NBA: The Big 3 Was (Kind Of) A Success
The inaugural Big 3 season took place, under Ice Cube's control, and following 10 weeks of basketball, including the playoffs and title game, there was a lot of good and bad that occurred. For one, the actual in-game play, was pretty solid, actually much better than I expected. However, Allen Iverson's sporadic campaign was one of the biggest letdowns, which means I'm going to dive into the first year of the Big 3 season, from all of it's ups and downs, and everything in between. For starters, why don't we begin with the positive news. In the championship game, Trilogy defeated the 3-Headed Monsters, 51-46, to complete a perfect 10-0 season. Rashad McCants was one of the top players throughout the year, averaging 18.7 points, including 22 in the final matchup.
The Monsters' best player, Rashard Lewis, who was named MVP, totaled 201 points in 10 games, and shot 55.6 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from the four-point line. Lewis was an NBA All-Star, after spending time with the Seattle Supersonics, Orlando Magic, and Miami Heat, while McCants won a national title with North Carolina in college before bouncing around in The Association between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings. Al Harrington and James White, both of whom were big parts of the Trilogy title, won the Too Hard to Guard and Defensive Player of the Year awards, respectively, en route to the championship, while their coach, Rick Mahorn won the Coach of the Year trophy.
Other standout players included: Killer 3's Stephen Jackson (21.5 PPG), Ghost Ballers' Ricky Davis (14.8 PPG), Ball Hogs' Derrick Byars (14.2 PPG), amongst others. Unfortunately, it wasn't all bright and shiny for the Big 3. A couple of disappointments, to me, where some of the players. While, for the majority of the time, I was satisfied with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Mike Bibby, Kwame Brown, Byars, Davis, Harrington, Jackson, Lewis, Kenyon Martin, McCants, Cuttino Mobley, White, and others, there were a handful of guys that couldn't live up to the same standards. Namely, Allen Iverson.
The 11-time NBA All-Star, while famously appearing with the Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, and more, failed to even hit double digits. He finished with six points in three games, for an average of 2.0 points per game. Yes, that's coming from the guy that led the NBA in scoring on four separate occasions. While me, nor anybody else, was expecting Iverson to play like he did in 2001, I certainly anticipated much more. And it didn't help that Iverson went M.I.A. for one game and was subsequently suspended the following week. Also, the injury plagued season was one of the most negative instances we witnessed, as a number of former successful NBA players couldn't finish the 10 weeks.
Iverson, Corey Maggette, Martin, Jermaine O'Neal, Jason Williams, and others sustained injuries at some point during the year. Lastly, the biggest problem I had with the league was the make-it-take-it scenario that happens when a team makes a free throw and is in the bonus. We saw this occur twice in the championship game. Most notably, with the game tied 46-46, I thought we were in store for a thrilling finish in which both teams would have a possession or two to try and win the game. Instead, McCants was fouled, made the foul shots, and Trilogy was awarded the ball, which gave McCants the opportunity to win the game with a mid-range jumper.
And the Monsters didn't even get a shot of their own. It's an unnecessary advantage that I think needs to be altered before next season. Speaking of next year, according to Bleacher Report, some possible players that could join the league are: Ray Allen, Gilbert Arenas, Matt Bonner, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash, Tracy McGrady, Metta World Peace, Paul Pierce, and Ben Wallace. After the inaugural season, I'd say Ice Cube's Big 3 is definitely here to stay. We'll see even more talented players come to this league because people can see that it was a success during Season 1. Expect a couple of minor changes over the next year, but the Big 3 will be back next summer following the completion of the 2017-18 NBA Finals.
Photo Credit: Bleacher Report.
