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147 sats \ 6 replies \ @grayruby 15h \ on: Why the NBA Sucks! Do you agree? Stacker_Sports
You made this very tough for me with the binary options. I agree with some of these points, definitely not the foreigner one though (some of the best and brightest stars in the game are international players).
I selected no because I don't think the NBA sucks. I enjoy the NBA but I do think many of these criticisms are fair. The player contracts and load management have gotten out of hand. There are too many 3 pointers in the game and style of play amongst most teams is very similar. I agree on the politicization but I don't think that is as prevalent as a few years ago.
I also agree on the physicality element. I don't want superstars getting hacked every play so they can't do superstar things but I also don't want them having a free path to the basket because you can't touch them without getting a foul.
What do you think Blok?
I think the physicality point is way overstated. People always bring up the Pistons, but the Pistons were incredibly controversial. If you watch a normal game from the 80's or 90's, it's actually going to be much less active and physical. I do wish defenders weren't penalized for being on the receiving end of contact. To me, that's why defense can be less physical at times.
The play style point feels stale to me. That was a great take eight years ago, but the top teams are actually very different from each other. It's true that most average teams play space-and-pace, tre it in or lay it in, but average teams sucked to watch in the past too.
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It is a fair point that when we think of the past we often think of the outliers rather than the average but that being said I definitely think more physicality was allowed to occur in the past. I guess it is more of an issue with the way the game is called now rather than the way it is played.
I do agree that recently we are seeing some variance in the way teams play. I think the big man and play in the paint is re-emerging but that is definitely a recent phenomenon. Hopefully it continues.
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Yeah 90s had some ugly games for sure. Defense dominated at times. But it did create conflicts and real rivalries. The Pistons were the bad guys and you hated them. Now who are the villains of the NBA? The “bad boys” of the league?
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I definitely agree that rivalries are not nearly as good as they were. I think that's because players change teams so often. They don't have a chance to go through the repeated playoff battles that build the necessary resentment.
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Yeah this is what I miss the most.
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I have a similar take to yours. It just looks like the players don’t care. I like seeing great players doing great things. Hitting a three pointer just isn’t as exciting as watching a guard dunk or watching great ball movement for an easy dunk.
I would watch more NBA basketball if I could watch the Knicks but since I can’t I barely watch it. No one brings me to the game. I don’t have the oh (insert NBA Superstar) is playing l’ll watch.
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