After Michael Jordan retired from the Bulls (the second time), the NBA fell into a decade long funk. The game became terribly boring to watch for everyone from the casual fan to the most hardcore NBA supporter. What happened? Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal happened.

Since Jordan’s retirement, a team with either Tim Duncan or Shaquille O’Neal on the roster has won the NBA Championship, except for 2004 when the Pistons upset O’Neal’s Lakers in the finals. History will look back fondly on Shaq and Duncan for their dominance. Sports writers will nostalgically remember the era of the unstoppable big man. But us fans are the losers. Because we’re the ones who had to sit through the boredom of watching teams walk the ball up the court and dump it inside.

Until Don Nelson happened.

Nelson took over the Mavs and brought back his “don’t worry about defense, just outscore them” philosophy. Initially other NBA franchises looked at Nelson’s style as a gimmick, not unlike the “Run and Shoot” offense in college football.

Then Mike D’Antoni happened.

After Steve Nash picked up back to back league MVPs, and the Suns (along with the Mavs) became perennial contenders, the rest of the NBA took notice.

Look at the current standings in the Western Conference with the teams’ scoring averages:

1) Hornets - 100 ppg

2) Suns - 110 ppg

3) Lakers - 107 ppg

4) Utah - 105 ppg

5) San Antonio - 96 ppg

6) Dallas - 99 ppg

7) Golden St. - 110 ppg

8 ) Denver - 107 ppg

Even if you hate the NBA and have not watched a game all year, here’s all you need to know to get caught up: This is the Golden Age of the NBA Point Guard.

We may never see anything like this again in history. Other than the Lakers, every single team in the West either has a Hall of Fame point guard (Kidd, Nash, Iverson) or a guy with Hall of Fame talent (Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Baron Davis).

(Side Note: Did you know that the Suns were the team that drafted Steve Nash, and that he rode the pine as the third point guard behind starter Jason Kidd? Can you imagine both those dudes on the same team?)

Despite all of the interesting NBA storylines that may play out between now and the summer, here is the one you need to know: The Spurs have won 4 out of the last 9 championships. They have never won back to back. If the Spurs can get through the absolutely ridiculously competitive West this year and win the Championship, you have to legitimately narrow the conversation of greatest basketball player of all time down to Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan.

But this year I’m pulling for Shaq and the Suns. My odds are pretty much 2/1 that I’m siding with the right guy. I mean it’s always one of the two…

Previous Editions of Turf Toe:

• Super Bowl Prop Bet Extravaganza
• NFL Water Cooler Prep
• Fixing Mid-Major Bowl Tie-Ins
• The Big 10 Should Be a Mid-Major
• Playing the Role of Falcons’ Management, Booth

“Wicked Case of Turf Toe” is Booth’s weekly column dedicated to passing judgment on the world of sports.

Email This