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One hundred years of basketball -- players getting less skilled but more athletic, arrogant and volatile -- has come to a head.
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And this is what happens every time the ball changes hands in the final minute.
The officials are helpless, because the game has slipped completely out of control. For 47 minutes, players do their damnedest not to foul, because they want to be around for No. 48. But in that final minute, they foul constantly. They foul denying the inbounds pass and they foul contesting shots and they foul going for rebounds -- and they dare officials to call any of it, knowing officials don't want to be blamed for turning a playoff game into penalty kicks.
That was Game 2 of the Orlando-Detroit series, but it could be Game 2 of the Cavs and Celtics on Thursday night, too. And if it is, I'll do what I did for Detroit's 100-93 victory in Game 2: change channels with 30 seconds left and catch the highlights later. Life's too short for that s---.
The solution is simple, but impossible. It would require tough love, and I'm guessing neither Stern nor his officials are tough enough. The solution is to officiate that 48th minute like the previous 47. When LeBron James shoulders into the lane and pinballs off two players before launching a running layup through and over all those grasping hands, call something. And if the shot falls off the rim and 10 players attack each other to get the rebound, call something.
Call a foul every time a foul happens, and when the offending player and his coach object a little too much, call the technical, too. Let tonight's NBA playoff games be decided by free throws. And tomorrow night's. And the next night's, if that's what it takes. Make the 48th minute as unwatchable as possible. Eventually the players and coaches will get the message.
This is like spanking your kids when they misbehave. It's hard, and at first it might seem futile. The neighbors won't like all that screaming, either. But eventually the kids get it. And in your heart of hearts, you know spanking them is for the best. Screw the neighbors.
Same thing in the playoffs. The players play so nicely for 47 minutes. But if they act up in the 48th, NBA, screw 'em. Take their ball and go home.
