Fotbol
05-21-2007, 07:58 AM
Nash And No-Who-Ski Or Shall We Say "Great White Hype"?
by Boyce Watkins, boycewatkins@blackathlete.com
POSTED: May 21, 2007
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NEW YORK -- I am not one to sit here and pretend that Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki are not great players. They ball with the best of them and their game's are tight. But I will vomit the next time I hear someone try to explain to me why they should have been chosen as MVPs over the past three years.
Does their being white have anything to do with their being chosen as league MVPs? Abso-damn-lutely. As I mentioned when I was on a radio interview with NBA commissioner David Stern, there has been a consistent effort to try to "whiten" the NBA, making the thugged out, gangsta braided, tattoo-totting brothers look less scary to their white audience.
Stern wants to show a counter-example on the floor, so he searches other countries, and even other planets to find just the right look. You want that golden boy. The one with the wavy hair, deep blue eyes, humble press conferences and a face that will fit nicely on a Wheaties box.
He doesn't have a baby's mama, he has a wife, two kids and a dog. He thinks that "50 Cent" is something you put in a vending machine. He doesn't smoke weed in public. At worst, he gets addicted to pain killers. He says all the right things, all the time, and the fans can even throw beer on him without fear of retaliation.
Then, you make sure that this guy, if he has any talent whatsoever, is given a clear shot at being the MVP. Nash and Nowitzki are perfect, since they are arguably as good as anyone.
But what's interesting is that neither of them did very much in this year's playoffs. The NBA and sportswriters have played the race card in the past, as we can all remember Christian Laettner being chosen over Shaq for the 1992 Olympic Team.
When Laettner and Shaq played together for the Miami Heat, Laettner was so far down the bench, he couldn't even get a ticket to the game.
Nowitzki was a "no-nothing" against Golden State. The brothers came with the funk and showed him how they play ball in Oaktown. Poor Dirk didn't know what hit him, as he was left with a forehead soaked with testicle sweat from whoever dunked on him last.
Nash is going home too, thanks to the continued heroics of a legitimate MVP contender, Tim Duncan. LeBron James, another guy who is clearly better than Nash and Nowitzki, is headed to the conference finals at the age of 22.
THAT, my friends, is what MVPs can do. If Nowitzki or Nash were playing for the Cavs, they would NOT be in the Eastern Conference Finals, and maybe not even in the playoffs.
I hear the moaning now. "BUT, but, but Nash makes his team sooo much better!" Yes, Nash is a great player, even if you give no credit to the amazingly talented men who know what to do with the ball when Nash gives it to them.
He has the ability to IMPROVE a team. However, LeBron and Duncan have the ability to CARRY a team. That, my friends, is the difference.
Nash and Nowitzki should be contenders for the VIP Award -- Very Important Player, or The RHP Award -- Really Helpful Player. Both Nash and "No-Show-Ski" need a strong supporting cast to make anything happen.
LeBron can turn nothing into something. Duncan takes his cast and wins titles with them. Shaq was winning titles when he won the MVP award. If any of these guys had Amare Stoudemire, they would be contenders every year.
The MVP is not the guy who looks best on a Wheaties Box. He's the guy who is most valuable to the league based on his ability. Nash and Nowitzki are nice, but silly sports writers want to make them into the Baby Jesus.
Like the rest of America, they are "blinded by the white".
Even Stevie Wonder can see that clearly.
by Boyce Watkins, boycewatkins@blackathlete.com
POSTED: May 21, 2007
Email • Print • Discuss • Digg this story! •
NEW YORK -- I am not one to sit here and pretend that Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki are not great players. They ball with the best of them and their game's are tight. But I will vomit the next time I hear someone try to explain to me why they should have been chosen as MVPs over the past three years.
Does their being white have anything to do with their being chosen as league MVPs? Abso-damn-lutely. As I mentioned when I was on a radio interview with NBA commissioner David Stern, there has been a consistent effort to try to "whiten" the NBA, making the thugged out, gangsta braided, tattoo-totting brothers look less scary to their white audience.
Stern wants to show a counter-example on the floor, so he searches other countries, and even other planets to find just the right look. You want that golden boy. The one with the wavy hair, deep blue eyes, humble press conferences and a face that will fit nicely on a Wheaties box.
He doesn't have a baby's mama, he has a wife, two kids and a dog. He thinks that "50 Cent" is something you put in a vending machine. He doesn't smoke weed in public. At worst, he gets addicted to pain killers. He says all the right things, all the time, and the fans can even throw beer on him without fear of retaliation.
Then, you make sure that this guy, if he has any talent whatsoever, is given a clear shot at being the MVP. Nash and Nowitzki are perfect, since they are arguably as good as anyone.
But what's interesting is that neither of them did very much in this year's playoffs. The NBA and sportswriters have played the race card in the past, as we can all remember Christian Laettner being chosen over Shaq for the 1992 Olympic Team.
When Laettner and Shaq played together for the Miami Heat, Laettner was so far down the bench, he couldn't even get a ticket to the game.
Nowitzki was a "no-nothing" against Golden State. The brothers came with the funk and showed him how they play ball in Oaktown. Poor Dirk didn't know what hit him, as he was left with a forehead soaked with testicle sweat from whoever dunked on him last.
Nash is going home too, thanks to the continued heroics of a legitimate MVP contender, Tim Duncan. LeBron James, another guy who is clearly better than Nash and Nowitzki, is headed to the conference finals at the age of 22.
THAT, my friends, is what MVPs can do. If Nowitzki or Nash were playing for the Cavs, they would NOT be in the Eastern Conference Finals, and maybe not even in the playoffs.
I hear the moaning now. "BUT, but, but Nash makes his team sooo much better!" Yes, Nash is a great player, even if you give no credit to the amazingly talented men who know what to do with the ball when Nash gives it to them.
He has the ability to IMPROVE a team. However, LeBron and Duncan have the ability to CARRY a team. That, my friends, is the difference.
Nash and Nowitzki should be contenders for the VIP Award -- Very Important Player, or The RHP Award -- Really Helpful Player. Both Nash and "No-Show-Ski" need a strong supporting cast to make anything happen.
LeBron can turn nothing into something. Duncan takes his cast and wins titles with them. Shaq was winning titles when he won the MVP award. If any of these guys had Amare Stoudemire, they would be contenders every year.
The MVP is not the guy who looks best on a Wheaties Box. He's the guy who is most valuable to the league based on his ability. Nash and Nowitzki are nice, but silly sports writers want to make them into the Baby Jesus.
Like the rest of America, they are "blinded by the white".
Even Stevie Wonder can see that clearly.