How many legitimate basketball fans do we have reading this site? Three, not counting TK? Man alive, that’s just a sport I don’t get. Football and baseball are great, because 10 to 15 percent of the time, it comes down to the last two minutes of the game or the ninth inning. In the NBA, it’s 85 percent of the time. Four out of five games, the last two minutes are all that matters, which makes watching the first 58 minutes of a basketball game kind of wearying and pointless.
Or maybe that’s just me.
Anyway, the NBA currently sports two legitimate superstars — guys even non-sports fans are familiar with: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Aside from knowing they’re very good and that both of their teams — the L.A. Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers — are favorites in their conferences (because Garnett is out for the Celtics) in the interminable NBA playoffs that just begun (and won’t end until June), I don’t know a lot about either. Kobe had a rape charge against him; LeBron is apparently already a New York Knick, two years before his contract for Cleveland has run out (is that still the case?)
But, both players have documentaries coming out. Kobe Bryant’s doc, called Kobe Doin’ Work, is directed by Spike Lee and will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival. Here’s the trailer, which lacks anything insightful or substantive or remotely interesting:
LeBron’s documentary, More than a Game, looks considerably more compelling, though it’s still not anything I’d be interested in. Directed by newcomer Kristopher Belman, More than a Game is about LeBron and his high-school teammates, who played in a high-school national championship game and formed a life-long bond. Here’s the trailer:
I enjoyed playing Double Dribble when I was younger.
Other than that...
Posted by: Skitz at April 20, 2009 4:39 PM
Hmmm... not since Bird and Magic used to mix it up on a regular basis.
It hasn't been a team sport since Jordan ruled and the fact that ONLY Kobe and LeBron are well known just prove that it's a league run by a few superstars and a lotta journeymen.
Baseball and football, kids.
They're all you need.
Posted by: Spender at April 20, 2009 4:44 PM
I was sort of into basketball as a kid when Mississippi State got into the Final Four. My depth perception sucks, though, so I could never play it well (although I was decent at defense for a six year old).
I'm actually a reasonably big basketball fan. There are some teams that play team basketball (spurs, rockets, celtics) that are fun to watch for the teamwork. But, everyone should watch lebron play once to appreciate how much of a physical freak he is.Then try and understand that he is 23!
With that said, I've never understood the documentaries about sports: complete waste of time. Either show the damn game or make a movie about the game, don't do some middle version.
Posted by: "luker" the barbarian at April 20, 2009 4:50 PM
I've been to a few Sixers games back when we had Iverson and they were fun-ish, more for the atmosphere than the game. Also, it was fun to mock Hip Hop the Bunny mercilessly, for being the world's dumbest mascot.
Other than that, you will never catch me watching basketball.
My Seriously Random List of the sports I currently favor (in order):
1. Professional football
2. College football
3. Professional hockey
4. Association football (soccer)
I prefer to watch curling rather than basketball, and don't get me started on baseball, tennis or golf (I have to agree with George Carlin - golf is like watching flies mate).
It will be interesting to see how the common perceptions of the two players (Kobe as the stuck up ball-hogging primadonna and Lebron as the caring teammate and relatable personality) influence how these are received.
Football(as in soccer) and football are my two to watch.
Posted by: branded at April 20, 2009 4:56 PM
College basketball is where it's at.
And since when is Shaq not well-known? Yao Ming? I hate NBA, and even I know those two knuckle heads.
Lebron and his high school teammates formed a life-long bond...
six years ago.
Posted by: JakesAlterEgo at April 20, 2009 4:59 PM
Also, I would work very hard at forming a bond with a guy that I knew was about to become richer than God.
Posted by: JakesAlterEgo at April 20, 2009 5:00 PM
You only posted the trailer for the Lebron film, idiot.
Fix it.
Posted by: Stupid McFartFace at April 20, 2009 5:10 PM
Though I rarely comment, I both regularly read this site and love NBA basketball. Love, love, love it.
Posted by: The Kessler Shuffle at April 20, 2009 5:16 PM
I'll take basketball over baseball any day. Baseball is the most boring shit in the world, whether on TV or live. People should be advised not to watch baseball then drive or operate heavy machinery. That's how accidents happen.
Posted by: jM at April 20, 2009 5:18 PM
Baseball is crap, and I was once a very big fan. They lost me after the combined effect of: the 1994 strike, a tie in an All-Star game, lack of revenue sharing and a salary cap which makes every offseason a boring race for the highest paid free agents between the Yankees and Red Sox and all but insuring that only five or six teams in any given year have a realistic shot at winning the title, and - most importantly - the steroids. It's not the cheating as much as it is the lying and the tainting of the records. For a game that treats so many numbers in such a sacrosanct way (56, 61, etc.), it sure is a load of crap that we could just let all that go to hell. I'm done with Major League Baseball quite probably for the rest of my life, and it actually makes me angry that so many fans simply don't care about integrity.
As for the NBA, I was once a big fan of that as well, and I'll still enjoy the game occasionally at playoff time. I find the college game more interesting, though, at this point.
Posted by: DarthCorleone at April 20, 2009 5:27 PM
I have no interest in basketball. None. However, LeBron lives in my town/city and he's, understandably, kind of a big deal. Not only is he a fucking PHENOMENAL athlete, he's a pretty good kid. He does a lot for his community and by all accounts, has a good sense of humor and has surroundeded himself with people who genuinely have his best interest at heart rather than just money-grubbing yes men. He's one of the few professional athletes that I think is actually a good role model for kids.
The trailer looked good to me. I'd watch it if it was on HBO. Probably wouldn't go see it in the theater though.
The Wanderer , was that a slight against curling? I don't know if I can handle it, after watching Martin lose and having no curling to look forward to until fall. I guess hockey playoffs will have to get me through the next few months.
As an aside, it took my hatred of Seth Rogen and adoration of curling to finally push me out of lurkerdom this week. Feels pretty good.
Posted by: PallasJay at April 20, 2009 5:30 PM
1. College football
2. NFL
3. Roller derby
4. NBA
I can watch LeBron play all day, though, and I've always had a big old soft spot for the Lakers.
I can only watch baseball in person, trying to watch it on TV or listen to it on the radio equals a loooooooooong snooze for me.
Posted by: PaleoLithchick at April 20, 2009 5:33 PM
I love basketball. I'll give you that NBA basketball is the suit and shirt equivalent of maybe all the sports out there. No, golf doesn't count. You watch golf because you want to improve your game. You watch football because it's fun and mindless and even you can pull off the amazing catches and flubs and such. I love playing me some football baseball and basketball, too.
I watch basketball because those are things I could never do. Basketball has its marvelous incarnations. If you want to test more or less consistent models versus each other, you can heavily invest yourself in one of the college gurus. I seriously think of Tim Izzo as Darth Vader and John Calipari as Gordon Gekko.
There are some cynical ass players in the NBA. Kobe, despite his greatness, is trying to get over his. It's a damn interesting trip, especially since he probably is the best to ever play the game. LeBron is enigmatic and full of charm. He's a testament to human evolution. Still, the strategy employed in basketball is not strictly an attempt at winning. Trying to understand Phil Jackson is enough to keep a fan busy, but even if you simply like basketball because you have to watch ten players at once, there are plenty of players that can grow your devotion to the sport. I love seeing the aging Detroit Pistons and how they've adjusted their game. I want to see see a young team like Charlotte or Chicago succeed against wealthier, veteran squads. I sit tentatively on draft day to see who's gonna have to deal with Shaq or show up Nowitzki. I let my attention drop off midway between both the All-star break and Playoffs because I enjoy the Christmas of seeing what trades have been made while I did my living.
The Playoffs are second in my mind to the NCAA Tourney. College was too predictable this year, but the NBA playoffs are going to be good. I can't think of a year they've both been lacking. 7 games is the way to pick which team is better. Rarely will you see a team win employing the same tactics every game. Is Iverson even used the same way anymore? No. Teams are gonna have to bring a lot more than luck or speed or power or superior stats to pull off a championship that way.
I love the fluidity of it. It is the most poetic of sports. There is no mold. And for a few weeks a year, even the best, business-minded athletes lose their cynicism and are just boys on the court. They find heart or they go home.
Posted by: Jackseppelin at April 20, 2009 5:51 PM
I'm a lifelong basketball fan but the NBA depresses me. The star system, along with the brutally arbitrary refereeing, leave me angry while watching most games.
That said, while I think Kobe Bryant is one of the most talented players I have ever seen, he is perhaps the most unlikeable player/person in all of sports. Leaving aside the fact that he's an adulterer (at best, and reputedly an anal one at that), his selfishness, petulance, and cringe-worthy attempts at image creation are a huge turnoff.
As long as Kobe is wearing their uniform, I can't ever imagine rooting for the Lakers unless they were playing against a barnstorming Al Queda all-star team. And even then, I can't guarantee my support.
Posted by: SackmementoCalifornia at April 20, 2009 6:12 PM
People who say that basketball is only about the last five minutes aren't real sports fans. The game should never only be about the outcome, it should be about enjoying watching the skills and abilities of the players. Who cares if it comes down to the last five minutes? That means that the game was intensely competitive, which means you may well have missed out on some of the best plays of the game. If you're only interested in who wins, just read the damn box scores.
Those who say it's not a team sport clearly haven't watched in the last five years, because overall the game is as good, if not better, than it was 25 years ago.
Well... not counting Bird, of course.
Yes, the refereeing in the NBA sucks. But the umps in baseball are shit too, and the refs in football are no better. Better to simply say you don't like basketball. There's no shame in that. But don't blame the winners or losers or players or refs. And god knows, don't blame the game itself - it's one of the most graceful, skill-intensive, endurance-testing games out there.
Much like hockey, those who don't get it, just won't like it. But don't make excuses. Just say it's not your thing.
Oh, and Kobe is indeed a colossal asshole, but... he's either the best or the second-best player on the planet, and a fascinating character study. I'll definitely watch them both.
Damnit, Rowles, see what you did? You got me all riled up, and right before a playoff game, no less.
In my mind, there is nothing that comes close to playoff hockey. Nothing.
Baseball is ok, so long as it's in the background.
I get no joy out of basketball. I agree with Dustin in that I find the first 58 minutes of a basketball game kind of wearying and pointless, but, if it's a close game the last 2 minutes are simply unbearably long. I understand the tactics and strategy behind fouling, but it just kills any flow of the game. It's just a series timeouts, fouls and free throws.
The last minute of a 1 goal hockey game is how all close games should be played. It's pure madness and desperation.
Posted by: Forbiddendonut at April 20, 2009 6:25 PM
Much like hockey, those who don't get it, just won't like it. But don't make excuses. Just say it's not your thing.
This is very true. I don't understand basketball and never have. The nuances of the game are completely lost on me. I really don't know it well enough to appreciate it. It's too bad, I suppose, since I like enjoying things.
At this late stage, I think that ship has sailed. Besides, I already have a crowded sports schedule as is. The sweet and lovely Mrs. Donut would simply not tolerate it if I started to watch basketball. The deal was hockey and football, I made this clear up front. I wouldn't want to reneg on the deal. Among my sports, comic books, sci fi/fantasy stuff, and computer games, she puts up with plenty.
Posted by: Forbiddendonut at April 20, 2009 6:30 PM
Forbiddendonunt, exactly. I have similar feelings about hockey - I actually really DO like watching it - I'll probably watch only 10 Bruins games a year though, because frankly, between basketball, football and baseball, I just don't have the time.
But part of that's also because, while I understand the rules of hockey, and certainly respect the game and it's players, the nuance and the genius of it is lost on me.
I live and die by football, and used to by baseball. I've never felt the same about basketball, but I wouldn't criticize those who did. Beautifully put TK.
I read "Kobe Doin' Work" as "Kobe Don't Work." I don't know if that means anything, other than I need to pay closer attention to the text.
I don't care for basketball. My Dad is a big football and baseball fan, especially if it's the University of Alabama and the Atlanta Braves, respectively, and I guess I followed his lead. I appreciate the athletics and skill associated with the game, but just can't get interested in it.
Posted by: rlr260 at April 20, 2009 7:00 PM
College ball blows for the most part. Watching them try so hard is great, until you realize they're shooting 33% from the floor. I'm surprised they don't knock the rims down with all the bricks that get thrown up there.
I do love the game of basketball though.
Posted by: Mick J at April 20, 2009 7:16 PM
I'm a baseball girl, but that's probably because it's the one sport I fully understand. My Dad has played and coached baseball and softball for my entire life, and if I smell the right combination of OFF or Skin-So-Soft, beer, sweat, and dirt, I will be instantly transported to summer evenings at the local parks.
That being said, I have a freakish obsession for and enjoyment of football movies. I don't know what it is. Going as far as liking Necessary Roughness (Scott Bakula and Sinbad, together at last!). I can't explain it.
I don't watch sports on TV, though. Even baseball. And some sports, such as hockey and rugby, I didn't even know I liked until I attended a game or two.
Sooooooo....I guess no one here watches cricket eh?
Thought not. *sigh*
Posted by: Four Eyes at April 20, 2009 7:20 PM
I used to date a ballerina who was obsessed with the NBA. She always said that basketball was completive, problem solving, improvisational, ballet. She got me hooked on it. It’s an extraordinarily beautiful game. I’ve never played sports or watched them, but I have league pass now. I could watch Trevor Ariza for hours, and plan too during the playoffs.
Posted by: Piato at April 20, 2009 7:30 PM
Does that Michael Jordan feller still play?
Posted by: dave at April 20, 2009 8:04 PM
I enjoy NBA hoops...and I'm somewhat of a gym rat myself. Dustin, once my hometown Cavs win the NBA championship, perhaps some of those LeBron-to-NYC will desist. And anyway, those rumors are the product of East Coast elitists who believe most everything from NY to LA is farm country. Not that I'm touchy about the subject or anything..
Posted by: stryker1121 at April 20, 2009 8:36 PM
Oh me! I watch cricket.
Really? Wrong crowd?
Posted by: general rhubarb at April 20, 2009 9:16 PM
laker nation is creeply much like beloved raider-nation..trust me i live in the middle of it..the celtics made two mortgage payments for me last year....the better player LEBRON on the better team THE CAVES should beat the weak-ass lakers in 5 games...hows my ass taste bryant?
Posted by: pasadenamike at April 20, 2009 11:04 PM
I'm done with Major League Baseball quite probably for the rest of my life, and it actually makes me angry that so many fans simply don't care about integrity.
or maybe it's just that other fans can't climb up on that moral high horse since you've decided to park your ass on it ...
Posted by: Soylent Green is Sheeple at April 20, 2009 11:52 PM
"College basketball is where it's at."
---
I used to love college basketball, now I can't watch it at all. If the game is even remotely close, the last two minutes are torture. They take a beautiful game and carve it up into three-second chunks. I don't get how anyone can possibly think watching scores of free throws and dozens of timeouts and a bunch of commercials is exciting.
Also, I like football. I think football is a fine game. I like everything about football except:
I hate football players.
I hate football coaches.
I hate football fans.
I hate football broadcasters.
And I hate the NFL.
Other than that, I think football's a fine game.
Posted by: , (the commenter formerly known as bucdaddy) at April 21, 2009 12:01 AM
or maybe it's just that other fans can't climb up on that moral high horse since you've decided to park your ass on it ...
The top spending team outspends the bottom spending team 10 to 1. If refusing to live and die by a team in a system that broken is a moral high horse, then saddle that fucker up and I'll be the bulimic jockey.
I like college basketball more than the NBA, but I will stop everything when Lebron or Dwyane Wade are on TV.
I can't enjoy Kobe's game because he comes off as an aloof asshole. It is widely documented that none of his teammates have ever liked him. Just watch the Cavs and Lakers play and you can tell how much more Lebron's mates like him than Kobe's mates like him. Jordan was a hypercompetitive jerk but at least he had his team's absolute respect.
And about the awful refs, it is extremely frustrating to watch a big game in any sport only to see a putz in an ugly shirt ruin it for everyone. Almost every sport that employs referees/umpires has had some of their biggest games undercut by them. 2006 Super Bowl (Steelers-Seahawks), 2006 NBA Finals, countless March Madness games, every International Football game ever played, any Yankees-Orioles playoff series since 1996, USC-Notre Dame 2005 ("The Bush Push" game), Duke and UNC basketball games, etc. Only hockey seems to have competent refs, but maybe that's telling since I rarely watch it.
I just miss that old NFL ref who used to say "First Dooooowwwwwwnnnnnn" in the coolest way imaginable.
Posted by: Kballs at April 21, 2009 8:28 AM
I hate football fans.
:sob!: The commenter formerly known as bucdaddy hates me!
Well, fine. See if I invite YOU over to my tailgate for boiled crawfish and beerpong.
Posted by: PaleoLithchick at April 21, 2009 8:53 AM
BIOLED CRAWFISH AND BEERPONG?! MY 2 FAVORITE THINGS!! You in Baton Rouge, Paleo? I feel like I knew this once, but have since forgotten...
Also, it's one of the most graceful, skill-intensive, endurance-testing games out there.
I was gonna comment, but TK did it up right. GO HORNETS!
Oh no you din't! Don't you be talking about my Ed Hochuli like that!
Posted by: Kolby at April 21, 2009 9:34 AM
I saw 'More than a game' at Toronto Int'l Film Fest. It was a very easy watch, but far from "compelling". It is a very by the numbers documentary, that plays more like a VH1 'Behind the Scenes' than a more substantial documentary like 'Hoop Dreams'.
Side note: I am an enormous basketball geek too. Those are my two things, movies and basketball, so you do have some die-hard basketball fans that frequent this site.
Also, to the people that put up comments that just mentioned how they hate basketball, why even post that?
Posted by: Coolwhip416 at April 21, 2009 10:44 AM
PaleoLithchick,
If they banned tailgating at football games I'm pretty sure attendance would drop about 90%. I'm convinced that most "fans" like the atmosphere AROUND the game much better than they like the actual game itself, which is, after all, 30 seconds of committee meetings punctuated by three seconds of violence.
Kind of like my office.
Posted by: , (the commenter formerly known as bucdaddy) at April 21, 2009 10:57 AM
I'll just say this: Apply your bitchy, mincing, faux-pithiness to the world of sports at your own peril. People are damned serious about basketball, and to decide to take this moment, the opening week of the NBA playoffs, to decide to be clever about Kobe Bryant and/or Lebron James is a strategy i'd reconsider.
Surely you imagine any and all sports fans to be hulking morons who couldn't possibly have the cognitive volume to appreciate the modern Algonquin Roundtable that is Pajiba.com, but heres a primer for future reference:
More people, mostly in Ohio, have invested their hopes and dreams in LeBron James than any figure outside of Barack Obama (that's not a comparison, mind you.) The city of Cleveland is the most downtrodden sports town in the country, so the effect of witnessing James's meteoric ascent with the Cavs is squared by Cleveland's historic sports-worthlessness .
Kobe Bryant is probably the most polarizing figure in the history of sports-- by which I do not mean hated. It's just that the disparity between his supporters and his detractors is the widest anybody's ever seen. His fans love him with a passion unrivaled, and his haters hate with pure black loathing. The character debate though, is prologue to an indisputable fact-- he's proficiency on the court is unlike any player living or dead before him. The man is a scientist.
The Kobe video is obviously not for public consumption. It's for basketball fans. The reason Bryant is such a fascinating figure is that he's obsessed, to an evidently unhealthy degree, with the game of basketball. He thinks about nothing else. It's interesting for fans of the game to try and discover how somebody can be that freakishly singleminded about anything
The Lebron video, in my opinion, is a premature piece of fluff. The kid's amazing, but he has yet to actually accomplish a single thing. It's basically a harmless bit of profiteering.
Oh, and I really hope somebody someday slaps you with a phony sexual assault charge, Dustin. It'll be interesting to see how you react to your career suddenly being defined by a slanderous piece of gossip.
Posted by: Martin at April 21, 2009 12:47 PM
jamiepants: Yup! Geaux Tigers! , (used ta be bucdaddy): Eh, if you took away tailgating I'd still be at every LSU home game yelling my head off, but I have to agree, a sizeable chunk of folks would disappear. But definitely not 90%, at least not in Louisiana. Mmmmmmaaaaaaaybe 25%. Losers.
Also, I think I would do well in your office.
Posted by: PaleoLitchick at April 21, 2009 1:04 PM
I've cruised all the sports and I have to say basketball is the most exciting and visceral experience for me, but I consider baseball, hockey, etc. to be more socially oriented sports (at least as an observer). I used to see a hell of a lot of NBA Jams (I LOVE this game!) with my boyfriend and it really did make me jumpjump, uh-huh, uh-huh...but it is totally different than sneaking sips of dad's beer watchin Jays at the Skydome or secretly rooting for Gretsky when he kicked Leafs ass at the Gardens.
I also so very desperately wanted to name my kid D'Kembe...it sounds SO beautiful to me...but I wanted him to live, so I didn't (I'm pasty, it would not have come across well).
Posted by: replica at April 21, 2009 3:30 PM
I never got into basketball until this year, now that my job demands that I watch. I've grown to like it, both college and pro. I'm definitely no expert on the game -- I only just learned what a triple-double is, for example -- but it's definitely just as exciting to watch as any other sport, regardless of what your personal favorite might be, in my opinion. Having a little understanding of how the game works (throughout the entire game), especially when played by athletes such as Blake Griffin and LeBron James makes a huge difference.
Here's to hoping the Cavs kick the Lakers' ass in the finals.
Posted by: Rykker at April 21, 2009 4:04 PM
hey Martin, what was phoney about his sex charge?didn`t he admit to it?didn`t he also roll-over on Shaq to the cops?he`s a piece of crap,only cares about his watered down stats....GO CLEVELAND!!!
Posted by: pasadenamike at April 21, 2009 10:29 PM
It's really funny how there are so many kobe haters out there. Face it, even Lebron doesn't even wanna be in Cleveland.
p.s. I think pasadenamike is one of those kids who likes to be different. How can you live in LA and be a lakerhater?
Posted by: jd702 at April 22, 2009 11:03 AM
It is just you and, no, you don't know a lot.
Posted by: Doug at April 26, 2009 12:33 PM
Who the hell reads an entire article about something, only to comment at the end that they don't care and know nothing about the subject but still don't like it. That's a great use of time... Wow, most internet users really have no lives - just like the people who get on the internet and complain about people who get on the internet and complain... oh, wait....
Posted by: WhatTheHellIsWrongWithYouPeople at May 22, 2009 1:17 PM
I enjoyed playing Double Dribble when I was younger.
Other than that...