Остарев:)
Маркетингот некогаш знае да биде многу заебана работа.
Познато е дека еден настан добива многу повеќе на тежина кога се знае точниот датум и час на неговиот почеток, но факт е дека сите НБА фанови се чувствуваат ограбени за поран (ова е збор?) старт на Финалето поради маркетиншката тактика на чичко Стерн од Финалето да направи настан каков што е Супер Боулот. Не дека некогаш ќе може, ама вреди да се проба.
Така, Спарси одмараат недела дена, а Кавси скоро пет дена до Големото финале. Додека тие си се одмараат и подготвуваат,НБА фановите се досадуваат со вестите за пишманењето на Били Донован и неговото откажување од клупата на Орландо.
Нема врска, ќе издржиме уште два дена. До тогаш ќе се вратам на човекот кого прв го гледав во живо на ТВ, токму во моментите кога ја почнуваше својата ера на владеење со лигата. Првото финале на ТВ го гледав негде 1990 година, кога почна видео револуцијата и брат ми успеа од негде да ископа касета (мислам дека беше од неделното спортско попладне на РТЗ или РТБ) со снимка од финалињата 1989 и 1990 година кога Бед Бојси беа во својот филм. Меѓу тие касети и снимки во недела попладне е и мојата прва НБА утакмица (Атланта-Чикаго), како и првиот Ол-Стар (1990), нормално, во максимално скратена форма.
По видео, уследи “сателитска“ револуција и се појави првата шанса за гледање на НБА финале во живо. На одамна покојниот Скрин Спортс канал даваа најмногу НБА утакмици, а и целото финале 1991 година. Навистина е тешко од денешен аспект, кога секоја информација ни е на дланка, да го опишам филингот на гледање баскет на ТВ, па уште во живо.
Така, гледањето на овој потег сега, после милијарди вртења по најразлични шпици, некако ми губи на убавината и го нема дражот кој го имаше тогаш, во јуни 1991 година. Но, без разлика на тоа, останува еден од нај, нај потези во историјата на кошарката. Знам дека мене ми е омилен потег кога зборуваме за НБА финалето. Тоа што е првиот секако има влијание.
И така, додека чекаме Финалето да почне, ќе се присеќаме на некои поранешни финалиња со кои ја почнувавме нашата НБА авантура. Кога сме веќе тука, кое е вашето прво (или омилено) Финале?
ПС: Да продолжиме во истиот стил, еве ги делчињата кои се поврзани со едно од ретките интервјуа на човекот од клипот погоре, а во кои зборува за НБА теми.
On what the Bulls need:
They got some young players just getting better and better, and their perimeter game is real strong. But they don’t have that inside player I think they need to give the team a more well-balanced offensive attack. Defensively, they play very hard. I like the way they come out each and every game. [Scott] Skiles has done a great job with the team, and Pax has done a great job putting together the team.
On the ascendance of Cleveland and LeBron James:
I think you see some growth. Expectations have been there, the signs have been there. What just transpired was something I felt was needed for the league, was needed for Cleveland, was needed for LeBron. Now the test comes in being consistent and continuing that elevation, and not getting complacent.
On whether James made ‘The Leap’:
He showed signs. Making “The Leap” is where you do it every single night. It’s expected of you, and you do it. That, to me, is “The Leap.” Not one game, not two games. It’s consistent. Every defense comes in and they focus on you and you still impact the game. I think he’s shown signs of that. I think he’s going to continue to grow with that. The test is going to come for him to consistently do that every single night, when everybody expects it. And he expects it of himself. But he took a big step in that right direction in this last series. This next series is going to say, “How far do you want to take it?”
On Kobe Bryant and his frustration:
Frustration is a part of the game, especially with a competitor. You want to win so bad, and you’ve been there, and you want to get back there—and you feel it hasn’t really happened that way, and you look for reasons why. I think the unfortunate thing is, we judge him in a very emotional state. He’s watching these young kids continue to play, and he’s not. It gets at him. And he starts looking for reasons.
That’s understandable, but I think he’s got a good scenario over there—a good GM, a good coach. I understand the frustration. I never got to that point, but I can’t say that I can’t identify with it. The worst time for that to happen is now. You want to play. Who wants to be home watching basketball? You want to be out there at the most important time of the season. Then you sit down and you get frustrated and you start pointing fingers or looking for reasons why. He’ll get out of that, as basketball gets away, and summer comes. I think he’ll mellow back and understand the organization is still trying to make the right moves.
On Scottie Pippen’s comments that teams would rather have a ‘Scottie’ than a ‘Michael’:
There’s some truth to that. The one thing I’m never going to do is demean or diminish is the importance of Scottie Pippen as a wingman, or as my teammate. Everybody needs, I think, a Scottie Pippen. Most of the successful teams are going to need a Michael Jordan. It’s hard to say one without the other. Can you win with one and not the other? I don’t know. I have yet to see that, in some respects.
I think you’re always going to have a leader, and you’re going to have someone to support that leader. And that’s how I look at it. I take [his comments] in a positive way. Everybody needs someone who’s willing to take that step below, just for the sake of not competing on the same level, because sometimes it doesn’t benefit the overall team. As long as you can have certain roles, and people fill those roles, the team is going to prosper from that. So I didn’t take anything negative away. I felt like, OK—that’s his opinion.
I still think you need a Michael Jordan, you need that guy who’s going to take that big shot, that’s going to give the team confidence. And you need a guy like Scottie Pippen, who is not on the high end of that vocal leader, but he’s not that far off of it.
On the league and the game:
For so long, the league was at this high pinnacle, because of so many great stars, mature stars. Now the league is a lot younger, and it’s going to take time for them to get themselves back up to that pinnacle, if they can get back up to that point. I’m not guaranteeing that it will. I think it’s going to take a different direction, but it’s going to sustain.
24 comments June 5th, 2007