3/7/5: I will now be
able to view NBA bricklayers in all their HD glory
Well, we are returning the Sony TV. Again. This time for
good. Three times they
came with brand new sets, three times we ended up with the magenta halo problem.
That's the bad news. The good news is that we are using this frustrating series
of failures as a springboard to enter the world of HDTV, albeit with an "entry-level" model, the
Panasonic CT34WX54. I have a hard time describing anything that costs over
1000 bucks as "entry-level." In fact, this TV better last us ten
years.
That thing is being delivered next Saturday. I can't
wait. Anyone who wants to come over that day and help me assemble the
stand/put the TV on it, this is your invitation. I can't lift 180 pounds by
myself. There will be beers available for your consumption. There
will be chips and there will most certainly be salsa. Perhaps a cookie or two. You can come and admire the
curtains.
***
Non-basketball lovers, you are now excused.
As an aging codger of a hoops fan, one of the hardest things
for me to accept about the game as it now exists is the steep decline in field
goal percentage. I know times have changed, and I know that it's a different
game today, but I just can't stand the barrage of bricks that fly through the
air in NBA arenas every night. I'm aware that there are a number of reasons for
this, but none of them change the fact that there are more misses
these days than there were twenty years ago. And with every missed shot, the
world is a slightly uglier place to live in. Leave the misses to hockey and
soccer, sports where every score is the result of a painstaking struggle and
some good luck, where a fan can remember each goal in his team's season if he
tries hard enough.
In basketball, it shouldn't be so hard.
I realize that a big part of it is the increase in three
pointers attempted these days -- with that increase there will be a decline in
FG %. And it's true, if you can shoot 40% on threes, that's like shooting
60% on twos. If you can even make a third of your threes, that's as good
as hitting half your twos.
But with more threes being shot, that means more misses, and
more ugliness. Besides, that's only part of the problem. Guys aren't
making as many of their twos as they used to.
Look at Allen Iverson, the league's leading scorer. God Bless
Iverson. He plays his ass off, he plays hurt, and he's never had much
offensive help. In many ways, he's a magnificent player. That being said, he's a
career 41.7 % shooter. Think about that. Over nine years, he's
missed almost 60% of his shots. That's a lot of ugly. And I don't know that you
can ever become a consistent team when one guy takes 30% of your shots and makes
40% of 'em. Now that they have Webber, we shall see what Iverson is
capable of. His assists and FG% should go up if he plays his cards right.
Of course, if they don't, we can all point to the fact that they got a
diminished Webber in the deal and not the 1999 edition.
The good news is there's hope. There are now several
star players (and almost-stars) in the NBA who seem to recognize the value of
taking makeable shots. We won't talk about Shaq and Yao and Duncan and
Stoudemire and other big men who are putting up hefty FG numbers by relying on
their interior scoring skills. That's to be expected. Beyond them, though,
there is a wave of able-bodied perimeter players who are putting the ball
through the hoop at a more than respectable rate.
Garnett (sure he's 7 feet but he's all over the court): 50.4
Wade: 48.6 (and he only makes a three about once every ten games)
Nash: 51.2
LeBron: 48.5
T. Parker: 49.6
Ginobili: 48.3
Grant Hill: 51.6
T. Prince: 48.7
There are a few more as well. If nothing else, these
judicious shooters prove that a decent percentage is still possible.
The earth hasn't tilted ever so slightly on its axis. The rims are still
the same size. The ball remains round. It can be done. And maybe, if LeBron and D. Wade
can lead the way, one day it will be done.