With only 4 teams left in the NBA Playoffs, we're getting close to the end. OKC/Dallas seem to play every other day now, while the Heat/Bulls series could go until June at the rate they play. But with these four teams remaining, it's remarkable, just how different each team is from the other. Equally, possibly exceedingly, remarkable, is how each team can be compared to prominent Professional Wrestling Factions (Will not be limited to WWE, WCW will also be in here). Without further ado...
1. Evolution
This one is a little new for some of you, I'm sure.. .though it's about 5 years old by now, I would guestimate. Included in this stable is HHH (he is awesome enough to jump from stable to stable), Randy Orton, Batista, and Ric Flair (woooooooooo!). Who, you may ask, could I compare to this group of young and old players?
The Dallas Mavericks.
HHH again, is the leader. The idea behind this stable was they had the last generation in Flair, the current in HHH, and the future in Batista and Orton. HHH is a veteran, and in his prime. He calls all the shots, takes some advice from Flair, but is the unquestioned leader. He is the champion of this group. Thus, Dirk Nowitski is the obvious choice. He's at the top of his game right now. He's been in the league for 13 years now, but is playing better than ever. The Mavericks go, as Dirk goes. Randy Orton and Batista, very talented, fairly young, wrestlers. Some exciting entrances, exciting finishing moves, but again, they feed off HHH. But HHH can't win alone, he needs these two. Randy Orton is definitely Jason Terry. Terry can take over if he needs to with his 3's, he gets the crowd involved (even though the crowd hates Orton, they're still involved), and can swing a game within about 2 minutes. Batista would have to be Tyson Chandler. He's the muscle, he does the dirty work, he intimidates the other team. He's overly muscular (Batista) so his move array is kind of low (capped off by a Batista bomb- Tyson's dunks), but he plays a vital role in the dominance that Evolution showed in the mid 2000's. And for the Nature Boy, Ric Flair. Way past his prime, holding on to his past. He's a lot slower now, his moves are limited to a chest slap and a figure-four leg lock, though still effective. He loves his kids, waves to them in the crowd while in the ring... I made that up, but it's a great segway to: Jason Kidd. J Kidd came into this league in 1994. 17 years he's been playing, he's past his prime, way past. But he's effective. He's a good floor general, he controls the tempo of the game, and he helps Dirk get his. But it's important to reiterate... he is very, very old.
WWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. Rock and Sock Connection
Oklahoma City Thunder
I know, I know, I said 2 people can't make a stable. But 1) I didn't the Nation qualified for this team, and how could I do a wrestling blog without the Rock? And 2) there is a correlation here. The Rock, arguably the best wrestler, at least in the last 20 years, teamed with an "in his prime" Mankind. Stay with me here- Mankind isn't the best example, but it works here. The tag team won the belts when they teamed up, but the Rock was definitely the better of the two. Mankind's wrestling was, unconventional yet exciting (being thrown off the top of a 20 foot steel cage? crazy bro), and could sometimes lead to the detrimant of the team, but when he was at the top of his game, they were unstoppable. See where I'm going here? DO YOU? Kevin Durant, could arguably be, the best scorer in the league today (Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!) but sometimes, his buddy thinks he could be too (Have a nice day!). When Mankind steps out of line, his team loses. It's hard for the Rock to put Mankind in his place in a language he could understand, so the message didn't alway get through. Kevin Durant is The Rock. Russell Westbrook is Mankind. If The Rock doesn't tell Mankind to "Know your role, and shut your mouth" then they are going to lose. Russell Westbrook- the fans love you, you're fun to watch, you do some crazy impressive stuff that some people wouldn't even think of doing, but you've got to let Durant do his thing. That's the only way you're going to win the Tag-Team Championship... you've got to let the Rock be the People's Champ.
3. Degeneration X
The Bulls
Easily the most popular of the stables in wrestling history. I'm not talking about original DX, and I know I know, we all love HBK. But the HBK/HHH DX was bound to fail. You had two guys and a shemale, that's not going to last. So we look at the DX that made wrestling famous. The DX that came invaded the competitions arena and caused trouble (like the Bulls team defense). You had the obvious alpha dog on this team in HHH (Derrick Rose). He was the unquestioned leader of DX, the other members fed off of him, and they would never win a 4 man tag without him. When HHH gets hurt, DX was irrelevant, just like the Bulls. What about the New Age Outlaws? Multiple time tag-team champions, BA Billy Gunn and the Road Dogg Jesse James were great. They followed Hunter's lead, but could work on their own, as displayed by the tag team success. You can't really tag team in the NBA, but the whole "work on their own" is displayed on the Bulls by Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer. They are fully capable of working on their own, playing defense (Deng) and hitting the pick and pop jumpers (Boozer). If they don't perform well, DX doesn't have a chance. Then there's little ole' X-Pac. X-Pac, the undersized little buddy of the group, couldn't do much on his own. Yeah, he might be able to work over some smaller or older opponents, but he primarily excels when he's teamed up with HHH and can bring energy to the match. If he can pull off his Bronco Buster in the match, maybe a well-timed superkick, he could help propel team DX to a victory. Who would this be? Kyle Korver and Taj Gibson. Kyle Korver with his 3-point shooting (the only thing he can do) and Gibson with his defense and dunks. They can't produce much on their own, but they feed off the crowd and get theirs from Rose.
That brings us to my favorite comparison in this group. Chyna. Who didn't love Chyna? A Man trapped in a woman's body. Or maybe a woman trapped in a man's body. Either way, she did her job. She didn't do much on her own accord, and basically acted as the enforcer for DX. Look at that scowl. A low blow here, a distraction there, a conventiently placed metal chair, and DX wins. Who is this? I think you already know...
4. The nWo
The Miami Heat.
More similarities than you may think. If you recall, in the mid 1990's, WCW and WWE were very competitive. Two wrestles, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, were out of contract and decided to join WCW, kind of. They were known as the Outsiders, and were quickly fan favorites- to hate. The tag team had long promised a 3rd partner, but it wasn't until Bash at the Beach in 1996 that the third member was revealed. In a stunning betrayal of fans' hearts, Hulk Hogan turned on his long-time friend (in WCW) Randy Savage, and joined the "evil" Outsiders, thus forming the nWo, or New World Order. Interesting, isn't it? We'll say Scott Hall is Wade, only because he went to WCW first, or in this case, the Miami Heat. He recruited Kevin Nash fairly quickly, who we'll call Chris Bosh. This was already a quick start to despising the Miami Heat team, but it was obviously still incomplete. The new leader, the supposed alpha dog, the great betrayer, LeBron joined the Heat (nWo) in grand fashion. Hulk Hogan went from one of the most loved wrestlers, to the most hated. The nWo ran amuck for a couple years, before egos took over, and the super power was disbanded and divided. Will that be the fate for the "Heatles"? They have already proclaimed themselves champions, and have the ability to achieve that goal this year.
Which Stable will prevail?
If ya smell..... what the Rock..... is cookin'...
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