The 2010-2011 NBA season opens late next month with the promise of that team from South Beach giving the teams from Beantown and Hollywood a serious threat to their lofty billings.The current status of these teams however, is not new, considering that long before the Miami Thrice or DeBrosh or whatever else we may call the fortification of the Heat, there already were teams that dominated the league with their original versions of terrific trios.
Of course, we include in this "super team" list the current Laker and Celtic teams who have shown dominance the past three years -- Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in green and Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum (or Lamar Odom or Ron Artest or Derek Fisher) in gold. No need to elaborate.
We begin with the 1996-1998 Chicago Bulls. It was the Michael Jordan show supported by his sidekick Scottie Pippen. We all know their stats. One big factor that helped this duo was a 6-7 workhorse who matched his high basketball IQ with his ridiculous eccentricities.
The Worm, a.k.a Dennis Rodman led the league for 7 straight seasons in rebounding with an average of not less than 14.9 rebounds to a high of 18.7 per game.
Multi-colored hair and cross-dressing aside, Rodman was an offensive threat in a different kind of way. He doesn't score much but is a great passer and excellent offensive rebounder, contributing to the team's offense in a non-traditional way.
Kevin Garnett in his youth and Dwight Howard in his prime haven't matched Rodman's rebounding averages, despite them being taller than the Worm by at least four inches. If not for his weirdness, Rodman could have been enshrined in basketball's Hall of Fame.
The Bad Boys era of the Detroit Pistons controlled the league between 1987 to 1990.
The team everybody loves to hate is anchored on the trio of Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Bill Laimbeer. With high-caliber role players in Vinnie Johnson, John Salley, Rick Mahorn, James Edwards and a younger and tattoo-less Rodman, the tough Pistons made every playing night a bruising affair for the opposition.
From 1980 to 1991, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers reigned supreme.
The Showtime Lakers had 9 NBA Finals appearances and won 5 championships. Boston appeared in 8 NBA championship series, winning 3 titles.
LA Lakers' Showtime squad has Hall of Famers Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and Bob McAdoo with support guys in Norm Nixon, Michael Cooper, Mychal Thompson, Byron Scott, AC Green and the NBA's original version of Superman, Kurt Rambis. If you are as old as this writer, catching on TV the delayed broadcast of the fluidity of Showtime was pure joy.
Boston on the other hand relied on Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson and Robert Parrish. Providing the much needed contribution is Danny Ainge, perhaps the best role player of that era. As a footnote, following his stint with the men in green, Ainge then played for Portland and Phoenix, giving these two teams the much needed support which brought them to the Finals.
Miami has done one heck of a recruiting wonder in putting together three of the league's current top 15 players. This is an insanely strong team and in two to three years, they will dominate the league. A super team most definitely but they still have to contend with the two current and more established super teams in Boston and Los Angeles.
A super team in the making could be the Oklahoma Thunder. They need another top talent to complement Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. If they can do this, then they could be Miami's biggest stumbling block.
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Another season opens tomorrow morning for the Governor Gwen Garcia Unity Volleyball Cup at the Mandaue City Sports Complex. The GUV Cup has been a venue for discovering raw volleyball talents and it sure did bore fruit. I know of a few girls who have shown their talents last year who are now playing for different colleges and universities. This year promises to be more exciting as both the women and men's division are allowed to field imports. See you at the games.