Not your Average Victim: The Nets Fire Avery Johnson

News came out yesterday that Brooklyn Nets fired Avery Johnson. Johnson started the season out 11-4 and was named Eastern Conference "Coach of the Month" in November. December wasn't so kind – as the Nets have gone 3-10 so far with some big losses to the Knicks and Celtics.
The Nets made some great moves in the off season, but the results have been mixed on the court. While I laugh maniacally at the Nets sufferings, I am sad to see Johnson go. I've always liked him as a coach and was glad when the then New Jersey Nets signed him.
The Nets expectations this season might be a little overblown considering their recent history. At this point in time last season the Nets were 1-3. In the 2010-11 season the Nets were 9-24. In 09-10 the team was 3-29. 14-14 sounds like progress to me, and it would be if they were still playing in Newark.  But with the move to Brooklyn it was apparent the stakes were much higher. With a bigger market comes bigger pressures. 14-14 might have been good for the New Jersey Nets, but it's not acceptable for the Brooklyn Nets. ESPN, and other media outlets might have been praising Johnson for his work to get the New Jersey Nets to 14-14, but he's getting fired by the Brooklyn Nets because their 14-14.

Foul Play: San Antonio Spurs Edition

Yesterday The NBA levied $250K fine to the San Antonio Spurs for not playing the stars against the Miami Heat during a nationally televised game last Thursday. NBA Commissioner David Stern was quoted saying "The Spurs decided to make four of their top players unavailable for an early season game that was the team's only regular-season visit to Miami. The team also did this without informing the Heat, the media, or the league office in a timely way. Under these circumstances, I have concluded that the Spurs did a disservice to the league and our fans." Apparently the Spurs were in violation of league policy against resting players in a manner "contrary to the best interests of the NBA." Resting players no matter what the sport has always been debatable. But can anyone blame Greg Popovich when Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili  are in their 30's and injury prone. What bugs me though is the wording of the policy– "Contrary to the best interests of the NBA!" That's code for "You're messing with my/our money!" 
Everyone knows that sports is big business. The NBA, NFL, MLB, etc. aren't just selling tickets to games anymore. They are selling a brand, an image, and or a experience that seemingly has nothing to do with actual athletic competition. Fantasy sports, TV, and stadiums/arenas are all meant to keep consumers (not necessarily fans) engaged. You're not watching the San Antonio Spurs play the Miami Heat, your watching LeBron James play Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobilli. But if Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobilli don't play there's still going to be a basketball game. While NBA TV ratings might be little down because of lack of star power (What!? LeBron James wasn't enough!). You can't gloss over the fact that 19,703 people bought tickets for what turned out to be a competitive game.