Base10 never was much of a basketball fan--especially the NBA. While college hoops can be quite entertaining, the NBA is downright unwatchable. But nothing warrants a foray into pro basketball more than when the local team reaches new lows. The Knicks lost again last night bringing their current streak to sixteen losses out of their last seventeen games. While Base10 is not sure if they are actually the worst team in basketball, he suspects that if they are not that this dubious honor soon awaits them.

Base10 wonders, is basketball next? The cap in the NFL has made the league the most competitive (and profitable) sports activity in the nation. Last years labor strife in hockey and its ensuing adoption of a hard cap has fundamentally changed for the better the way pro hockey is played. The next obvious candidates in pro sports is basketball.

The only difference in basketball is that it is one of the few sports where individual excellence can carry the day. One man, no matter how talented, can win a football game without plenty of talent around him. Base10 thinks that not fully understanding this truism this is why some fans attribute more credit for a team's success to the quarterback than is really deserve. Basketball, on the other hand, can be won or lost by the performance of an individual player. This is why teams are so anxious to sign talent fresh out of high school.

(Baseball is a little different, but Base10 thinks that they will have to eventually change as well. But that's the subject of a rant for another day).

But there are only so many Lebron James' to go around. NBA owners will realize that they will never be competitive unless there is a cap.

- posted by Base10 @ 8:56 AM