So I was listening to the Brian Kenny show on the drive home today, and he was asking the question: If you had to start an all-USA team, or even an all-world team, who would you start with? If we’re talking draft scenario, who do you take with the first pick? It’s not a new question, but it was prompted by comments from Phil Jackson that he’d go with Dwight. My first thought is that such comments cannot be taken at face value. I’m sure more important for Phil was the psychological weight his comments might carry to potential (at the time) finals opponent James. We know Phil plays a wicked game. But it doesn’t keep us from evaluating the question and resultant (no matter how tongue-in-cheek) statement as they relate to our own opinions.Thus, who you got? The second thought that comes to mind re: BK’s ponderance is, uh, there already are all-USA teams and, at least, all-NBA teams selected, which ideally equates to all-world but we won’t get into that. So where does Dwight stand in these listings? (list n. An inclination to one side, as of a ship; a tilt.intr. & tr.v. list·ed, list·ing, lists To lean or cause to lean to the side) He made all-NBA for the 2nd year in a row. Okay. And he was on Team USA. But what transpired therein? Going into the Olympics, Dwight figured to stand head and shoulders above the comp in Beijing. What really happened, though, was that Dwight, athlete though he is, couldn’t keep up with little gnats flying about him in China. Bosh came to play a more significant role.
Which isn’t really a slam on Dwight. It’s just a big memorandum on the style-direction the game’s been taking for some time now. Big men are out. Point gods are back en vogue. Id est, I would actually go with Chris Paul over Dwight if I was starting a team, drafting from the entire world. Brian Kenny went with the obvious Lebron pick, and callers agreed with the obligatory Kobe name drop, which Kenny quickly refuted (and I would too). The point at the heart of the question, though, was the comparative singularity of Dwight’s talents to the relatively replaceable skill set of Lebron. Kenny, though going with Lebron, made the point that you could make up for his production more easily with a handful of substitutes or composites, but you couldn’t make up for the post presence that Dwight provides. Thus the illuminative quality given to Phil Jackson’s perhaps, in reality, throw-away comments.
See the line-up, Lebron? Yeah, you just might be called out next...The lag that followed Dwight from that experience was the criticism of his growth. Pundits said he wasn’t anywhere near where he needed to be. He had been the only Olympian to suffer from losing a summer, because he had failed to pick up new moves. And there was the early fade only weeks ago, when he looked like he was pulling a Ewing (on several levels I won’t get into). And then came another wave. Dwight nailed a few free throws. He nailed a few more. He went mythical on our asses in the Conference Finals. This is the stuff legends are supposed to be made of. And Dwight’s been showing himself capable of attaining that. Superman was always a deflatable hero. In my mind, D-Ho fits more into the Captain American mold. The humble beginnings look all wrong for this strapping young lad, but if you talk refinement and skill, then yes.
Remember when Tim Duncan looked terrible in his first ever summer camp? It was all a careful scheme by Popovich, getting him to learn things rather than dominate when it didn’t mean anything. It looks as if Dwight and SVG have pulled the same kind of veil trick. (sidebar: dismantling the COY MB in the CF was totally SVG’s Dream knocking off the Admiral moment…and by the way, don’t hold it against Mike Brown. Deconstruction at the hands of a Dream isn’t REALLY any kind of diminishment.) Anyway, it seems that all this has been gestational. That Dwight has turned the corner. However, there are too many red flags. Downhill only goes so long. What happens when the Lakers really test this Magic team? What happens when Hedo leaves in free agency this summer? Okay, Jameer comes back, but still. What happens when Superman comes back to earth? Hopefully he’ll be able to remold himself, become not an impossibility but rather an ideal.
Remember when Tim Duncan looked terrible in his first ever summer camp? It was all a careful scheme by Popovich, getting him to learn things rather than dominate when it didn’t mean anything. It looks as if Dwight and SVG have pulled the same kind of veil trick. (sidebar: dismantling the COY MB in the CF was totally SVG’s Dream knocking off the Admiral moment…and by the way, don’t hold it against Mike Brown. Deconstruction at the hands of a Dream isn’t REALLY any kind of diminishment.) Anyway, it seems that all this has been gestational. That Dwight has turned the corner. However, there are too many red flags. Downhill only goes so long. What happens when the Lakers really test this Magic team? What happens when Hedo leaves in free agency this summer? Okay, Jameer comes back, but still. What happens when Superman comes back to earth? Hopefully he’ll be able to remold himself, become not an impossibility but rather an ideal.
This is all rhetoric, and I’m getting tired. What I’m really saying is, there are a lot of people who look great in the one playoffs and then gutter out in the grind of another NBA season. Here’s hoping Dwight’s not one of them. Here’s hoping he doesn’t cave to the irresistible narrative of the Mamba. Actually, it’s not that overpowering when you really take some Derrida to it. Flex those deconstructive muscles, Dwight. Let’s see ‘em. Here’s calling you out, kid. Go get ‘em.
