As the NBA playoffs begin, the "All-About-Me league
suddenly is becoming All-About-Basketball," according to
Ailene Voisin of the SACRAMENTO BEE. The games "are
entertaining, the players well-behaved, the egomaniacal
coaches restrained. The priorities are all mixed up."
Voisin wrote that this was the league "as it was in the
beginning with Magic [Johnson] and [Larry] Bird. As it was,
before Michael [Jordan]." But Voisin wrote that the
goodwill "won't last" and the NBA's "tarnished image will be
restored." When problems "afflicted the league" in the
'80s, Voisin wrote "the difference between then and now is
this: When the NBA slumped, its superstars huddled, argued,
persevered and provided answers." While Bird and Johnson
were both "shrewd businessmen and protective of their
personal time, neither allowed outside interests to
supersede the game. And most players followed the leaders.
They signed autographs, granted interviews, promoted the NBA
'family' and ... certainly seemed more committed to winning.
... But all that changed with Jordan. If this is indeed his
finale, the game's greatest player leaves a legacy more
corporate than generous, as much business as basketball. He
flew so high, could have flown higher still, could have
given so much more. He leaves the league in worse shape
than when he entered." Voisin concluded that Jordan is "a
true genius on the court, above the game in many respects.
But today's players want to be like Mike. They follow the
leader, too" (Ailene Voisin, SACRAMENTO BEE, 4/25).
AT THE GATE: In Indianapolis, Sean Horgan wrote that
the lack of a sell-out for Game One of the Cavs-Pacers
series on Thursday "seems to reflect a disturbing trend
throughout the NBA." Fewer than half of the 16 NBA teams in
this year's playoffs "sold out at least one first-round home
game by 3 p.m. of the day the playoffs commenced." Possible
reasons range from the cost of tickets, to the ease of
watching on TV, to the "character" of the first-round
playoffs (INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS, 4/25).
