The NBA season kicked off last night. I'm not a huge NBA fan, but I follow the Celtics and watch a few games on TV. I don't commit hours to a fantasy team or anything, so I don't usually read the "season preview" articles that come out every year. But I like a particular writer for ESPN and this is what he had to say to Juulie and Mark Padgett. . .
Quote:
If you're scoring at home, [the Portland Trailblazers] performed a basketball exorcism over the past two summers, building the team around likable young players (Brandon Roy, Martell Webster, Jarrett Jack, LaMarcus Aldridge) and nonthreatening white guys (Joel Przybilla, Dan Dickau, Raef LaFrentz). Only two bad apples remain: Darius Miles (M.I.A. and mulling microfracture surgery) and Zach Randolph (improbably rejuvenated). In fact, I think that should have been their 2007 marketing campaign: "The 2007 Blazers: Only two bad apples remain!"
But here's the thing, Blazers fans: You're going to miss the dysfunction. You're going to miss having an identity, even if that identity was a running joke that included the word "jail." You're going to miss waking up and reading stories like "One of our guys was berating people at a charity car wash yesterday," or having a buddy call you just to ask, "Guess who just got arrested with pot in his car?" You're going to miss wondering if two teammates are about to come to blows in the huddle, and you're definitely going to miss those wacky stories about pit-bull fights and guys trying to sneak marijuana through an airport security. Now you're just a fan of another NBA lottery team. You're nothing special. That's why you feel hollow inside. You're like Red after he gets out in "Shawshank" -- you can't make it on the outside. By December, you'll be rooting for Randolph to rob a gas station or something. Just remember we had this conversation.
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This will also be the first NBA season in my lifetime without Red Auerbach around the Boston scene. Yes, there were a few seasons when he was pushed out by Coach Pitino, but he was always around. But not anymore. I don't know if his passing registers with people outside New England, but it's going to be a sad Opening Night for the Celtics tonight.