Basketball Is the Real Selling Point in Finals

On the bright side, all isn’t lost yet.

The NBA’s heart may be in Los Angeles, mourning for the Lakers, or in Phoenix, awaiting the arrival of Shaquille O’Neal and the Miami Heat, but its Finals are here.

Just how unfortunate that is, or whether it turns out to be unfortunate at all, depends a lot on tonight’s Game 2 when the plucky, if not exactly star-studded Detroit Pistons meet the, uh, efficient San Antonio Spurs.

In a postseason in which everything else went wrong, this matchup arrived like a final thud when the Heat swooned in Game 7 of the East finals. You could almost hear the entire league office exclaiming in horror:

What, no Shaq?

No Big Entertainer, no Dwyane Wade, no shots of bikinis, palm trees and South Beach, no personalities at all unless you count Rasheed Wallace, whose werewolf act isn’t as much fun as O’Neal’s.

Everyone began saying this was about basketball now and purists would love it (both of them?). Of course, the basketball turned out to be so slow, the purists could go to the kitchen while Chauncey Billups brought the ball up, make a sandwich and still get back in time to see Richard Hamilton come off his fourth screen of the possession and bounce another 15-footer off the rim.

At the half, it was Pistons 37, Spurs 35, and looked like the end of the NBA, as we know it. Then the Spurs pulled away at the end, making it as bad as it could get, attraction-wise.

Thus, it was a pleasant surprise for the NBA when the overnight TV rating came in at 8.8, suggesting if this series develops some character, it’ll wind up in double figures with a shot at last season’s 11.5 for the Pistons and Lakers.

To put that in context, a year ago Commissioner David Stern said he would be happy with a 10, and that was when he still had the Fabulous Quarreling Lakers, the marquee team of marquee teams, hated in every corner of America (except ours).

Of course, character will require the Pistons to win two of the next three. Otherwise, we’re probably looking at another single-digit embarrassment.

Character will also require silence on the Larry Brown job-seeking front, but so far, so good. There hasn’t been a further revelation about Brown going to Cleveland, and, indeed, there were signs last week that both sides were backing away, with Cavalier owner Dan Gilbert interviewing Denver General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe.

Of course, it’s also possible Stern told every team that anyone who offers Brown anything this week is banned for life.

It really is about basketball now and always was. The problem was that the Lakers were so dominant, the East was so lame, the Finals were such walkovers and then, when an East team finally arose that could stand up to them, the Lakers promptly collapsed.

Of course, it would be nice if the league remembered to promote the game. No, really, you can promote basketball as well as personalities. Remember the “I Love This Game” spots, showing actual basketball back in the day?

It’s hard to accuse anyone of excess in an age in which the mighty NFL opens its season with a Jon Bon Jovi concert and closes it with Paul McCartney at halftime of the Super Bowl, but what the heck, let’s give it a shot.

Halftime is one thing, but if you have to put on a Las Vegas act before the start of your marquee event, it suggests you don’t think it’s exciting enough to carry itself.

So Alanis Morissette sang the national anthem. Then Will Smith did a song-and-dance number with a dozen girls cavorting and a dozen guys dribbling gold basketballs.

Then it took 10 minutes to tear down the set. There was so much equipment spread out, Gregg Popovich found himself unable to walk down the sideline to wish Brown well.

The players were told they had only two minutes to warm up, but when Tim Duncan yelped, they put two more minutes on the clock. The game started at 9:24 p.m. in the East -- and finished after midnight.

Of course, enough is enough, in theory, anyway.

The NBA’s new, embarrassing association with Republican strategist Matthew Dowd has reportedly turned out to be a short one. Dowd is now said to have been working on a project, which is over.

Of course, the league may not have been enchanted that news of Dowd’s involvement got out, possibly from Dowd himself, making it look as if the NBA came to him, hat in hand, asking him to save it from itself.

However, it was fun while it lasted. USA Today ran a story showing there were more political strategists in sports, although you could argue about how helpful they were too.

Ari Fleischer, the former presidential press secretary, was reported to have helped Major League Baseball prepare to go in front of Congress for the steroid hearings.

Of course, the way I heard it, that didn’t turn out to be such a triumph.

Then there were Democratic strategists Mark Fabiani and Chris Lehane, who were reported to have advised the NHL on labor and media strategy.

Now that’s one I definitely wouldn’t want on my resume.

It’s too late for marketing. The NBA has already talked all the talk it can. Now let’s see which way this series walks.

Faces and Figures

There’s speculation Milwaukee could use its No. 1 pick for North Carolina forward Marvin Williams rather than Utah 7-footer Andrew Bogut. The interesting part is Rick Majerus -- once Bogut’s coach -- is helping the Bucks work out players and recently told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Williams is the best player in the draft. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Majerus and Bogut didn’t get along that well....Agent Billy Ceisler confirmed that Pittsburgh’s Chris Taft, who started the season as the No. 1 prospect, is still dropping, telling the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “Like I told one GM, ‘You’re going to have a hard time convincing me that if you’re looking for a power forward in this draft, there’s one who can make the immediate impact of Chris, based on physical makeup and ability. And as far as potential, he’s probably 10% the player he could be.’ ” Talk about a great recommendation. My kid has underachieved to date, but who knows what he might do with you? ... Suggesting Taft may miss the lottery, Ceisler says Chris would look good alongside Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson if the New Jersey Nets took him at No. 15. “You’d have one of the best point guards and two other guys who will be double-teamed. The four [power forward] will get a lot of easy dunks and good looks. So if somebody said, ‘You weren’t in the lottery,’ I’d say, ‘Hey, I wasn’t a lottery pick, but I might have a better chance to win rookie of the year.’ ” ... Does that mean opponents will double-team Carter and Jefferson but not Kidd? And don’t you just get goose bumps when agents start talking Xs and O’s on behalf of their clients, however lame? ... Another great recommendation: Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said he supports junior Shavlik Randolph’s decision to enter the draft “100%.” ... Once a ballyhooed prospect, Randolph averaged 4.4 points and 4.3 rebounds last season. Krzyzewski must think he’s already armed for life.

Still crazy after all these years: Showing immaturity remains an issue among the Chicago Bulls -- on the management level -- Coach Scott Skiles turned up his nose at a four-year, $16-million extension and his agent fingered owner Jerry Reinsdorf as an ingrate. “Everybody is going to have to read between the lines,” agent Keith Glass said on a Chicago radio show. “I’ve been involved in this league for a long time -- maybe not as long as the owner of the Bulls -- I’ve never had anything like this. Ever. We know they’re going to start to lambaste Scott every chance they get. We’re aware of that. We know what’s gone on there in Chicago in the past.” ... Skiles then decided he could live with the indignity of working for $4 million, after all, and caved....Big question: Will Eddy Curry’s heart condition keep the team from re-signing him as a restricted free agent, and, if not, what happens when Skiles runs his mouth on Curry again in his free-agent season? ... Despite O’Neal’s struggles and Miami’s loss, the Heat is thought to be committed to giving him a three-year extension. “He knows he’s going to have to keep his weight lower,” team President Pat Riley told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Ira Winderman. “He bought into what we feel is the No. 1 thing for our culture, conditioning. Now the strength training is what’s going to allow the 323 pounds to be as strong as the 360 pounds. And he’s on his way. You’ve got to give the guy an absolute ton of credit for that.” ... Advised a headline in the Orlando Sentinel: “Pay Shaq what he wants; trust us, he’s worth it.”