OK, while our first three items take dead aim at the integrity of referees and usually are offered up as fact by embittered fans, writers and broadcasters, we do have considerable evidence to support that defense thing.

Since the big Y2K disappointment (yeah, worldwide chaos through technological calamity would have been sweet), stellar defensive teams have been absconding with the O'Brien Trophy at an alarming rate. Just last season, the Boston Celtics embraced the jam-the-lane philosophy of new defensive coordinator (and minor celebrity) Tom Thibodeau en route to their first NBA championship in quite awhile.

It certainly didn't hurt to have three superstars in uniform, including Kevin Garnett, a fierce 7-footer with a passion for defense that he strongly encouraged his teammates to adopt.

And the Cs shouldn't be registered as a team that waltzed the ball across the time line on offense, slowing the pace of the game and wowing wannabe stat geeks with a low points-per-game-allowed average.

No, even though coach Doc Rivers had his team work at what passes for a reasonable tempo, his team was at the top in defensive efficiency. They flexed their knees and prevented dribble penetration, they attacked ball screens, they closed-out on shooters with a vigorous sense of urgency (in relative terms) and provided help-side support.

So, if playing exemplary defense worked for Boston — as it has for the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons and last decade's Chicago Bulls — why in the NBA world do so few teams make that commitment?

Well, playing defense can be physically demanding.

But is laziness the main reason? Laziness and the sense of entitlement that accompanies big loot always can be credited with making serious defense hard to come by in professional basketball.

Now before you attempt to drag some statistical paradigm into this rant and insist that — by the numbers — NBA teams really do dig in and play D, just find your remote and sit down. After that deep breath, locate an NBA game on one station and a high-level college game occurring at the same time on another channel.

Watch the NBA game for about five minutes, then jump over to the college game for five. Go back and watch the professionals again, then switch back to the student-athletes.

If you didn't notice the disparate intensity in the defense, you probably found a women's college game. But if you were watching the men's team from the University of Texas, Purdue, or Michigan State, for example, get a load of those defensive stances. Hey, the knees are bent, defenders don't turn their backs to the ball and cutters are bumped and forced out of harm's way.

On the NBA game (unless it's Boston or Cleveland), perimeter on-ball defenders are in full retreat instead of moving side to side (hello, Steve Nash) or just standing up. Cutters are trailed through the lane and close-outs are performed with mediocre gusto.

You may not care. You may prefer watching games that feature waves of scoring and highlight maneuvers. So do I. But college basketball offers several big-time teams that play at a warp-speed pace with blitzkrieg-style defenses they use to furnish the pace they desire.

That's right. Pressure defense is the easiest way to generate tempo.

But NBA teams, who — along with certain help-side rules that discourage defense — waste that puny 24-second shot clock they could use to either force opponents into hurried shots or more up-tempo offense and greater viewing enjoyment for us all. Pressure NBA-level point guards? That's heresy! These are some of the world's greatest athletes. How can we survive challenging them so brazenly?

By making some of the world's greatest athletes play full bore at both ends. Since noticing how Team USA flourished with Kobe Bryant assuming the role of stopper, have you seen how LeBron James is working on defense these days? That spike in the Cleveland Cavaliers' defensive efficiency is no accident.

Yeah, it really helps when a team's superstar makes that commitment to shutting down the opposition. On the flip side, we have the Phoenix Suns, a team with superstars who seem ready to be handed a cigarette and blindfold when the guy they're guarding has the ball.

So, what can we recommend for any team beyond the obvious command to try harder on defense? Well, as suggested earlier, applying reasonable back-court pressure (not selling out to create lay-ups) can eat some of that eight-second count and squeeze the shot-clock on the many teams still rolling with those isolation sets.

With ball screens remaining popular, more teams are attempting to blitz the ballhandler in Celtic fashion, hoping the trap prevents the passer from even seeing an outlet for a diagonal skip. The Cs are great on cheating over, rotating early and taking away that immediate pass. Sure, a steady diet will be burned by the clever players and deep sideline thinkers, so teams like the Spurs mix up ball-screen defense depending on the situation.

The Spurs' commitment to defense has made them a title contender year in and year out under Gregg Popovich. ( D. Clarke Evans / Getty Images)

For example, on Christmas Day, they — in typical Gregg Popovich fashion — doubled Nash on a ball screen late in the game and forced a crucial turnover. Prior to that maneuver, Pop's guys had been hard-show on screens, but not trapping.

Other tactics — such as altering the timing and direction of post double-teams — can be used to sabotage offense and stir a quicker tempo that could keep the scoreboard humming.

If it's that simple, why doesn't it happen more often?

That's also fairly simple and we'll begin the explanation by asking if you've noticed the job security recently enjoyed by NBA coaches. With pink slips just waiting to be launched, most coaches are reluctant to alienate big-salary players by cutting into playing time. And playing a more aggressive style of defense requires more substitution.

That's one reason why Mike D'Antoni's offense could — in the hands of great players — win a championship, but his inability to trust more than seven players prohibits him from deploying the kind of defense a seven-seconds-or-less style requires. If D'Antoni would be hired by a major college program and allowed to recruit the players that fit his system, he'd probably add pressure defense to his offensive genius with Final Fours arriving in short order.

Unfortunately, D'Antoni would have to take a huge cut in pay.

And that reminds me of another NBA saw: Superstars win championships.

But only if the superstars like Garnett, Tim Duncan and Michael Jordan demonstrate that actually guarding people is a large part of the process.