I regret my Wednesday column, the rant after the Boston Celtics whipped the Los Angeles Lakers in the clinching-game of the NBA finals. Bad, flawed column.
Yeah, it was a tough deadline, and the game was a boring rout, but I really blew it.
All series I wanted to examine the international Lakers vs. the homegrown Celtics. It was an Olympic preview and, more interestingly, quite a contrast from the 1980s Lakers-Celtics rivalry when the Celtics were the boys next door and the Lakers were the boyz from the ‘hood.
Well, I spent so much time beating up Kevin Garnett for avoiding the paint at the offensive end and praising Paul Pierce that I never got around to writing about the contrasting rosters. So, Tuesday night, with the Celtics bashing the Lakers, I threw together my thoughts on deadline.
I forgot one thing: The San Antonio Spurs, a franchise I praised, won several championships with Tony Parker (France), Manu Ginobili (Argentina) and Tim Duncan (Virgin Islands).
Look, I could defend the column if I wanted to be argumentative. Duncan played college ball in the United States. Those Spurs teams got their defensive toughness from homegrown Bruce Bowen. David Robinson also played on the first championship squad.
Those excuses don’t cover up that I didn’t craft a defensible column. My opinion was wrong. And a couple of smart e-mailers reminded me of how wrong I was bright and early Wednesday morning.
Tony Byergo was the first to throw the Spurs in my face.
“You seem to have quickly forgotten the Spurs, who won three of the last five titles built on Duncan, Parker and Ginobili — and built on defense. And none learned on the American playgrounds,” Byergo wrote.
Busted.
The column should’ve been absolutely flipped. I should’ve written that it’s a good sign that American-born players have responded to the competition from international players by adopting a more selfless style of play.
That’s what happened. Three of the league’s biggest stars — Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen — put their egos aside and pursued a championship the San Antonio way. Rather than worrying about putting up numbers, The Big Three allowed Doc Rivers to make defense the signature of the Boston team.
What Boston just accomplished is a positive byproduct of the NBA’s influx of international players. And it’s a sign that USA Basketball has a chance to win the gold medal in the upcoming Olympics. American players now understand what it takes to beat international players.
They have to do the little things well.
When American-born players do the little things — draw charges, get back on defense rather than bicker with the refs, share the basketball — they’re still impossible to beat, as good as the original Dream Team.
The finals were pretty one-sided. The Celtics should’ve swept. They were clearly superior to the Lakers and their international roster of softies.
I just blew it. By my count, this is the second time in 15 years I’ve stated an inaccurate opinion in my column. The only other inaccurate opinion I can remember writing is that the 1998 Chiefs would go 16-0.
I searched The Star library most of Wednesday and discovered I’ve written 3,125 columns for the newspaper. My opinion has been right 3,123 times, and I’ve been wrong twice. That’s a pretty good percentage, a tad higher than George Brett in 1980, and it destroys George’s career average.
I’m still on pace for the Hall of Fame, even if you insist on saying I was wrong about Jeff George. I wasn’t. But I’m in a giving mood and will give you that one just to avoid disagreement.
