The Importance of a Spark- Mike

Every good basketball team has one. The Bulls have/had one in Kyle Korver. My high school basketball team has one, even though he is rarely used. The Mavericks have one in Jason Terry. The Heat thought they had one in Mike Miller.

Why is a spark important? Game in and game out, it can get obvious to coaches on which players want to be there, and which players are just going through the motions. Teams need a spark, a player they can rely on to get the rest of the team going on a day when they have nothing else going for them. A spark comes in all shapes and sizes. There's always the shooter that can come in the game, run off the ball, and drill a few threes to get his team back in it. This is the role that Kyle Korver filled for the Bulls last year. Then there's the the defensive specialist spark, the guy that (maybe) plays dirty, but does not get caught, the guy that takes the charge that riles up the fans, or even the guy that has Abraham Lincoln tattooed on his neck and can shut down Lebron James.

Looking back on it, the Mavs last year were full of sparks. Jason Terry was hitting on all cylinders during the finals last year. DeShawn Stevenson was playing fantastic defense, and JJ Barea was playing the role of the likeable little man that does nothing but shoot and get to the rim. I believe that this is the perfect storm to beat a team like the Heat. The Mavericks had a great starting line-up, 2 future hall of famers and Tyson Chandler. What the Heat had were 3 players, Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller, and a bunch of D-Leaguers. They would have been better off starting Derek Fisher-style player, a guy who, despite not being very talented, has decent passing ability and knows more about the game than anyone should. Hell, they could have pulled AI out of Turkey and had a better point guard. Not to shit all over Mario Chalmers, but wasn't he considered a great shooter coming out of Kansas? Whatever happened to that? Considering what he had with him, he should have come out of last season looking like Kirk Hinrich. Instead, he came out looking like Jannero Pargo.

My favorite (non-Bulls) team right now is the Golden State Warriors. Want a great example of a spark? Look at Stephen Curry. I would like to believe that everyone has known about his shooting ability since his days at Davidson, considering he carried that team extremely well. But he still seems to get open, and I love hearing the Oracle go crazy when he hits a 3, or when Monta Ellis does something crazy. The Warriors are my favorite video game team right now.

What I mean by video game team, is a team that would be amazing to play with on NBA 2K12, but probably aren't going to win much in real life. Here's a list of my favorite video game teams ever:

NBA 2K11: Sacremento Kings

This team was so much fun to play with, and Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton are both amazing just to run around with. Then you have Jason Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins down low, and Omri Casspi hits open shots. I loved this team.

NBA Street Volume 2: Chicago Bulls

Jamal Crawford is an absolute beast on here. Tyson Chandler blocks everything. And Eddy Curry eats all the donuts. This is the classic case team of "I suck at this, but my teammates do it well, so I can sit back and do nothing." I take this same attitude when I play Call of Duty.

NBA 2K12: LA Clippers

I'm assuming you already understand this one.

NBA Jam: Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp

Snorting Coke Off the Glove is what I like to call this team.

NBA Courtside 2: Toronto Raptors

There was nothing like running it the whole game with T-Mac and Vinsanity. Too bad these two were burnt out way too quickly in real life. I still remake T-Mac and Vince to what they once were on every new basketball game I get. Seeing them rot is depressing.

NBA Showtime: Indiana Pacers

It's raining treys! That's all this team was there for. Chris Mullin and Reggie Miller. No defense, all 3's.

This is all I got for right now, remember to check back, I should have more up by tomorrow or Saturday.