Basketbawful

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Pat Riley and Phil Jackson hate each other. They always have, always will. They hated each other when they were players, and they've hated each other while coaching. The fued has calmed down a bit since the Knicks-Bulls rivalry bit the dust, but the antipathy is still there. And if there was one thing on this earth I could always count on, it was that these two men would never, ever agree on anything.

But today it happened.

The NBA just announced a policy change that will allow teams to designate 13 playoff-eligible players and then deactivate one on a per-game basis. This differs from the regular season policy, which allows teams to have 15 players, three of which must be deactivated from game to game. Riley doesn't understand why the playoff roster can't carry 15 players too.

"All year long we do 15 players, then they should do 15 in the playoffs. I don't understand the thinking at all behind it."

When I read this, I automatically expected Jackson to take the opposite stance. That's the way it works, right? Wrong. The Zing Master actually agreed with Riley.

"I don't see why they don't have the 15. I don't understand why you have 15 all season long and in the playoffs you have 13. That doesn't make any sense. If you're going to have a rule for the regular season, you might as well have it for the playoffs."

Unless I'm wrong -- and I'm never wrong -- these two polar opposites are in unified agreement over this issue. All I can possibly imagine is that they were asked the question at the exact same time, so neither of them knew what the other one had to say. I keep expecting the world to be radically alterned in some kind of Back To The Future time paradox. Or maybe some Old Testament, real wrath of God type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies. Rivers and seas boiling. Forty years of darkness. Earthquakes, volcanoes. The dead rising from the grave. Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together...mass hysteria!! Okay. I'm done.

Prehistoric basketball players. Who hate each other.

1 Comments:

Anonymous said...

and phil has the same stache

7/22/2008 2:44 PM