NBA BEAT - NBA'S NO TITLE LOSERS

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

If this were a scene from the GoodFellas film da (the) boys would say about some NBA players, "Day was (They were) robbed. We are of the opinion that the Lakers are the worst three-peat NBA title winning team ever on a short list that includes the Boston Celtics of the 60's and the Chicago Bulls of the 90's. Their success is tainted by an NBA fixed game scandal

DAY WAS ROBBED?

Saturday April 4, 2009

If this were a scene from the GoodFellas film da (the) boys would say about some NBA players, "Day was (They were) robbed.

When you think about how much time, effort and dedication an NBA player puts into their career with the eventual goal to be recognized as a member of an NBA championship team then great names from the past jump up such as Elgin Baylor whom many consider one of the greatest ever players pound for pound. Other names that emerge are Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and John Stockton. They played in the days when NBA players attended college therefore adding four more years to their commitment to the game and become and NBA champion.

When you fast forward to the 21st Century what jumps up are two things, one many superstar NBA players didn't attend college such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O'Neal and Dwight Howard. Bryant is the only player who has eliminated himself form the NO HAVE NBA TITLE RING list. His success on the three peat Lakers titleists of 2000-01 & 02 spare him of such an association.

We are of the opinion that the Lakers are the worst three-peat NBA title winning team ever on a short list that includes the Boston Celtics of the 60's and the Chicago Bulls of the 90's. Their success is tainted with an NBA fixed game scandal that implicated NBA referees that resulted in only one referee being convicted. It was during that time that several teams had the talent to win it all most notably the Portland Trailblazers and Sacramento Kings. The Indian Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets made it to the finals only to lose to the Lakers.

Of those on the 21st century NBA loser's list big time future NBA Hall of Fame names emerge including Allen Iverson, Reggie Miller and Jason Kidd whose teams made it to the finals. The Kings Chris Webber didn't make it to the finals but it was their series with the Lakers that brought the fixed game situation to light. It was that series that Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were permitted to elbow and bloody their opponents while the Kings were called for cheap fouls. Some fouls were apparently visible only to the referees and Lakers fans. This is a case of go figure. We noted it in our reports as it happened.

The fixed game revelation came about years later. This past week Iverson returned to the Detroit Pistons lineup after missing 16 games with a back injury. It is doubtful that the 13-year NBA veteran will win a title this season while being a member of a Piston team who are facing their worst 82 game season in 10 years and are struggling to make the playoffs and finish with a .500 record.

Iverson's numbers are down. Since being traded by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Denver Nuggets in the middle of the 2006 season and from the Nuggets to the Pistons earlier this season he has never established himself as the leader he once was in Philadelphia. His performance is in decline and his body is breaking down. Iverson will be 34-years-old June 7. With Detroit's demise as a dominating power in the East Iverson's chances of winning an NBA title during his career at this point are slim to none. The closest he came to winning the title was in the 2001 final when the Lakers bludgeoned the Sixers to death and took the series 4-1.

Barring injuries by the end of this season Iverson will have played 960 games over his 13-year NBA career and possibly logging over 40,000 career NBA minutes played should he continue his current pace of playing 37 minutes a game. In addition during his two years playing for Georgetown University he logged 67 games played for 2179 minutes on the court. His career NBA and college totals are 1027 games played for 42,000 minutes totaling ZERO NBA titles.

The now 36-year-old Jason Kidd is in a similar situation as Iverson being with a Dallas Mavericks team who are also struggling to make the playoffs. As a member f the New Jersey Nets 2001/02 squad they were swept 4-0 by the Lakers in the finals. The reality is the 76ers and Nets were teams that the Lakers truly were a more superior squad and should have defeated without the referees help.

The red flags jumped up if the series leading up to the finals that factored into the final equation particularly the strong squads at playoff time of the 2000 Portland Trailblazers and the 2002 Sacramento Kings who had the leagues best regular season record (61-21) topping the Lakers in the Pacific Division standings and were more formidable that either the Sixers, Nets and Lakers.

The Lakers 2001 squad had the greatest playoff success. They breezed through the playoffs with a 15-1 record and eliminating Iverson's Sixers 4-1 in the finals for the winningest postseason run in NBA history. Their regular season record of 56-26 was equaled by the Sixers and bettered by the San Antonio Spurs 58-24 record. That team peaked at the right time… in the playoffs.

It was that team that survived the internal feud between Bryant and Shaq earlier in the season that ultimately evolved in the Lakers making a decision as to who would be the team's leader. That decision resulted in O'Neal's eventual departure to the Miami Heat and another NBA title with the Heat in 2006.

Kidd now in his 15th NBA season the 1995 NBA Co-Rookie of the Year barring injuries projections indicate that will have played in 1200 NBA games including the playoffs while logging over 44,000 NBA minutes played. During his two years at the University of California he played 59 games for 1975 minutes. His totals will likely result in zero NBA titles for his career.

Miller has retired after the 2004/05 season. He played 18 NBA seasons while playing in 1533 NBA games (1389 regular season & 144 playoffs). He also played 122 games over four years at UCLA where he also failed in his quest to win an NCAA title. His career grand total of college and NBA games played totals 1655 games. His career 56,763 minutes toiling at his trade on the basketball court resulted in ZERO titles. Miller currently works as a commentator of televised NBA games.