The NBA's Culture Wars, Pt. 1

While watching the NBA playoffs, I have been intrigued by the number of cultural issues that are being played out on the basketball court. I'm not generally given to over-the-top theorizing, but I feel the need to gradually record some of the observations I've made while watching this year's match-ups.

Do you remember the days of Magic's Lakers and Bird's Celtics dueling each other in the NBA Playoffs? Then you clearly also remember the time professional basketball was a nice little proxy for America's ongoing race wars--which only intensified when Isiah's Pistons joined the fray later.

Well, I couldn't help but get a feeling of deja vu after watching the Utah Jazz finish off the Golden State Warriors last night to move on to the Western Conference finals.

Granted, this isn't so cut-and-dry as a so-called "blue collar" team with a preponderance of white stars against a flashy, urban "Showtime" team. Though race is certainly a consideration, the Jazz-Warriors series seemed to be more a about a clash of cultures. The players and coaches of each team, as well as their style of play, have reflected wildly differing worldviews throughout the series. Independently, this is not a big deal. The important thing, however, is how each team appears to also reflect the desires and expectations of their home cities, their fans, and, by extension, that segment of the greater American culture that they represent.

Golden State
The Warriors are something like a proto-"Showtime": entertaining and freewheeling, but not quite as polished. Their reckless abandon--quick transition baskets, all-or-nothing defense, and three-pointer after three-pointer--is immensely fun to watch. Their proclivity for flagrant fouls and in-game meltdowns is not, but it adds to Golden State's reputation as a team on the edge.

Personnel-wise, the Warriors are a team that wouldn't have even sniffed the playoffs if they hadn't pulled off a huge trade with the Indiana Pacers in January. This was a trade that either changed how the Warriors saw themselves or made them into the team they wanted to be all along. They added the troubled-but-talented Stephen Jackson and the somewhat disgruntled Al Harrington while subtracting softbodies Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy, Jr. (hard to believe he was a #3 overall draft pick once upon a time). This was a move fraught with racial undercurrents: the Warriors trading away two overrated white players to Indiana (where Larry Bird occupies a position in the front office) and getting two underrated black players in return.

Now, a caveat: race wasn't the major consideration here. After all, the teams also swapped four bench players, of which two more black players went to the Pacers and a white player to the Warriors. However, the significance of Golden State purging its starting five of all players who did not fit coach Don Nelson's run-and-gun playground style cannot be overstated. It was this style of play that allowed the Warriors to achieve a 23-20 record after the trade and, more importantly, helped with Golden State's A.I.S. (Asses in Seats) issues. The proverbial chickens had finally come home to roost in Oakland.

Utah
The Jazz, stylistically, are something quite different. Though they aren't particularly exceptional at anything, they can do a number of things quite well. They are, for lack of a better word, a "textbook" team. This is reminiscent of the Celtics teams of the 1980s, who got so much credit for "grinding it out" with superb fundamental play against supposedly more "athletic" opponents. I hesitate to fully extend this analogy, though, since the Jazz seem quite versatile and able to adapt to several different styles of play. Also, the all-important presence of Carlos Boozer is still no Larry Legend. It's barely even Parish.

Anyway, long-tenured coach Jerry Sloan is famous for his "tough love" and comparatively conservative style (e.g. reluctance to play rookies for any meaningful amount of time). John Amaechi, when announcing that he was gay, also touched on what is either Sloan's disdain for aberration in his coaching system or his outright intolerance and bigotry, depending on your opinion.

Furthermore, the Jazz have been arguably most active in the pursuit of high-profile international players, as European cagers are closely associated with a more "fundamental" style of play. What results is another curious racial disparity, and one that looks like there was a little bit of effort behind it. During Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, the Jazz at one point had Andrei Kirilenko (Russian), Gordan Giricek (Croatian), Mehmet Okur (Turkish), and Matt Harpring (white American) on the floor. In today's NBA, that is highly unusual. Hell, it would have been unusual 20 years ago. Paging Ted "White Heroes" Stepien? (Number six on this list)

The Series
Even before a single point was scored, you had a classic mismatch of styles, players, and everything else that figures into the outcome of an actual basketball game. However, you also had a huge difference in fanbases and public perception, which is what makes all of this so relevant in my eyes.

Golden State's fans were routinely lauded as the best in the NBA--passionate, knowledgeable, and eager to see their team finally make the playoffs. Their support mirrored a Warriors team that was beyond being "happy to be here" like a typical 8th-seeded team. For a team that hails from Oakland, the us-against-the-world mentality was fitting--seizing opportunities with a frenetic style of play because it might just disappear tomorrow. In the home of hyphy and high technology, the dotcom boom and urban decay, the Warriors perfectly captured the Bay Area zeitgeist. Somebody ought to help, but nobody's going to. You're on your own, baby.

Utah's fans were the butt of a lot of what I thought were a lot of inappropriate and unfair Mormon jokes...until I saw the home crowds. Without a doubt, the Jazz are a red state team. It was nice to see a little edge to the fans when they started making parodies of Golden State's "We Believe" t-shirts (the most annoying instance of sartorial conformity in the NBA, save for the cult-like impulses of white-clad Miami Heat fans). Nonetheless, fan conduct echoed the poise of consummate Jazz "good guy" Derek Fisher. Utah (both the fanbase and the team) has done pretty well for itself without bowing to social pressures and has carved a workable niche out of its thoroughly modern surroundings. No change is necessary, thank you very much.

The Jazz's triumph, then, is a disappointment for me. Though many found Golden State's underdog story compelling, I also felt they were more representative of basketball's place in American culture and just plain more fun to watch. Thuggish reputation aside, I was a definite Warriors partisan for the past week. Utah had skill but no style, Golden State had passion but no restraint. And never, one assumes, the twain shall meet for either team--or their fans.