Magic Johnson and the Greek Freak Need to get Together

ANALYST
Magic Johnson and the Greek Freak (Giannis Antetokounmpo) need to get together, because Magic Johnson is an entrepreneur. Both Magic and Giannis are superstar basketball players. Magic changed the Los Angeles Lakers with Showtime, and the Greek Freak has changed the Milwaukee Bucks for the better, because Fear the Deer! 

But the most important quality either Magic or Giannis has is being an entrepreneur. You make way more money doing business than being a basketball player.

These two superstar basketball players need to bust the monopoly, the 5-on-5 monopoly. Magic Johnson with a player like the Greek Freak could do it. Any entrepreneur like Magic Johnson and virtually any other NBA player could break the monopoly. Why? Because 4-on-4 full court is better than 5-on-5 full court with today's players.

HOST
Come on, nobody understands what you're talking about.

COMMENTATOR
No, I get it. What if these two 4-player teams played each other?

1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Durant
3. James Harden
4. Chris Paul

Playing against:

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo - The Greek Freak
2. Anthony Davis
3. Kawhi Leonard
4. Paul George

ANALYST
It gives me chills just to think about it! And it's all about the math.

ANNOUNCER
Oh no, don't bring math into it. 

COMMENTATOR
He's got to! Where have you been? This is the age of Sabermetrics and analytics.

ANALYST
Look it's not really about the math! It's about fast break basketball! And the math tells us how to create fast break basketball. I'm tired of watching NBA players stand around. I want non-stop fast break basketball!

COMMENTATOR
I can't disagree with that.

HOST
How?

ANALYST
All we have to do is make the two point shot more valuable by making players more likely to make the two-point shot. The way to do that is to remove two players from the court. That removes a whole lot of defense! Play 4-on-4 full court instead of 5-on-5 full court.

Right now, NBA players make about 50% of their 2-point shots. That means if you shoot 100 shots, you make 50, and that's 100 points.

And right now, NBA players make about 35% of their three point shots. That means if you shoot 100 shots, you make 35, and that is 105 points.

COMMENTATOR
I get it. It's better to shoot 3-point shots. That's why NBA players stand around a lot and pass around the perimeter a lot. That's why today's game is so boring. There's no magic! There's no Phi Slama Jama™ like the University of Houston used to have.

ANALYST
Exactly. but what if you start playing 4-on-4 instead of 5-on-5? Who is going to stop the Greek Freak then? With only eight players on the floor, the driving lanes will be open, the Greek Freak will be able to fast break all the time. The same will be true for every other biggest, tallest, fastest, basketball player with great endurance. They will be able to run non-stop, because there will be room to run. 

COMMENTATOR
And more fast breaks means more dunks. It means more running and gunning! it means more highlights. It means more great passes. It means basketball played the way we love basketball the most.

ANALYST
Remember, right now NBA players only make about 50% of their 2-point shots. With two players removed, playing 4-on-4 full court instead of 5-on-5 full court, we can expect a lot more fast breaks and dunks. We can expect the two-point shot percentage to go up nearer 70%. That means if you shoot 100 shots, you make 70 shots, You score 140 points a game! That's the wide open basketball that people really love. And, you still have the three point shot!

4-on-4 Beats 5-on-5!

Copyright © 2019 Bradley R. Hennenfent, M.D. All rights reserved. This is an ongoing treatment and script for all media, TV shows, video, etc., with 4-on-4 full court, 3-on-3 full court, 2-on-2 full court, and 1-on-1 full court basketball.