So now that we are in the stretch run of the NBA Regular Season it doesn’t seem like things are mapping out the way all the experts and pundits swore they would. There is no unicorn flying high above downtown Miami waving a victory flag that symbolized an 82-0 season. No, not close.
All the way up in New York City MSG is not turning around as quick as everyone hoped. Carmelo has not been the savior. No Cinderella story there. Instead Carmelo is more like the jealous sister who couldn’t get the slipper to fit rather than Cinderella. Alas, no fairy tales in the big city. Shucks.
Instead we are reminded ,perhaps when we needed it the most, that basketball is (thankfully) still a team game. It is not a galaxy where we can move stars into an alignment of our choosing. No, this is still a team game.
Just as Tom Hanks famously said “there’s no crying in baseball” in the movie “A League of Their Own” the basketball Gods have let reality tell Lebron “There’s no shortcuts in basketball”.
So as all the tie-toting reporters at the networks continue to parade the Heat and Knicks in front of us like a Pageant Mother with her 9 year old “superstar”, we are reminded; What Often Glimmers is Rarely Gold”
For those of you who may be scratching your heads wondering what the reasoning behind that analogy is allow me to explain.
As an under-achieving student (at least I was consistent) I always did best when I could make visual connections. So, I’ll describe to you as I would describe it to someone such as myself.
Glimmer: The Miami Heat
Oh Can you feel the love? Oh yes let the heavens rejoice. Who knew that pairing a grossly overrated Power Forward who would make Gumby look like a bad-ass in the post with his “BFF” (not Pokey) who made Quitting into a NIKE slogan and Giving Up sound as cool as a new fragrance from AXE wouldn’t be the Cat’s Meow in Miami? Miami has South Beach, Brickell, Fort Lauderdale, some of the best Miami SEO in the nation, and a ton of sports.
Oh D-Wade is this not the 3-way you had hoped for? Instead of a 3-way dance on center court holding NBA Gold you look more like a 3-way between Kirstie Alley, Kermit the frog and Snooki. Which means you look like a trainwreck (Kirstie Alley), your gameplay is sometimes more comical than impressive (Kermit) and we are STILL wondering why anyone is still making a big deal about you (Snooki).
In fact Ranterz, let’s change the Big 3 photo officially.
Ahh, yes that’s much better. That looks more like a team grasping the jewel that is the 4th or 5th seed than a Championship juggernaut
Now are we still confused? Don’t worry we have another fine example for all you NBA Ranterz. So if you are still a bit stumped, don’t worry this next example of “Glimmer” will bring it all together. Let’s get ready to connect the dots yes?
Just as Lebron would make the unicorn fly over the city of Miami, Carmelo Anthony came from Denver with a cape and a super hero persona. A Batman who finally would unite with a Robin.
Amare’s buddy was here to help him save Gotham. But Carmelo bringing a laughable 7-9 record in his first 16 games to MSG, they have been more of Joker and The Riddler than any heroes.
When we all forecasted the Knicks would bring a Top seed to New York we are now all wondering if they will finish above .500.
Carmelo must have brought a giant #2 pencil with him to New York. He not only erased all of the Big City’s title dreams in 2011 (and perhaps in the near future) he also erased an MVP Season from Amare Stoudemire.
So now that we have a good perception of Glimmer, let’s compare it to Gold ehh? So get out your #2 pencils (Carmelo doesn’t share, his 2.8 assists per game prove it) and take some notes!
Gold
Denver Nuggets: While the Knicks have gone 7-9 since acquiring Carmelo, the Nuggets have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA since the trade.
So while Carmelo was shipped out with his #2 pencil and TMZ-like Coverage in tow, The Nuggets brought in Felton who gladly brought a sense of “winning” to Denver and assured they wouldn’t be “Lebroned” (sorry Cleveland)
Dear Miami & New York : This is what a onio Spurs: Do you Ranterz know how hard this is? I’m a die hard Suns fan and for me to defend myself with the Spurs,ugh, I may definition of team. No individual stars, no headlines and hard-working on their craft. No South Beach and NYC Clubs, just the Top 3 point shooting team in the league with a balanced point guard, a deep bench, sound coaching and a Hall of Fame Power 76ers: If any of you have been reading any of my past Rantz you would kjoy SportsCenter if it actually delivered Sports News on a daily basis and not an agenda with shtick. But before Deanna slaps the back of my head for going on another anti-SC Rant I’ll conclude with this. If you want a GOOD story and a bright future look at the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers have been a dismal organization since the last few years of the Allen Iverson-era. That’s all changing nowadays.A team that was fighting for the worst record in the league in the past few seasons is now fighting for a playoff spot ahead of the Knicks with an impressive 37-34 record as of March 23rd.
So as I conclude this article Ranterz I hope we all learned a bit about Glimmer and a tad about Gold. The perception that is guaranteed before the season is never the reality when it comes Playoff time.
Now, Let’s hear what your Rant is