Sometimes, two opposing ideas can be equally true.
Idea No. 1: The NBA has serious structural issues that require immediate attention. The relentless grind of the 82-game regular season, coupled with the incessant tanking scourge that will never stop as long as the draft lottery remains in place, create an untenable situation.
When several teams are incentivized not to try, what’s the point? Just last week, we at Elevator Doors HQ lamented the annual March swoon, when the NBA schedule hits that dead zone prior to the final playoff push but long enough after the All-Star break where teams are no longer refreshed/rested/reset. This is when star players are often shut down over the vaguest injuries or lottery-bound teams make anti-competitive halftime adjustments to solidify draft odds.
If half the league is signaling to me and other fans that they don’t care about outcomes, then why should fans be asked to carry the burden?
Idea No. 2: The people in charge of shaping the narratives around the NBA seem to hate the current NBA. That is a problem.
Last year, JJ Redick tore into the way the league is covered, calling out a “decline in storytelling.” “If I’m a casual fan and you tell me every time I turn on the television that the product sucks, well, I’m not going to watch the product,” Redick said.
Much of his ire was directed toward the TNT crew, but I’ve always felt like they had a more playful, tongue-in-cheek way of discussing the game. Chuck, Kenny, Shaq – they’re kidding around. Sometimes they rely too heavily on the “back in my day” schtick, but I don’t think anyone turns to them for anything other than what they do.
It was ESPN that tried to ride the line between hard-hitting basketball analysis and CNN-style talking head punditry. Several recent decisions swung the pendulum almost entirely toward the punditry side, with the exhausting/ongoing LeBron James/Stephen A. Smith feud sucking up all the oxygen on the network.
One of the causalities of this storytelling crisis was Zach Lowe.
Nobody on the planet is better at writing/dissecting/promoting/critiquing the NBA, and ESPN, in its infinite wisdom, decided it no longer needed what Lowe brought to the table. With Idea No. 1 gaining steam and ESPN going all-in on the people largely responsible for Idea No. 2, Zach Lowe was stuck on the sidelines – no podcast, no column, nothing.
David Aldridge recently pointed out how there seems to be more negativity than ever surrounding the NBA, despite the number of incredible players reaching all-time highs. It’s difficult to wrap your head around that, until you look clearly at Idea No. 1 and Idea No. 2 and realize that they are more inextricably linked than it would appear.
If a league incentivizes losing, and the broadcast partners incentivize hollow arguments over the Zach Lowes of the world, then we have a crisis.
Thankfully, part of the problem was solved this week, when The Ringer – always the inevitable landing-spot – announced it would host Lowe’s twice-weekly podcast and whatever he wants to write about. It isn’t the biggest NBA storyline of the season, but it is a slight return to the equilibrium. As long as the games are competitive and Zach Lowe is around to talk about them, this is the best league in the world.
His first podcast in months was a two-hour back-and-forth with Ringer head honcho and longtime professional collaborator Bill Simmons. Say what you will about Simmons’ whole deal, but his passion for the NBA is unrivaled, and he uses his sizable platform for the good of the sport. Their Monday podcast was a light, fun way to pass a couple hours and help reset myself for the NBA stretch run.
Almost on cue, the NBA delivered one of its best regular-season days in years on Tuesday. Steph Curry hit 12 threes and poured in 52 points – could Curry do this into his 40s? Nikola Jokic notched a 60-point triple double before Russell Westbrook did, um, whatever it was he did in the last 10 seconds of that double-OT thriller against the Timberwolves.
March is over. April is here. Zach Lowe is back. Fewer and fewer people are talking about Stephen A. vs LeBron. We’re getting there.
And 1’s:
• Did you fill out the most boring bracket imaginable? Congratulations! You’re probably winning your office pool. I had the urge to pick all four No. 1s in both the men’s and women’s brackets, but that felt too easy. Surely someone would upset the apple cart. Even though my brain told me the top-four teams were heads and shoulders above the competition, I couldn’t help but try to get cute with a St. John’s pick here, a Michigan State pick there. Nope. I still think Duke wins it all, mainly because I think Duke has the best team with the most talent. Is bracketology that simple now?
• I have to say it again. Nikola Jokic had a 60-point triple double. I’m coming to grips with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning the MVP award, but we’re dangerously close to taking Jokic for granted. In a grueling double-overtime game against a heated rival with size and intensity, Jokic took a breather in the first half, re-entered the game at the 6:28 mark of the second quarter, and did not exit again. His two best-shooting teammates did not play. Nobody other than Aaron Gordon or (lamentably) Russell Westbrook wanted anything to do with the basketball in either overtime. Jokic just kept coming.
