The collective explanation for why the NBA All-Stars lost to Greece now seems to boil down to just one thing:  The pick-and-roll.  If you believe the columnists and pundits, the pick-and-roll apparently holds all the answers to the questions about America?s place in the basketball universe.  Who knew the pick-and-roll was so important in the scheme of things?  Perhaps we should be also looking at whether the pick-and-roll can help President Bush explain what happened to Iraq?s weapons of mass destruction, or if the pick-and-roll can shed light on those crop circles that keep popping up, or on solving the riddle of whom the ?Others? really are in Lost.  

We have just one thing to say about the pick-and-roll excuse for America?s loss to Greece:  The pervasiveness of the excuse is matched only by its flimsiness.  

Last week we discussed why the NBA lost:  American-style, individual basketball is simply not competitive against international, teamwork-focused players.  We raised the possibility that we may want to simply accept that America is no longer competitively superior internationally and continue to enjoy the individual accomplishments of NBA stars.  We will also underscore that we don?t really think there is anything wrong with our game ? it is fun, the players are amazing athletes, and the whole presentation provides a good return for your entertainment dollar.

But just how we have ended up with the brand of basketball that we have in the U.S.?  Now, don?t despair.  You?re not about to read yet another diatribe about junior high coaches not teaching fundamentals or players being unable to shoot beyond a three point line.    

No, we?re going ?Deep Throat? here:

Deep Throat: Follow the money.
Bob Woodward: What do you mean? Where?
Deep Throat: Oh, I can't tell you that.
Bob Woodward: But you could tell me that.
Deep Throat: No, I have to do this my way. You tell me what you know, and I'll confirm. I'll keep you in the right direction if I can, but that's all. Just... follow the money.  

To understand today?s American game, you have to ?follow the money?:

? Michael Jordan

His Airness is the best that ever played the game as measured by rings, stats and over-all transformative impact (though Lehane would take Russell if building a team from scratch and Fabiani prefers Magic or the Big Fella, Kareem Abdul Jabbar).  Jordan is the seminal figure that transitioned the NBA from the golden era of the 1980s defined by the Celtics and Laker teams to the current NBA where individual players are elevated above all else.

(A sidebar question:  How much do you think the 1986 Celtics or 1987 Lakers would have beaten Greece by?)  Jordan became the first player in any team sport to become his own one-man corporate entity ? shoes, underwear lines, Gatorade, the shaved head look, etc.  In this sense, ?23? showed that a team athlete could become fabulously wealthy and powerful above and beyond the team.  He became the model for the athlete as an individual; in Business School parlance, a vertically integrated corporate entity.

? Sports Center

By our admittedly unscientific account, last year Boston Celtic rookie Gerald ?G-Money? Green made Sports Center?s top ten highlights at least twice, despite getting into only 32 games, both times for some pretty unbelievable dunks (including one windmill throw down against Toronto with time winding down in a meaningless game).  Yet, as the Celtics fanatics on CelticsBlog.com constantly note, G-Money was just a kid who did not have the slightest clue how to play the game.   Yet those two highlight dunks put him on the map in a big way.  Videos of his dunks moved around the Internet like Paris Hilton videos (as do Green jams from summer pick-up games).  

G-Money will likely be featured in the NBA Slam Dunk contest this year; and he has a Reebok shoe deal ? not bad for a guy who spent a decent chunk of the season toiling away in the NBDL.  Alternatively, his teammate, Delonte West, as solid a team player as you will find in the league (and who may end up being one of the best players from his draft class) to the best of our memory has only ended up on Sports Center when he was dunked on by LeBron James.  The point of all of this is that Sports Center (which we religiously watch every night) has effectively reduced NBA coverage to six-second dunk highlights, boosting the profile, and the profits, of those who can dunk like G-Money regardless of the rest of their game.
 
? The Shoe Contracts

Nike and Adidas don?t give shoe contracts for successful defense of the pick-and-roll.  The shoe contracts are to the NBA what back end movie profits are to actors, especially in the modern cap era where players are looking to leverage their games to produce as much outside income as possible.    

? Agents

No one does capitalism better than Americans.  And no one understands the market they are in better than sports agents.  And the agents know that Vince Carter, an almost daily presence on Sports Center for some dunk he accomplished in the first three quarters of a game, leads to more money than, say a Bruce Bowen forcing a Dirk Nowitzki a foot out of his range and causing a missed shot.  Carter?s game translates into cold hard cash.

? NBA Season

The NBA season ? between the exhibition games, the 82-game regular season and extended play-offs ? is just brutal.  This large number of games is necessary because owners need to cover costs and turn a reasonable profit.  However, what this hoops marathon produces is players who pace themselves throughout the season so that they are physically able to play from year-to-year.  (It doesn?t matter how much you love the game.  It is physically impossible to go full bore day-in and day-out with such a schedule.)  This inevitable pacing only serves to emphasize individual play even more.  Moreover, the schedule means that even if Americans played a style that could win year in and year out internationally, would players really want to risk tens of millions of dollars playing an additional 20 games over the summer when there bodies are trying to recover?   Mark Cuban was on to something when he raised concerns about players having extended summer tours.  We wonder how many players from this year?s team will play next summer?  (We might go so far to predict that after the 2006-2007 NBA season ends we will all see an unusual number of weddings, child births and ?scope procedures? affecting our current squad of players.) In short, the length of the NBA season translates into revenue for owners that pay large salaries ? but it also encourages a particular brand of ball and puts players in the position of choosing between career and country.

? Steve Nash

Nash won the last two NBA MVP awards.  He is a great player measured by the true indicator of greatness ? he makes the players around him so much better that his team wins.  However, whether people like to admit it or not, there is this general sense that he is not the best player -- that debate usually revolves around Kobe, D-Wade, LeBron.  And what is most revealing about this is that those guys ? who are all great players and who are all winners ? are lauded for skills that Americans define as distinguishing the best players.  And let[s face it, these are not the skills that Nash possesses.  Kobe, D-Wade and LeBron get the mega-shoe contracts and the big endorsement packages, while Nash (who is no doubt well-compensated by the Suns) is out there pushing his fundamental videos (The Steve Nash MVP Instructional Video for $29.95), which look as if they were produced by the same guys who brought you the abdominizer.

So when you?re searching for what happens to America?s basketball stars when they are asked to shine internationally, forget about the pick-and-roll.  And forget about all the other excuses you?ve read and heard.  Just follow the money, and you will find all the answers you need.