Sign O’ the NBA Times – Championship Teams That Win Games by Making Their Opponents Lose and the Perils of That Strategy

There was a time when the best teams in the NBA proved their worth by being the proverbial unstoppable (or unstoppa-‘Bull’, as it were) team: the “you bring your ‘A’ game, and we’ll trump you with ours” type of championship team. Teams that could sustain the best effort their opponents had in them and still manage to come out on top: mostly due to the play and leadership of the enviable combination of superstars found on that dominant team’s roster. Teams like the old 80’s Celtics. Their fast-breaking Showtime Laker rivals. The Bulls Dynasty. Even the Kobe and Shaq (or Shaq and Kobe) Lakers. Aside from that brief Piston run (and don’t get it twisted, because there was a lot of seminal talent on that roster, too), this is how the NBA was run, and Stern basked in its marketability.

Wow...check out all the collective Hall of Famers...and for the, uh, white guys...future GM's.

But with the advent of salary cap, parody gradually began to steer things in a different direction. No longer could that powerhouse squad plug a hole in their frontline with a former number 1 overall pick (google Thompson, Mycheal) or readily accept the ‘luck’ of the draw by snapping up that franchise-saving generational player (ask Celtic fans about how that Duncan lottery turned out). Teams began to acquire a strong three-player base and then pad them with the sort of role players that would help you win games. But how were these games to be won? Why don’t we look at the two favourites of the Conference Finals series to answer that question…

These days, three's company for a championship...better step up, Manu. Then maybe Timmy will give back your nose too.

Much to the chagrin of those who desire the sort of telegenetic basketball our ancestors were privy too, in 2007 we are watching teams that absolutely make the game hell for their opponents. Force them to shoot under 40% from the floor…make that under 20% from three. Keep them under 90 points…howabout 80? Force their superstar to give up the ball and make their role players beat us. Sound familiar? Using boarderline dirty tactics to get in the head of your opponents? Why not! Yes, ‘Lowest Common Denominator Ball’ has become an art for championship-caliber teams and with a master like Gregg Popovich pulling the strings in the Playoffs, it has proven to be deadly in an extended series.

And they said I was effective at being...disruptive.

But as the past weekend showed, this strategy is designed to win wars, not battles. Lebron and the other guys managed to shoot just north of 49% from the floor to shrug off the Piston-induced slowed down pace to take Game 3. I still find the intensity of the Lebron media scrutiny mind-boggling – where questioning whether or not to pass to a wide open teammate becomes a headlining issue, but the 10 point performance that got his team there is barely worth the mention? And the polarizing response to a no-call on 'the King' from the same group that roundly criticized the NBA for the sort of referee pandering to (certain) superstars that ruined last year’s Finals? Double and triple standards (like those double and triple teams) be damned, for the cameras and professional scribes, the story is all Lebron, all the time. But in the real world, it’s about how those other guys in Cavs’ uniforms perform and forcing Drew Gooden and Daniel Gibson to step up and make shots down the stretch sounds more like a strategy to frustrate LBJ into leaving Cleveland as a free agent than one that will win a conference finals series. And somewhere, Shawn Carter doesn't even need to see Rihanna's album sales to crack a smile...

Utah managed to deliver an unconditional ass-whupping Saturday, and while I have more faith in the competitiveness of this series, I have serious reservations about the Jazz winning in San Antonio. To expect Duncan to get into foul trouble regularly is an extreme reach, but if the Jazz can harass Ginobili into shooting poorly on a given night, they may have a chance to steal one away from home; as long as their own supporting players show up as well. But you know Popovich has a plan for them, anyways.

That’s the beauty of this style of play for the purveyor; by turning every game into an excruciating mental exercise, you maximize your opposition’s chances of failure. Especially when you target the other team's weaker links.

Both Detroit and San Antonio take away their opponents options better than any other team in the League: the Pistons may have more depth, but if these Playoffs have proved anything, it’s that the Spurs have the best coach in the NBA. These two teams are destined to collide in the Finals, and just like in 2005, it won’t be pretty. Expect a series chock full of great defensive rotations, role players deciding games with their timely perimeter shooting and home courts to be hotly contested, yet ultimately defended. Least Common Denominator Ball at its finest…

$5 says that Sheed gets a tech after they give Duncan the foul with the basket...