This is part of NBA Fan Voice day. Please take part by tweeting, liking, or blogging about #NBAFanVoice - a day when the fan's voice will be heard by everyone.
I'm tired of Summer Leagues. Damn tired of them.
There is a place in everyone's hearts for things like And 1 Streetball and Kevin Durant tearing up Rucker Park. But I can only take it for so long. It's like eating ice cream for every meal, day after day. If you don't have to pound through the meat and potatoes, where's the joy in eating something sweet? You'll get sick, and soon resent the taste.
That's whats happened to me and Summer League basketball. With no coaches or reason to win, these "games" basically evolve into a talent showcase where nobody plays defense, and it always comes down to the wire. Role players have no place in them, and star players get to show off how athletic and skilled they are.
But there's no challenge. The players are laughing while they play, the result isn't taken seriously until the final seconds, and the audience is only there for the highlight-reel plays. There's no drama, no passion, no intensity. It's almost like watching the heart of the game ripped out, and being forced to watch it across a great chasm of nightmarish images. Okay, it's not really that bad, but you get my point.
I'm ready to watch competitive basketball again. There are things I'm missing that I thought I would never miss, like watching the third quarter of a Timberwolves blowout when I had a test the next day, or speeding through traffic in order to make a game on time. Heck, I even miss that empty feeling in the arena right after the Thunder lose an extremely close game.
It's all a part of the experience. You can profess that you love seeing the best talent in the world play a magnificent game, but you can't say that the Summer League is nearly as entertaining as the real season. A Serge Ibaka dunk in a regular season game is amazing because it is AMAZING. The man he dunked on was trying his best, coached by the games best tacticians, and performing in front of a gigantic crowd. The same thing goes for a crazy Westbrook Coast-to-Coast Drive, a ice cold Durant three, and, heck, even a Thabo Sefolosha jumpshot. I might be alone here, but I'd rather see a court full of Thabo Sefoloshas play than watch another Summer League game. Heck, I'd watch a court full of Erick Dampiers shoot threes at this point, if they were serious about it.
I'm not here to ask you to boycott the USFleettracking Basketball Invitational, or anything like that. Instead, let your voice be heard! Vote in the poll, post a comment, and blow up Twitter! Let us and the NBA know about how much you want to see real basketball again, or anything else you might be passionate about! Today, we stand united!
#NBAFanVoice
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