Charles Barkley says the NBA is full of 'very awful basketball this year'

[lefty]

Here we go again :lol



Charles Barkley is never one to shy away from sharing his opinion, and the TNT analyst and Basketball Hall of Famer was very blunt about the state of basketball this season when talking with "Mike & Mike" Wednesday morning.


"It's been very awful basketball this year. Awful. I mean just bad," he said. "I'm not no old guy hating. But unless Golden State is playing the Clippers, the Cavs, Oklahoma City or the Spurs, I'm not gonna watch a full [game]. It's not very good basketball, and I love basketball. There's probably five games (that are worth) watching top-to-bottom."




He continued by saying free agency in the summer should be interesting and that he wants to see more teams balance out with star players.


"We got to get more competitive balance," he said. "(Your) job and our job is to promote the NBA, but we want it to be competitive. We don't want to have four good teams. I want people in Milwaukee, I want people in Philly, I want people in Boston. I want to see competitive games and right now we're not getting that."




It's interesting to note the differences between Barkley's criticism of the modern game and those of people like Oscar Robertson and Stephen Jackson. Barkley is not dissing Stephen Curry or, in this case at least, the modern style of play — though he has been known to say jump-shooting teams cannot win a title.


Instead, he is wondering when the rest of the league will catch up. And with only six teams on pace for 50 wins — 10 teams reached that mark last season — he has a point.

[Thread]

& it's gonna get a lot worse. The ring means nothing to 99% of it. We count rings---they count boodle.

100% is imminent.

[313]

Because the NBA was so much more competitive in his day :rolleyes

[DarrinS]

He's right. There are a LOT of bad NBA teams this year.

[Mitch]

& it's gonna get a lot worse. The ring means nothing to 99% of it. We count rings---they count boodle.

100% is imminent.

If you don't win the ring, you lostPERIOD

[313]

Four different champions the last five years compared to Jordan three peating twice in the 90s

Only four teams won championships from 81-89 and lakers Celtics won seven of those.

parity in the 80s and 90s :lol

[InRareForm]

The east playoffs are going to be a snoozefest.... and this is the playoffs we are talking about. playoffs.

[DMC]

The East playoffs will be better than you think, because you'll get to see teams you never watch. Of course it's boring if you never watch it. There will be matchups and the series will take on a life of its own. Happens every year.

[ambchang]

He's right though.

[tlongII]

Blazers

[Thread]

Blazers

& no sooner will you arrive than you'll forget how you got there.

[Dancelot]

In prior seasons there would always be at least one or two good games on every night. Now you're lucky to have one or two good games a week.

[Xevious]

The only reason we're having this conversation is because there's such a huge disparity between the Warriors and the rest of the field. Nobody is expecting them to be challenged this year. The East is no different than it has been for over a decade.

[Thread]

The only reason we're having this conversation is because there's such a huge disparity between the Warriors and the rest of the field. Nobody is expecting them to be challenged this year. The East is no different than it has been for over a decade.

Even they play a funk & junk type game.

[Chris]

Blazers

Do us a solid and knock off that Curry kid

[RD2191]

He's right though.

[Molotov]

Is it any coincidence Warriors "historic" season happening during an equally historic shit season in, :lol Today's NBA. You only as good as you competition, seems like Warriors are farming tanking teams to make "history", IMO TBH.

[Thebesteva]

If you don't win the ring, you lostPERIOD

Sup CN

[Mitch]

Sup CN

Sure, nurse, roll with that.

[hater]

He's right. There are a LOT of bad NBA teams this year.

Amen.

Vanilla fans just seem to be in denial abou this. I been saying it its a shit league when mediocre teams are breaking winning records :lol

Spurs or worriers would get obliterated vs ShowTime Lakers or GOAT bulls

[hater]

Barkley dropping truth nukes per par

[sendman]

Charles is wrong!

This year is full of win. Here is the proof:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK0y9fZpfpo

[pookenstein]

I'm not no old guy hating...

:lmao

[ambchang]

Can't blame GSW for dominating a weak league, what are they supposed to do? If they have a chance to make history with comparative ease, they should.

Part of the issue is the shift in philosophy in the league where it is better to suck really bad and get a chance for the future, than to be stuck in no-man's land for year after year, stuck in purgatory like the late 80s Pacers, Raptors of the last few years, etc ... where a team is good enough to fight for a playoff spot, but has no real chance to really contend for a title.

I am in general against this philosophy, because it does lead to a a losing culture, and many teams have done it, with very low success rate.

OKC was successful in getting Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka in the draft, but they really didn't go out of their way to suck.
But for every OKC, there are the 6ers, Lakers, Wolves, Kings, and countless other teams that tried to tank with nothing to show for it.


GSW didn't go out of their way. They drafted well, made smart trades, acquired right pieces, and built a great team.
Same with Spurs.
Clippers built their way to success as well.

[snickles]

Four different champions the last five years compared to Jordan three peating twice in the 90s

Only four teams won championships from 81-89 and lakers Celtics won seven of those.

parity in the 80s and 90s :lol

so are you saying there's parity in today's league? because you picked an 9 year span (with 7 going to the celtics + 3 other winners?) (and then compared a 5 year span with a 20 year span)

but since 2000 we've only seen 7 different teams win it all.

so 4 out in 9 years is less parity than 7 in 16?

[Kidd K]

He's half right at least.

Apply all his comments to the eastern conference and he's clearly accurate. You already know the top east team will practically default into the Finals most years due to lack of competition. The first round is usually the equivalent of a bye. There's usually no fucking reason to even watch most of the series out east. ECF and maybe one of the 2nd round series are worth watching and that's it.

The west has been entertaining for many years though. The occasional meh season thrown in but usually entertaining and having 3-4 out there capable of beating eachother rather than one obvious top team and maybe one other team who barely has a chance if lucky.

Most years if you subtract LeBron's team out east, the next best team would likely get shit on by the west's 4 seed and would struggle with the 5-6 seed in a series. Would barely make the playoffs in the west. It's sad as fuck tbh. So many teams tanking for lottery picks every damn year that they never bother building teams for the long term and always playing shaky as hell.

[Caltex2]

Is it any coincidence Warriors "historic" season happening during an equally historic shit season in, :lol Today's NBA. You only as good as you competition, seems like Warriors are farming tanking teams to make "history", IMO TBH.

The Warriors would be clowning people in most any era but the suckage elsewhere (including the Rockets) doesn't help).

[TDfan2007]

The Warriors are a great team in any context. They might not by "single season wins record" great, but that's an argument that nobody can really make. Most of the rest of the league, however, is a complete joke. All you have to do is look at the All Star teams from the last few years...

The nba has a lot of mid-level talent right now, and I'd say that the average player is better than ever, but the league is sorely lacking in superstar talent. Hell, 4 of the top 10 players in the league are on 2 teams (Clippers and Thunder). The 90s and mid 2000s were probably the greatest eras as far as superstar talent and distribution of superstar talent are concerned.

Another issue is the lack of dominant bigs. Having a big who is a high post/low post presence and can rebound/block shots will keep almost any team competitive, but we just don't see that anymore. Cousins is as close as we've got, and he's a psycho who doesn't make his teammates better.

[Thebesteva]

Sure, nurse, roll with that.

It would be insulting if I was a nurse right? Its only flattering otherwise

[daslicer]

Another issue is the lack of dominant bigs. Having a big who is a high post/low post presence and can rebound/block shots will keep almost any team competitive, but we just don't see that anymore. Cousins is as close as we've got, and he's a psycho who doesn't make his teammates better.

Factor in Cousins shoots an awful percentage for a big which makes him less effective on the offensive end. Today's bigs tend to be either jump shooting bigs or bigs with superior athleticism. In some cases you have a combination of both ala Davis. The problem is none of these bigs have a traditional back to the basket game which at times hinders their dominance. Last night for example I saw Jamal Crawford guarding Ibacka in the 4th quarter but OKC couldn't really exploit the mismatch since Ibacka doesn't have a post game. During the 90's and '00s you couldn't get away with having a perimeter player guarding a big for stretches of a game.

[313]

so are you saying there's parity in today's league? because you picked an 9 year span (with 7 going to the celtics + 3 other winners?) (and then compared a 5 year span with a 20 year span)

but since 2000 we've only seen 7 different teams win it all.

so 4 out in 9 years is less parity than 7 in 16? He said in his day there was more parity. Yet there was no five year span from '80 to '99 where four different teams won championships. Five year span was the arbitrary amount of years I consider the current NBA, take it as you will, but going all the way back to 2000 is a reeeach.

We we can revisit this topic if GS runs off a five peat but right now this generation is at least just as competitive as Charles era.

[HarlemHeat37]

The league is always weak when there are teams pushing or surpassing 70 wins, tbh:lol..When teams are reaching 70 wins, it's a combination of their greatness + weak competition..

Jordan's 2nd 3-peat Bulls played against atrocious competition, of course..

[313]

In Charles' MVP season on '92-'93

Eastern conf had one 60 win team(Knicks; 60 wins). Two 50 win teams (Bulls; 57 - Cavs; 54) And one team on the cusp of 50(Celtics; 48)

Western conf had one 60 win team (Suns; 62 wins). Three 50win teams(Supersonics; 55 - Rockets; 55 - Blazers; 51) And two teams on the cusp of 50(Spurs; 49 - Jazz; 47)

Lowest win mark in the league being 11(Mavs)

Compared to last year...

Eastern conf had one 60 win team(Hawks; 60 wins). Two 50 win teams(Cavs; 53 - Bulls; 50) And one team on the cusp of 50(Raptors; 49)

Western conference had one 60 win team(GS; 67). Six 50 win teams(Clippers/Rockets; 56 - Spurs/Grizzlies; 55 - Blazers; 51 - Mavs; 50)

Lowest win Mark in the league being 16(Timberwolves)

[TDfan2007]

Factor in Cousins shoots an awful percentage for a big which makes him less effective on the offensive end. Today's bigs tend to be either jump shooting bigs or bigs with superior athleticism. In some cases you have a combination of both ala Davis. The problem is none of these bigs have a traditional back to the basket game which at times hinders their dominance. Last night for example I saw Jamal Crawford guarding Ibacka in the 4th quarter but OKC couldn't really exploit the mismatch since Ibacka doesn't have a post game. During the 90's and '00s you couldn't get away with having a perimeter player guarding a big for stretches of a game.

Exactly. All that talent doesn't mean as much when you're jacking up jumpers instead of drawing doubles and opening the floor for your teammates. Even Dirk, the quintessential jumpshooting big, eventually learned how to park his ass in the high post and make plays for his teammates. That's the moment that the Mavs went from pretenders to contenders.

[DMC]

It would be insulting if I was a nurse right? Its only flattering otherwise
No doctor has as much free time as you.

[Thebesteva]

No doctor has as much free time as you.


Coming from a guy with 23.02 posts per day :lmao

[TDfan2007]

The league is always weak when there are teams pushing or surpassing 70 wins, tbh:lol..When teams are reaching 70 wins, it's a combination of their greatness + weak competition..

Jordan's 2nd 3-peat Bulls played against atrocious competition, of course..

I'm not sure about 96 or 97, but in 98 the league had a lot of talented teams. You had the Spurs, Sonics, Lakers, and Jazz out west, then you had the Pacers, Knicks, Heat, and Bulls in the East. Hell, the Suns won 50-something games that year.

This year you've got the Warriors, Spurs,Thunder, and Clippers in the West, and virtually nobody in the East after the Cavs. Toronto is a solid team with a cute little record, but it won't mean jack shit come playoff time.

A handful of teams that should have been good/better this season have just imploded, and I think that was the main point that Barkley was trying to make. The Grizzlies, Rockets, Bulls, and Wizards in particular have been just awful (Bulls have been snakebitten as usual, but the rest of the teams were terrible with or without injury).

[DMC]

Coming from a guy with 23.02 posts per day :lmao
I don't claim to be a doctor. I have a ton of free time. I've said as much many many times (as you point out).

[Mitch]

It would be insulting if I was a nurse right? Its only flattering otherwise

Not an insult, simply a fact.

[Thebesteva]

I don't claim to be a doctor. I have a ton of free time. I've said as much many many times (as you point out).

We have plenty of time during the day between patients. Someones been watching Grey's anatomy far too much