NYHypocriC

This is less of an article and more of a thought that's too big to be confined by a tweet, so know that going in if you're a stickler for article layout, tone, and fluidity; not going to be one of those posts.

Anyone who knows me knows that there's not much about NBA basketball that I don't like to discuss. If anything, I think a borderline flaw of my personality is that I have a really hard time talking about basketball casually. What I mean by that is, if someone notices me wearing a Mavs hat in a pizza place and asks me what I think of the Knicks while he's waiting for his food to be ready, rather than simply say "they're struggling" or even the slightly more in-depth but equally brief answer of "Melo's holding the ball too much and putting the team in a funk," I have a tendency to jump into thirty to sixty second diatribes about how Baron Davis' return won't solve the team's issues. To be fair, sometimes I've had some really cool spontaneous pizza place convos as a result, but more often than not I get polite nods and generic "yeahs" and the occasional "aren't you the guy from those Miller Place theatre productions?"

My point in saying that is to underline the fact that while I have an opinion about most everything NBA, I really don't have many basketball hot buttons. That is to say that while there's not much I won't talk about, I'm not the kind of person who is of the belief that my opinion about the game is unquestionably right. However, I do have a couple of pet peeves that I feel are worth airing out in this micro-forum.

1. Kids eight and older who where LeBron James jerseys and couldn't name more than 10 other players in the entire league. While no childcare expert, I've worked at a summer camp for a good five years and these kids are out there and growing in numbers since the Miami ordeal. For the record, eight and younger I can see just having the jersey for style, or as a gift from the cool aunt or something, but there comes a time when a kid has to be conscious of what they're wearing and take responsibility for it.

A story to illustrate my point. http://polidmb.blogspot.com/2011/07/lots-of-people-talking-few-of-them-know.html

Secondly, it bothers me at this point when people are huge New York Knick fans and yet despise the Miami Heat.

Yes, LeBron James, Wade, and Bosh changed the landscape of this generation's NBA irrevocably. Yes, at the time, to some, the formation of super teams built around 3 (arguable) mega-stars of the hardwood seemed to force the wheels of change for major metropolitan teams and all but slam the final nail in the coffin of any hope of contention for small-market teams. Things appear to have calmed down a bit since then as Miami has not yet won their predestined title and small markets like OKC, Denver, and Portland continue to be sleeper picks for title-worthy teams. However, in the aftermath, resentment still remains as some Knick fans scoff and lament at the idea of the Big Three of South Beach, while enjoying their own Trio of Doom in Chandler, 'Melo and Amare on the Garden floor four nights a week.

Let's bear in mind that the Knicks had just as much of an intention to land LeBron as Miami did and also had their sights set on a future acquisition of Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or other top then-free agents. For that reason alone, whenever I hear a Knick fan moan about the Heat, it sounds more like sour grapes than a critique on the state of the NBA.

Now, I realize as much as the next guy that Miami has its own little swagger and nuances about itself that make them pretty insufferable. Did 'Melo hold a TV special to highlight his destination that took an hour to say what could have been said in two minutes? No. Did the Knicks have a parade after 'Melo's signing during which he and Amare used their fingers and toes to keep track of how many future titles they would earn? No. Did 'Melo and Amare pretend to cough and be sick after losing the previous game to a flu-ridden German in embarrassing fashion? No. The Heat have their quirks that I can see making LeBron and whatever franchise he's with easy to dislike, but to have such a dramatic passion for Knick success and Miami failure is still a bout of extremist thought that I can't quite endorse.

The Brooklyn boy himself, Carmelo Anthony, did not have a TV special to announce his destination, but his own countdown to free agency was a spectacle in and of itself larger than any LeBron decision special. Here's a professional basketball player using the media time and time again to state his desire to leave the team to which he's currently signed. LeBron was foolish, but at least waited until the summer to hit the eject button. That team environment in Denver was clearly toxic to the common fan, so imagine what it was like for those actually involved. Call me crazy, but I'd prefer an hour of farce television over half a season's worth of seeing your star player beg for a passport to greener pastures while his team crumbles around him. If you ask me, neither guy is the epitome of how to properly handle pending free agency.

If you're a Knick fan who is essentially saying "if you can't beat them join them" and basically telling me to blow this piece out my nose because super teams are the new trend, the Knicks are following suit, and you resent the fact that I'm trying to guilt trip you into turning your back on a team that is finally relevant for the first time in 10 years, I respect the heck out of that, believe me. I've been a Maverick fan since MJ hung up his red and black shorts and I learned the name Michael Finley. It's not like my team is hurting for money, stingy, or building a team brick by brick through the draft.

What I am saying is, if you're going to turn a blind eye to the correlation between New York and Miami's rise to power (though the Knicks don't look like it lately), you've got to let your Miami grudges go at this point. It was a long time ago, by professional sports' standards. By all means, hope the Knicks crush the Heat when they square off, but beyond that let New York play its game and Miami theirs and if you want to complain about it, look in the mirror.