No Need to Overhype Kobe vs. LeBron

The sheer spectacle of Kobe vs. LeBron should be enough to sell this afternoon’s match-up. But for some reason, ABC analysts Jon Barry insisted that Kobe wins the MVP if L.A. beats Cleveland today, and Michael Wilbon agreed. We don’t need more drama to set up the awesome battle, and you assume Barry understands that. (In fact, no less than Stu Scott seemed shocked by Barry’s assertion.) That means he believes it, and that means we’re in trouble.
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↵As an unapologetic diehard NBA fan, I pondered this morning why the NBA doesn’t have nearly the network committment to on-air analysis that, say, the NFL does. You can watch two hours of analysis on three different channels every Sunday morning during football season. For basketball on ABC, you get a half-hour, and it doesn’t start until the season’s halfway done. Even then, you get two analysts, while ESPN’s NFL preview show has about 76. There’s a real limit in volume and diversity in terms of on-air NBA analysis right now.
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↵But Barry (a player I rooted for earlier this decade) makes some boldly dumb comment, and I don’t really think we need more analysis on TV. As a league of stars, the NBA is as susceptible as any to overwhelming hype. And that’s fine, to a degree -- I’m as guilty as any fan of focusing on LeBron to spite Anderson Varejao, or worrying more about Kobe’s sore pinky than Jason Terry’s broken hand. But there’s really no need to make bold shockers right now. It’s January February (d’oh!), people are going to watch regardless, and LeBron and Kobe themselves will have no problem giving their all. If the fans need no extra motive, and the players understand the gravity of every battle, why bother executing hype via idiotic proclamation?↵