USELESS CHANGES

Nothing better than a white guy trying to reclaim the game of basketball by raising the rims. According to the mind of Tom Newell, former Sonics coach, by heightening the rims, it will take away athletic advantages and make the game focus purely on skill sets. Newell would like to turn every team into the San Antonio Spurs, where the focus is on team play and fundamentals. While it would be nice to see more teams play like the Spurs, the NBA would be in serious trouble for ratings and attendance. Newell does not seem to have a clue at how global the game of basketball has become, and that globalization attracted people of all different skill sets. What would Steve Nash's fundamental basketball look like without Shawn Marion flashing to the hoop for a tomahawk jam? This is part of the game, and Newell and his counterparts will just have to deal with that.

While there is definitely room to improve the game by players improving their skill set, Newell is going about it the wrong way. The core of this issue points out how many American players have not developed as players, while they got by on their athletic attributes, but as we saw with the NBA Finals this year, or recent international competition, team basketball will prevail in the end. American basketball has been undergoing a change in focus and it will trickle down into our colleges and high schools in due time. No rash moves need be made just yet. NBA GM's have taken note of the Spurs ways of success and are beginning to clone it with their ballclubs. Take a look at Toronto and don't tell me they looked at what the Spurs were doing, and are trying to replicate it.