Henry wrote about jazz music and basketball just as I was about to sit down to lunch with two NBA players. That’s what we ended up talking about. This word “comping” and the idea of playing out there on the court, something professional and tough and winning but also free and fun and related to childhood. Since that lunch, my first NBA hero, Magic Johnson, has been on my mind. If you can picture his playing, you can picture the game as jazz.
When Magic played like that, the court vision, selflessness, and inventiveness was seen almost as a curio, a nice-to-have. They called it showtime, as if the show were something optional and distinct from the game.
3-pointers, weightlifting, Mike D’Antoni, whatever the Pacers just did to the Eastern conference in the playoffs … the league has changed a hundred times since Magic’s day. But now, as Henry points out, what some coaches think will carry the day is having a wild and unpredictable game like Magic’s. Defenders have gotten incredibly good. They’re bigger, faster, longer, and smarter than ever. The game used to be: get the ball to our best player. Now the problem is that if you play predictably, the defense will be ready with athleticism and determination. The trick, according to several NBA coaches I have been talking to this summer, is to play jazz.
How do you train for that?
That’s the question for right now.
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