Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 30, 1995 TAG: 9505310029
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Pinwheels.
The NBA has decided that a spin move is OK on the floor but not in the stands.
In reversing the reversal of an earlier reversal in Game 3 of the Orlando-Indiana playoff series Saturday, the NBA decided the spinning wheels used by fans behind baskets violates the league's ``major distraction rule.''
Apparently, Dennis Rodman's chameleon hair does not violate that rule, so who knows what color he'll be wearing tonight in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals?
Rod Thorn, the NBA's vice president of operations, now is the VP of pinwheels, too. In Saturday's game at Market Square Arena, fans spun the large wheels while Orlando's Penny Hardaway was shooting a free throw.
The game officials had the pinwheels - already used in Orlando Arena during the Magic's series with the Bulls on free throws -- stopped. Pacers coach Larry Brown screamed, and the officials then decided the pinwheels were legal.
Thorn settled the issue before Monday's Game 4 of the Pacers-Magic series. As for squigglies - those are those snake-like, long balloons waved to distract free-throw shooters - Thorn said they are OK.
That's a lot of hot air.
The issue is larger than those multi-colored big wheels out of a Mel Brooks movie. However, the deterioration of free-throw marksmanship at every level of hoops has nothing to do with shooters being driven to distraction.
The point is just how far the NBA will allow the paying customers to stretch their fun after they pay and average $40 for a ticket.
Certainly, most of the NBA's appeal to the younger generation - the one lost to baseball - cuts to the carnival-like atmosphere that has engulfed the game too much.
There's nothing wrong with the sideshow, as long as it doesn't affect the game. The pregame laser shows, high-flying mascots and music much louder than the Cavaliers' uniforms have reached their limit with some people, however.
During Sunday's workout, Brown lamented to reporters covering the Eastern Conference finals about the noise that has invaded the game while the ball is in play.
In Orlando, it's rap music. At Indy, it's a revving car engine. Certainly, there's nothing wrong with entertainment, and considering the NBA's popularity, what the league is doing has worked.
Brown can come off preachy and whiny, but he's concerned about what's happening to a game he loves. He's concerned about showboating, the examples being set in what has become too much a ``me'' game through promotion.
Brown said he was unhappy Saturday when the Market Square public address announcer raised his voice in calling a foul on Shaquille O'Neal.
``I told them, `Can't you just say, "Foul on 32?''' Brown wondered. ``I like to see kids grow up and want to be basketball players for the right reasons, but all the emphasis is on individual play.
``If they want to be in an individual sport, they should play tennis or golf. Basketball is the greatest team sport in the world, but guys only want to dunk or shoot 3-pointers, and after they do it they acknowledge their own success instead of their teammates helping them.''
Brown isn't alone among NBA coaches who have railed about the exaggerated player introductions, particularly those highlighting one player. Maybe they're coming off as old-fashioned, but then they are paid to try to get a team - and not a marketable player - to the championship.
The NBA first soared to where it is on Dr. J's acrobatics, then flew higher with a Bird, Magic and Air Jordan. Yes, they were stars, but they didn't win just by being soloists.
They were, however, the show, and the NBA needs to assure that they not only have successors like Shaq and Reggie Miller and Grant Hill, but that the players remain the game.
The days of organ music in Boston Garden are history, of course. However, the special effects in the game belong only on the floor, provided by the shooting stars.
When the NBA uses the term ``clear out,'' it shouldn't be a reference to a section of squiggly-waving pinheads behind the basket.
by CNB