thesis: it's more fun to watch an idea in its natal stages

i guess the title of this post makes what this post is going to be about pretty darn clear.

let's start with a list of totally self-actualized teams. notice that these teams are going to tend to be older and also tend to have more "glue" players, a.k.a. semi-shitty people who don't have offensive personalities.

1. pistons
2. spurs
3. heat
4. rockets
5. clippers (now that livingston broke himself)
   

i'm sure i'm leaving some people out. anyways, those teams are by no means exciting, nor do they have the potential to be exciting.*

all the rest of the teams in the nba have some great untapped resource, sometimes just waiting for a coach to free it, sometimes a resource that will never be free. even the chicago bulls and indiana pacers, two teams legitimately terrible to watch, both have some serious potential to improve their watchability when certain players reach their potential. or rather, are reaching their potential.

as i said before, when a player becomes all he is supposed to be, where the hell is the fun in that? for that reason alone, i find dwyane wade borderline unwatchable. there's no drama in his game anymore. we know that he will get to the bucket, we know that he will toss himself blindly backwards into the nearest defender and toss up a wild shot, and we know that he will be sent to the free throw line for one or two. there is no excitement, there is no drama, there is no mystery.

i guess the mystery of the players is what makes them so compelling. kobe, who is by all means a killing machine, is not entirely self-actualized. even now, as he can still tear defenses apart, there is still a kind of lingering insecurity. insecurity as in, will he get his teammates involved, or will he improve his shot selection and arc. even if we accept kobe as far and away the best in the game today, there is no doubt that he can still make serious strides. believe.

that same mystery that applies to players applies perhaps doubly to teams. the pistons, for example, are a well-oiled machine but literally no-one outside of the detroit area would ever mistake them for compelling basketball. they run their sets well, they defend alright, and they have no players outside of jason maxiell capable of making strides forward in contributions to the team. they dealt away any excitement factor when they shipped carlos arroyo and darko to the magic for kelvin cato of all people. now, they are a succesful team, but sans any drama as to whether or not they achieve their result. we know what teams they can and cannot beat, and there is very little wiggle room as to that fact.

the raptors on the other hand, are an intensely dramatic team. they are still feeling each other out on the basketball court, but bryan colangelo has created a vision with serious implications for the future. i know that they are currently leading the atlantic division, but andrea bargnani, the first pick in what has turned out to be a ridiculously awful draft, has not begun to fathom his depths. this boy has nowitzki potential, but with more D. i'm not saying he will be nowitzki, but the very tantalizing fact that he might be is enough to keep me watching. if, that is, their games were ever on tv.

instead, we get to see the heat and the rockets compete in a game that has already long since been decided.

* i retract that sentence somewhat if you consider watching dwyane wade parade to the free throw line "exciting." personally, that makes me want to vomit.