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Shoals Unlimited: Loosen The Belt, Breathe Easy

Oct 9, 2008, 4:30 PM UTC

Welcome to Shoals Unlimited, where Bethlehem will post a long-form piece on basketball once a week.
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Contrary to what you may have heard, all NBA players want to win. Or, if you don’t buy that one: Like all professional athletes, and all humans who aren’t overwhelmingly Zen, NBA players hate to lose.
â†µâ†µWhen it comes to pressure, though, not all situations are created equal. That’s why we have terms like “playoff-type atmosphere,” “must-win,” “statement game,” or, for you cynics out there, “contract year.” So while it’s easy to look ahead and divine what players or teams have something prove, or are in a now-or-never spot, what about those who just might breathe a little easier in the 2008-09?â†µ

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â†µIt's sacrilege to say this about the Association's most intense player. Especially when the team he led to a title last summer is expected to contend again. But it's hard to imagine that Kevin Garnett, who at one point seemed doomed to join Karl Malone in "Ringless Hall of Famer" purgatory, doesn't feel some sense of relief. On top of that, after having carried an entire roster during his decade plus with the Timberwolves, he's now on a Celtics team with improving young players and, in himself, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, a troika of stars whose on-court chemistry still has room for growth.â†µ

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â†µAfter his Lakers were spanked by the Celts in the Finals, Kobe Bryant will be hungrier than ever. However, last season Kobe learned once and for all how to integrate himself into a team concept, and was rewarded with an MVP and his deepest playoff run since the break-up with Shaq. There will always be times when Bryant takes over games, but he no longer has to—or feels he has to—force it. That's because the Lakers' 2007-08 was as much about Andrew Bynum's meteoric development, Pau Gasol's arrival, Lamar Odom's exploiting his perimeter skills and Derek Fisher's return as it was the league's best individual player.â†µ

â†µâ†µSo ironically, as Kobe seeks to prove he deserved those three titles by winning one “by himself,” the question isn’t whether Bryant knows his role, or will do it. It’s whether those around him will continue the progress they made last year, or, in the case of Gasol and Bynum, fit together as seamlessly as the team hopes they will. If anything, the uncertainty for Kobe is whether he can help Phil Jackson prod them in the right direction. â†µ

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â†µSigning a new, lucrative contract often sets up a player for an off-year. But in the case of Baron Davis—getting older, prone to injury, and at times moody—leaving Oakland for the Clippers sets him up for a new chapter. For one, the high-wire act that is Don Nelson's style is as likely to crash and burn as pull off a historic upset, like it did against the Mavericks in the 2007 playoffs. In Los Angeles, he's got excellent big men in Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman, and explosive scorers Al Thornton, Ricky Davis and rookie Eric Gordon. Baron's still in charge, and will get to play his game, but with a much less chaotic rhythm section. Plus, he was born, raised and lives in LA; while that can be a pitfall for younger players, for vets it's the ultimate convenience and a major stress-reducer.â†µ

â†µâ†µIt’s also a vote of confidence that, as Davis’ athleticism fades, the Clippers still trust him as a point guard, a floor general whose game doesn’t need to depend on launching 3s or dunking in the lane. Far from making the best players complacent, this kind of stability puts them in a place to really concentrate on basketball. The same thing could be said of Gilbert Arenas, whose whopper of a contract nonetheless allows him to recover from his knee surgery and not worry about losing his franchise status. â†µ

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â†µAnd then of course, there are those players who finally get to stop looking over their shoulders. The best example of this is Jose Calderon and T.J. Ford, former Raptors platoon-mates who now each have the luxury of their own starting jobs. The Raptors decided to go with Calderon, while Ford has found a new home in a Pacers team looking to push the tempo. From a team perspective, having two point guards of this caliber is boon. For the player, though, it's a distraction. And when that kind of thing gets resolved, you can exhale, bear down, and just play hard.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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