Parity Achieved?

Incepting is a fine art.  On one hand, you want to subtlety influence thoughts.  But in doing so, there's the high possibility of what's being relayed not being understood in full or stretched.

Let me give you an idea of what I mean.  I was the first writer, at least that I know of, who was like wait a minute, the Lakers did not have an "A+" offseason.  Right after that post, I noticed the mainstream media began embracing that idea.  But I wasn't like criticizing LAL's roster per se.

Walker Kessler, as it currently stands, is far from an "A-list center", at least in terms of production (tho he's now like a celebrity).  But at least he holds more promise for the franchise than Ayton did.

Or let me say if I were dissing anybody, it wasn't Luka or Kessler or Reaves but rather the braintrust.  Dudes have been striking out for years now.  And even in my last post, when I implied that Doncic is in a worse position (in terms of potentially winning championship) now than he was with the Mavs, let me point out that offensively, he's by far the most-versatile PG in the league.  So the logic would sorta be that yeah, go out there and get him the best 5 you can afford and then fill out the middle, sorta like the Knicks have done, since wings are more or less in abundance these days.

I'm sure I even said this before, that one of the many major mistakes the Lakers have made of late was last year, they should have traded Lebron, not AD, for Luka.  They're fucked up because now, the mythic Lakers' mystique that made the best of the best want to play for the franchise is no longer there.

Being LAL, you're not even supposed to be out there chasing centers type shit.  They rather should want to play for you.  And Wemby just signed like a five-year extension, I'm pretty sure fully guaranteed, so who knows when or if Los Angeles will get the best C in the NBA again.

This is something else I noticed recently.  I was the first writer, at least that I know of, who was like yeah, if Lebron wants to win a championship with one of the teams on his shortlist, the Sixers are the best option.  Then, the mainstream picked up on that also.  Prior to making that statement, they were just as much, if not moreso, advocating the likes of the Nuggets, Heat or Cavs in terms of LBJ bringing home another trophy.

Then when he finally made his decision, I was like, big fun but still, not a guaranteed championship.  After posting that, now the mainstream is questioning 'his fit' in Philly.  But prior to making that statement, it seemed that they were all for it and super excited.

So this is what I wanted to clarify.  Embiid, not Lebron, is the x-factor.  There is one thing I've been saying for like five years straight that the mainstream media never reiterated, sometimes I believe because they're too afraid or perhaps are disallowed from doing so.  LBJ absolutely sucks on defense.  He's an alltime great defensively, you know, when you go back to earlier in the century.  But now, relatively speaking, he's old AF.

They say that, when NBA players start to age, the first thing to go is their athleticism.  But with some players, except those who are really locked in on that end (like Draymond), the first thing to go is rather their defensive awareness.  Go and look at some of Kareem's games later in his career.

I spoke of this many times before, based on my own experiences and observations.  Once dudes start circling 40, you can't really count on them to play defense anymore, nor can you chastise them for not doing so, because you know, they're like elders and shit.

EASTERN TEAMS THAT CAN DEFEAT PHILLY

So the way I see it, there are currently two, maybe three teams (if the Raptors actually get Kawhi) in the East than can defeat Philly, even if the Sixers are at full strength.  First is the Knicks, and I say that with a grain of salt, because losing Mitchell Robinson was indeed a big loss.

You'll notice that the two teams that made the Finals last season, neither was dealing with major injuries.  So here's to hoping that NYK lucks out like that again.

In 2025, when Robinson was injured during the postseason, NYK got upset by the Pacers.  I don't know much about 'the dreaded second apron' and shit like that.  But maybe in this case, you know, after just winning a historic championship, Dolan shoulda just bit the bullet.

The Knicks entered the last couple of seasons with the most all-around talented starting lineup in the NBA, even moreso than OKC.  But now, presuming that Lebron will start and also with the addition of Brown, Philly is more talented offensively.

And here's further testament to just how great James is.  He's made the world more or less forget that, oh shit, Giannis just teamed up with Adebayo, instantly giving the Heat the most potent twin towers in the league and arguably even of the last 40 years, since Olajuwon teamed up with Samson.  Off the top of my head, there's only like three other teams I can think of, maybe four, that currently have viable twin towers.  But unlike the rest, Miami has two 7-footers who are basically wings.

Some years back, I predicted that the NBA will eventually get to the point where you have teams with like 5 Giannises, you know, like 5 Garnetts type shit.  The Heat right now are closest to fulfilling that prophecy.  And let's not forget that they have more of a winning culture than the Knicks or Sixers.  Old ass Pat Riley, who deadass coached the Showtime Lakers, is still in the game calling shots.  And they're one of the top three organizations not only in developing talent but getting it to mesh.

THE VALUE OF A GLUE GUY

And let's not forget the Cavs also.  They've been getting dogged a lot of late, and no one really believes in them, understandably so, since they've been one of the deepest teams for like three seasons now but never really achieved shit as a unit.  But that said, finally making to the ECF, they have experienced progress.  And despite losing Dean Wade and perhaps one or two peripheral dudes, it's not like these guys are scrubs.  They have two lock future HOFs, one in his prime - and potentially a third also.

What Cleveland needs is a glue guy at the 3 who can make all of these pieces click which, all things considered, is a formidable task.  And that's an interesting observation, because how many years now have the Cavs needed that 3?  But instead, they're out there trading for PGs and shit.

People sleep on the likes on Josh Hart (and Draymond).  He may never put up the type of stats that rationalize a max contract, but trust me, it's unlikely NYK would have won that championship without him.

When a team is overtalented yet not necessarily compatible, you usually need someone who can make it all click.  If the Cavs had Hart, they could win a championship.

Back when Lebron teamed up with D-Wade and Bosh, that player was Mario Chalmers, who never got his flowers.  When Shaq played with Kobe, the Lakers had a number of glue guys.  But those types that can actually facilitate championships, they're rare, perhaps because they don't get ample love.

You have a better chance making a name for yourself as a chuck than someone willing to sacrifice.  So besides Hart and Green, currently I can't even think of anyone else who Cleveland can slot in there to desired effect.  That's how awkward - for lack of a better word - their starting lineup is.

PARITY ACHIEVED?

Whether or not parity has already been achieved depends on your definition of the word, whether it means everyone being in the middle, or rather everyone potential champions.  We're about to enter a season, for the first time ever that I can think of, with like 10 contenders - at least three in the West (don't sleep on the Rockets) and perhaps even six or seven in the East (don't sleep on the Wizards either).  This should be interesting, you know, if the U.S. doesn't bake and become too hot to even play basketball inside.