NBA: I can no longer Enjoy the NBA....Who else is in the same boat?

[midnightpulp]

Even though it would be great to have the post players back, most weren't overly polished. To me, Duncan, Olajuwon & McHale were the only 3 low post gurus. Shaq didn't really have any moves - just back guys down, pivot & dunk over them, despite being an impressive athlete for his size. Ewing only had the 1 handed turnaround jumper. D-Rob was a face up big. Mourning had a couple of moves but not too many. Brad Daugherty was ok, but slow motion.

Shaq had nice footwork and was an excellent passer from the low post. He wasn't as varied as Dream, Duncan, etc, but he's still miles ahead in that regard to most modern bigs. Gasol, also fantastic in the post. Marc was on his way, but tweaked his game as the NBA moved into pace-and-space. Robinson and Ewing were face up bigs indeed, but at least they weren't out there shooting 3s.

Reason I fight for post-play is because it's the most difficult skill to learn and difficult tasks should be rewarded the most (remember how pretty much every NBA champion from the 80's until 2010ish would have top low post players. Kareem, McHale, Bird (no slouch in the post), Jordan, Hakeem, Duncan, Shaq, Gasol).

Just about everyone agrees that fewer players are entering the league with any clue of how to operate with their back to the basket. “There are maybe two handfuls of guys who can post up anymore,” Kidd says. Players who don’t learn post skills at a lower level won’t get the leeway or practice time to develop them in the NBA, coaches say. “It’s probably the hardest part of offense to get good at,” says Steve Clifford, the Hornets coach.

[Down Under]

Shaq had nice footwork and was an excellent passer from the low post. He wasn't as varied as Dream, Duncan, etc, but he's still miles ahead in that regard to most modern bigs. Gasol, also fantastic in the post. Marc was on his way, but tweaked his game as the NBA moved into pace-and-space. Robinson and Ewing were face up bigs indeed, but at least they weren't out there shooting 3s.

Reason I fight for post-play is because it's the most difficult skill to learn and difficult tasks should be rewarded the most (remember how pretty much every NBA champion from the 80's until 2010ish would have top low post players. Kareem, McHale, Bird (no slouch in the post), Jordan, Hakeem, Duncan, Shaq, Gasol).

Yeah that's true. Guys should learn basic moves when they have mismatches even today though. You don't need a heap of moves then counter moves. A couple of back downs & a drop step would be one, and a baby hook in the lane would be another.

[UZER]

This isn't the most talented era of NBA basketball. C'mon, that's stupid.

But Durant ed everything. His beta, mincing self-shipment to GSW ed everything up. I've never seen a less compe ive act, nor heard of one.

Teams were catching up to the warriors. , the cavs beat them. Then Durant went and ed it all up because he's a pussy.

[lefty]

lefty



vs.

[Killakobe81]

I solved this problem by just enjoying the Spurs over the league. I no longer really follow teams nor care about what other teams are doing aside from the Spurs and maybe the Lakers for trolling purposes. I dislike NBA culture, as well, but from the standpoint on how the league relentlessly and artificially markets itself via social media, looking for any silly storyline to push. The LaVar Ball issue that dominated the NBA headlines this summer was an embarrassment.

As far as the on court product goes, I have to disagree the league is the most talented it's ever been. The modern rule changes have created that illusion. The spacing players have to work with is just ridiculous (we've already seen two near 60 point games, and we're barely 10 games into the season). Post-play is going extinct (league wide, it's averaging about .80 PPP, simply terrible. Compare post-play efficiency to off-screen), the dribble-drive game is less interesting because of that spacing, and shooting (the least entertaining and interesting skill in basketball) dominates the game.

Good for casuals, though. Like I said, NBA found its casual friendly formula that meshes well with social media. Just have to accept it.

valid criticisms ...
NBA just mirroring current trash culture ...
Lavar just following Kardashian blueprint...
Pop was always liberal Trump just made it cool for him to bash him publicly even in a Rep state like Texas ...funny thing im sure his owner doesnt like it probably not even the GM but Pop is bigger than both do they cant do about it ...

[Killakobe81]

Shaq had nice footwork and was an excellent passer from the low post. He wasn't as varied as Dream, Duncan, etc, but he's still miles ahead in that regard to most modern bigs. Gasol, also fantastic in the post. Marc was on his way, but tweaked his game as the NBA moved into pace-and-space. Robinson and Ewing were face up bigs indeed, but at least they weren't out there shooting 3s.

Reason I fight for post-play is because it's the most difficult skill to learn and difficult tasks should be rewarded the most (remember how pretty much every NBA champion from the 80's until 2010ish would have top low post players. Kareem, McHale, Bird (no slouch in the post), Jordan, Hakeem, Duncan, Shaq, Gasol).

Magic learning hooks though nowhere as good as the guys you mentioned ...was key to Lakers run. Worthy also had a great post game but relied more on speed ...but his baseline spin was filthy. Aguirre, Dantley and pre injury Brad Daugherty alsi had nice post games ...for all the flack he gets david Robinson was like worthy on steroids with the first step and quick drop step baseline ..he just lacked counters that hakeem and Mchale had ..

[StrengthAndHonor]

I survived the worst era in basketball (94-99) So anything compared to that is wonderful and marvelous

[Killakobe81]

I survived the worst era in basketball (94-99) So anything compared to that is wonderful and marvelous

fair point ...

[StrengthAndHonor]

fair point ...

Man, I’m telling you, and this was before I became a full-fledged Clippers fan, the NBA was a snore fest


I can only name 3 notable occurrences in that time frame. Jordan, Shaq’s dominance and the Clippers drafting Lamar Odom and Olowokandi lol.

[Spurtacular]

I survived the worst era in basketball (94-99) So anything compared to that is wonderful and marvelous

[DMC]

Kevin Durant did what ever he wanted. That's fine. The league needs to get better or contract, because 80 - 85% of the product is pure garbage.

[webshad]

I agree with OP. Over the years, NBA is getting more and more annoying. They are desperately trying to push a new star now because Lebron is past his peak, they are desperately promoting gayness, they are calling ridiculous fouls, and I can go on. It's the same thing every year over and over and over again.

I honestly leave the night game in the background and do my work or study physics/math etc.

I am also trying something new, I leave all the Saturday soccer game in the background while I do my house and garage chores.

Then... again BOXING is awesome now Danny Jacobs vs Arias tomorrow should be entertaining.

[dfens]

I survived the worst era in basketball (94-99) So anything compared to that is wonderful and marvelous

son that was a fun era tbh, I mean the 3 wasn't what it is now, but games had a much better variety of offense and defense. Also a lot of mano-a-mano games

[Mark Celibate]

meh, my interest varies season by season and it basically just boils down to a combination of two things

1) How the Mavs are doing

2) Are there any new teams that actually have a chance and how many of them are there?

1 is pretty self explanatory. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to watch game after game of a team that's headed straight for the lottery. I'll tune in much more if they're actually a le contender.

But even then, I can still appreciate the NBA regardless which brings me to 2). It's always more fun to follow a season when a new contender shows up. (i.e. 03-04 Pistons, 04-05 Sonics/Suns, 07-08 Lakers/Celtics, 10-11 Heat/Thunder, 14-15 Warriors, etc). The seasons where it's like the 2nd or 3rd year in a row of the same old stacked teams duking it out is when it becomes a lull to me. ala this season, and I won't really get excited again until some other team not named Cavs/Warriors/*Spurs emerges as a legit threat.

since 1) and 2) are in effect, this season will consist of watching a few highlight videos on YouTube and that will be it tbh

None of this is taking into account the fact that I've generally given less and less of a about sports as I've gotten older

*I don't really think the Spurs are legit contenders but it won't be that exciting if they all of a sudden become one since they've been in the picture the last 20 years

[DAF86]

meh, my interest varies season by season and it basically just boils down to a combination of two things

1) How the Mavs are doing

2) Are there any new teams that actually have a chance and how many of them are there?

1 is pretty self explanatory. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to watch game after game of a team that's headed straight for the lottery. I'll tune in much more if they're actually a le contender.

But even then, I can still appreciate the NBA regardless which brings me to 2). It's always more fun to follow a season when a new contender shows up. (i.e. 03-04 Pistons, 04-05 Sonics/Suns, 07-08 Lakers/Celtics, 10-11 Heat/Thunder, 14-15 Warriors, etc). The seasons where it's like the 2nd or 3rd year in a row of the same old stacked teams duking it out is when it becomes a lull to me. ala this season, and I won't really get excited again until some other team not named Cavs/Warriors/*Spurs emerges as a legit threat.

since 1) and 2) are in effect, this season will consist of watching a few highlight videos on YouTube and that will be it tbh

None of this is taking into account the fact that I've generally given less and less of a about sports as I've gotten older

*I don't really think the Spurs are legit contenders but it won't be that exciting if they all of a sudden become one since they've been in the picture the last 20 years

Not excited to watch the rookie play?

[Mark Celibate]

Not excited to watch the rookie play?

YouTube, brah

tbh there's that Ximo guy on there who uploads 10 min highlights of games which is perfect for the lazy many like myself.

In all seriousness, I like Smith since he's not a knucklehead but it will probably take two more years of lottery picks before I seriously consider following closely again. I'm not one those " I'm only watching to see Dirk's last years " fanboys either. Dude's pretty unentertaining these days. Can shoot pretty well but can't do anything else tbh.

[Arcadian]

I survived the worst era in basketball (94-99) So anything compared to that is wonderful and marvelous

That period was fantastic for individual talent. Between Jordan, Robinson, Olajuwon, Ewing, Shaq, Barkley, and Karl Malne, you had at least 7 of the top 25 players in history.

[daslicer]

That period was fantastic for individual talent. Between Jordan, Robinson, Olajuwon, Ewing, Shaq, Barkley, and Karl Malne, you had at least 7 of the top 25 players in history.

You also had guys like Penny,LJ,Kemp who could have been top 50 players had they not suffered from injuries and in Kemp's case drug addiction. Second Tier talent like Miller,G.Rice, Mutumbo, Mourning was also pretty good back then. In today's league they would be first tier stars.

[Arcadian]

You also had guys like Penny,LJ,Kemp who could have been top 50 players had they not suffered from injuries and in Kemp's case drug addiction. Second Tier talent like Miller,G.Rice, Mutumbo, Mourning was also pretty good back then. In today's league they would be first tier stars.

Agreed. Totally forgot about Zo with Charlotte. 90s talent >>> current talent.

[daslicer]

Agreed. Totally forgot about Zo with Charlotte. 90s talent >>> current talent.

Its ridiculous especially when you look at even a third tier star like Vlade Divac. He probably would be a top 5 center in today's league.

[Arcadian]

Its ridiculous especially when you look at even a third tier star like Vlade Divac. He probably would be a top 5 center in today's league.

Yeah, and Arvydas Sabonis!

[Killakobe81]

That period was fantastic for individual talent. Between Jordan, Robinson, Olajuwon, Ewing, Shaq, Barkley, and Karl Malne, you had at least 7 of the top 25 players in history.

great talent but sone of the teams like Fratello cavs were boring as

[lefty]

You also had guys like Penny,LJ,Kemp who could have been top 50 players had they not suffered from injuries and in Kemp's case drug addiction. Second Tier talent like Miller,G.Rice, Mutumbo, Mourning was also pretty good back then. In today's league they would be first tier stars.

Ah Penny and Kemp what could have been.

Also that short lived rivalry between Orlando and Charlotte was cool, both teams also nice pinstripe jerseys

[LkrFan]

I was at the Lakers vs Wizzards game. I thought we were playing the 2012 OKC Thunder. They got all the calls

[daslicer]

great talent but sone of the teams like Fratello cavs were boring as

The Fratello cavs were awful to watch. I remember their strategy was to waste time on the shot clock on every possession.