So much has been made in the GARM about media narratives, about Harden vs. Curry, about the Rockets getting no love, being openly dissed in the media even after one of the greatest comebacks of the modern era. I honestly have no problem with anyone of it. The bias, the fanboyism on display by ESPN and the likes for Curry or LeBron is nothing new and one shouldn't be so quickly offended by this nonsense. We can look back at some of the greatest moments and teams of the past decade and see that they weren't treated any better. Back in the day, when the Pistons did the unthinkable and defeated the Lakers, within 30 minutes of their championship celebration, the media narrative turned to the Shaq-Kobe feud as the sole reason for their defeat. ESPN was more interested in discussing Kobe's pending free agency the very night people were celebrating in Detroit. The following week was dominated by news of Shaq being traded soon and Kobe leaving. The Pistons never go their due as a great team which dethorned a dynasty. The Spurs - winners of 5 titles during a 15 year stretch - are the epitome of the media's biased narrative. How often is Tim Duncan the leading topic of discussion on Sportscenter? How about Popovich and the job he has done with an aging group of stars? Not much. The Spurs are the most boring team in the NBA. Nothing sexy to write home about. Even when they win, the conversation quickly shifts gears to why Kobe or LeBron failed to win that particular year. I remember vividly after the 2007 NBA Finals, the leading story and headline on Sportscenter read "The King Dethroned" as if LeBron was the defending champion. Even LeBron so much as admitted this week that no matter what he has put himself in a position to forever carry the narrative of "LeBron vs. everyone" and the media hypes him to the point that everything else is insignificant. This admission shows the cruelty by which even the biggest superstar has to live. Therefore, I much rather have the Rockets never get their praise and simply keep winning. I much rather have Harden continue to dominate the league without the pressure of being called the top dog and having to live with the cruelty that comes with such a title. Media narratives are never about the moment. The media lives in a bubble and sometimes that bubble will burst, we simply have to become the needle much like the Pistons, Spurs, and all those unsung praiseless teams that simple played to win and wrote their own narratives. Go Rockets!
It's funny how things have come back around for the Spurs far too late. They're still not a sexy WSPN topic, however they now get the praise they should have gotten 5-10 years ago, even though they are old now. Most of the media regard it a shame that they won't get to see Spurs vs Warriors in the WCF. Most of the media believed the Spurs were in the best position to beat GSW in a 7 game series this year.
