an owner like that. Don’t think for a second that I don’t respect and appreciate Timmy a whole lot, coz I do. I’m just saying that MJ stuck it out with an idiotic owner because he loved Phil, his teammates and the city. Those aren’t exactly horrible traits to go with being the GOAT.

    As far as if MJ was my child..I’d have absolutely nothing but love for him. If you think MJ’s mom, who was sitting in the first row, didn’t approve of what her son would say than you’re nuts.

    Get a clue.

  • The Beat Counselor

    @Lenneezz

    I did watch the speech. At least 4 times. I watched it the day of (or was it the day after? whenever they posted it online) a couple of times and then I watched it with other people at least a couple of other times.

    But I’ll watch it again now, just for you buddy.

    I’ll just have you know, I do think he’s the GOAT and I’ve owned a Jordan jersey in the past (#45) and have his 20th Anniversary Collectors edition DVD. I am a Jordan fan. He is why I got into basketball.

    As for his Jerry Kraus remarks, ya, I didn’t mind those at all.

    I didn’t even really mind him calling out his HS coach because at least he flew him out there.

    And you know what, it does kind of sound like he’s just making jokes the whole time, ya know?

    But then I start thinking about, how does a gracious person accept HOF inductance?

    Like this? Really?

    Only one minute addressing his kids and not how wonderful and unique each of them are, but how he wouldn’t want to be in their shoes because of his greatness (15 of those seconds are spent whining about ticket prices btw). One minute addressing his mom. Less than a minute thanking Scottie and any other of his teammates. What about calling out his brothers for being 5’4 and 5’5…hmmmm…

    The rest of his 23 minute speech was pure vitriol disguised under a smirk and thinly veiled need for one-upsmanship.

    20 minutes about rubbing it in peoples faces and 3 minutes about thanking and appreciating.

    “What is it that you all don’t know (about me)?” Apparently I didn’t know how cocky and petty he was.

    I guess we can just agree to disagree, but he did himself a huge disservice with this speech. He could have just ridden off into the sunset, a legend. Instead he gave us a glimpse in to something kind of…sad.

    The only reason I like this speech is because I think it is truly him. Its kind of nice to see what he is truly like instead of the polished marketing persona that we are always presented with of him.

    Other than that, it makes me take him off that pedestal I had him on. He now embodies the same qualities that made Kobe so irritating to me. And I’ve even got to admit that Kobe seems to be growing less cocky with age.

    Not really happy I watched it again…btw…

    If you want to see an interesting contrast, watch the Ricky Henderson HOF speech. How exactly opposite are their story lines? The cockiest showman in baseball giving a wonderfully gracious acceptance speech.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcd0fdt4JyU

    That’s how its done.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Lenneezz

    I guess you had this “ideal” image of MJ when he was playing. That he was a gracious and humble man. Whatever you thought he was, he wasn’t and it disappointed you (and alot of other people) that night.

    I knew what kind of guy MJ was. That isn’t a put down at all. I just knew how hyper competitive he was. I knew how he would buddy up to the talented young guys only to take of advantage of it and rip their hearts out on the court. I knew how he could not walk away from a game he was losing. Case in point, I knew of a billiards game that he played at a Bulls function. He was losing to some guy and he kept playing all night in order to get ahead. 3 outta 5, nah let’s go 5 outta 9, 13 outta 25, etc…. I heard this story directly from Tex.

    I wouldn’t want to forget to mention his gambling bug. That guy is a broken record on the golf course, “Double or Nothing” and again and again. He is far far far from perfect. I guess I knew that and I wasn’t looking for some “Ah, shucks” and “I’m humbled to be here” kind of speech. It is just not in his character to be that way. And why the heck shouldn’t he be hyper competitive and aggressive in his speech? It’s exactly the same man that EVERYONE LOVED ON THE COURT.

    I’m sure why so many people thought that Mike was this “good guy”? He’s a “good guy” when he’s on top and his fire has been quenched. I guess the marketing people at Nike and McDonalds are really good are their job.

  • The Beat Counselor

    @Lenneezz

    I think you nailed it. I’m not sure why I didn’t know this. I read the ‘Jordan Rules’ (and ‘Sacred Hoops’ for that matter). I saw him jawing at his teammates on the court. I’d heard about his gambling and hyper-competitiveness off court. I don’t think that I didn’t believe it, it just never struck me the way it struck me that night. That his hunger for competition and conquest was so complete that it dominated his personality even on an occasion where there was no competition, where he was honored for being the best, if not the best ever.

    I think a lot of my idealization of him was probably just because I was young when I watched him and because he always seemed so charming in interviews. It is interesting that I had never seen him publicly (off court) really be like that though.

    Oh well, nobody’s perfect I guess.

    Except maybe Timmy! (Who will undoubtedly clown on my mom if I ever meet him, the way my life seems to be going-the Oakland A’s and Canseco and McGwire were my favorites as a kid too and we all know how that turned out).

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