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Shoals Unlimited: Coping With NBA’s Dead Zone

Sep 3, 2008, 9:00 PM UTC

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Welcome to Shoals Unlimited, where Bethlehem will post a long-form piece on basketball once a week.

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â†µâ†µAnd so, my fellow NBA fanatics, the dead zone is here. We’ve beenâ†µunusually blessed this summer: free-agent drama, big names in the draft andâ†µsummer leagues, superstars on the move and the Olympics. It was a ride soâ†µsustained, so unreal, we felt it might never end. Now it has -- we’re plumâ†µout of news, and, as someone who spends his days perusing rumor pages andâ†µscouring the web for choice quotes, I can feel the drought fall mercilesslyâ†µupon us.â†µ

â†µâ†µSo what, short of stepping away from sports, entering a Buddhist retreat,â†µor turning to hard drugs, is a stalwart hoops head to do? Not to fear: I’veâ†µcompiled a list of options that, while they may not totally stave off yourâ†µpangs of withdrawal, might at least distract you until training camp rollsâ†µaround.â†µ

â†µâ†µPray for injuries: It does not get any less human, or moreâ†µdesperate, than this. But admit it: When you heard Monta Ellis was going toâ†µmiss theâ†µfirst month or so of action, you spent the whole day juggling possibleâ†µWarriors lineups in your head. You had a whole new reason to go back, exultâ†µin Ellis’ archived feats, and get that much more excited about the day heâ†µfirst takes the court. And with the newest round of drama taking shape --â†µwhether or not Monta hurt himself snowboarding on an alligator’s back and fibbed about it, I guess -- we’ve gone from nothing, to emotiveâ†µsomething, to full-fledge who-done-it with evil corporate overtones,â†µindividual vs. society all over again but with major hops involved.â†µ

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â†µRead a book about basketball: No, this isn't a shameless plug forâ†µmy own volume, which doesn't drop until after opening day. I'mâ†µmore talking about digging back through history, and catching up on some ofâ†µthe great writing that's been done about this fine sport of ours.â†µ

â†µâ†µIt’s not as rhapsodic as the best of baseball history or memoir, and usually lacks the smelly intensity of football books. But you will not hate me if you turn off the tellie and spend some time breezing through irrefutable classics like David Halberstam’s Breaks of the Game or Playing for Keeps, Terry Pluto’s Loose Balls, Nelson George’s Elevating the Game, or Robert W. Peterson’s Cages to Jump Shots. While set in the past, they’re all darn relevant to today’s game—sometimes, you feel like blurting out old addages like “nothing ever changes,” or “history repeats itself.” A great way to expand your understanding of the game while reinforing a love rooted in the present.â†µ

â†µâ†µGet into advanced stats: We all know the knock on statistics: Theyâ†µoffer up a pale reflection of the game, either making it too complex, or, inâ†µthe case of basketball, have problems accounting for the sport’s groupâ†µdynamics. But with executives like the Rockets’ Daryl Morey trying to runâ†µhis team according to these principles, now’s as good a time as ever to getâ†µacquainted with this vast, sometimes tedious, and often fascinating realm ofâ†µdiscourse.â†µ

â†µâ†µThere’s that fortress of analysis, APBRmetricsâ†µboard; ESPN guru â†µJohn Hollinger; highly-publicized snake-oil salesman Dave Berri; and up-and-comer The Arbitrarian, whoseâ†µmind-blowing graphs and over-the-top ambitions make stats at onceâ†µenthralling, intense, and maybe even a little bit facetious. Sure, thisâ†µisn’t real basketball, but it’s an honest effort to quantify the game weâ†µlove into something beyond mere points and rebounds. We might prefer toâ†µargue over which players are the most underrated, they want to shut down theâ†µdiscussion; while we may have more fun, this stuff at least provides aâ†µuseful reference tool -- if not some potent ammunition.â†µ

â†µâ†µDevelop an acute interest in Ben Gordon: He’s still flapping inâ†µthe wind, still trying to accomplish the impossible -- which gets more and more modest eachâ†µday. Now, we’ve got Greek outlets reporting that Gordon might sign with CSKA Moscow, forâ†µless than the Bulls could offer him.â†µ

â†µâ†µRemember that movie -- which no one saw -- where the guy realizes someâ†µwoman is writing his life with her novel-in-progress? That’s kind of theâ†µrelationship between Ben Gordon’s career and online rumors at this point.â†µNow all he needs to do is freak out and find a guru, or start spoutingâ†µconspiracy theories in his interviews. I mean, dude’s got the media platformâ†µof a lifetime here, since he’s really the only story going. Build yourâ†µbrand, Ben Gordon, and never look back.â†µ

â†µâ†µWatch another sport: I hate to say it, but for some of us, it’sâ†µtough. Watching baseball, or any variety of football, simply makes us longâ†µfor the game we truly love. I’ve been a fan of most sports, but the deeperâ†µI’ve gotten into this basketball thing, the harder it is for me to not lookâ†µat the NFL and see only how it lacks what the NBA does for me. Thankfully,â†µin the case of the NFL, at least, you can sometimes pretend you’re watchingâ†µa basketball game.â†µ

â†µâ†µWhat is a shifty, explosive running back, if not a guard exploding intoâ†µthe lane? The West Coast offense is, at its best, something like a pointâ†µguard who dissects the defense with systematic precision. And when receiversâ†µand cornerbacks go streaking down the field, tangling with each other andâ†µleaping into mid-air to make the play, well, that’s certainly close enoughâ†µto transition defense to keep me warmed over until late October. It takesâ†µsome imagination but believe me, the alternative is unthinkable.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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