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Today’s NBA is barely recognizable.

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I don’t need data to tell me that players today are softer than players back in the 80s and 90s. But if you want some data I’ll give it to you. Here it is: 1,192!
That’s the number of games AC Green played without missing a start. Find me one player in the last 15 years that come close to that. Today’s players miss games because their back is stiff, their ankle hurts, they shoulder is sore, their wrist is sore and please don’t get me started on load management! All of this at a time where sports medicine is supposed to be at its highest peak!!!

I don’t need data to tell me that today’s players are softer on the defensive end and lack basic defensive knowledge. I watch it every single NBA game. You have a handful (and I mean handful) of players today that know how to play strong man to man defense into today’s NBA. In 2016 when the Cavs beat the Dubs I watched the league’s MVP (Curry) bust his ass trying not to get switched onto Cryie because he knew was going to get beat like tribal drum.
I’m not going sit here and discount today’s players. Yes....they are bigger, faster and stronger! But there’s only a handful of players like LBJ, Durant, Kwai, Gannis, Butler, and maybe Zion that could translate their game to play in 80s and 90s. Without the hand checking that the NBA doesn’t allow in today’s game players like Zeke, Maravich, Gervin, MJ, Reggie Miller, etc would average 30 points a game easily.
But the league wants to protect its star players and let them shine! Two years ago when the Rockets played the Dubs I watched Patrick Beverly get down and dirty and played jersey tight defense on Durant. The result? A frustrated whining Durant who was held to 11 points! Again the result? Next game after the league called the officials front office and said we can’t have our superstars “shut down like that”.... the refs came out and nailed Beverly with three quick fouls IN THE FIRST QUARTER! Essentially taking him out of the game.
The league is very soft!
 
Just watched the Nets vs Wizards.... 146 to 149

It is such a terrible product.
 
Honestly if the league just went back to teams only having a maximum of 3 jerseys this year I think that would make the game a lot more watchable.

Seriously. One home jersey. One road jersey. One alternate jersey. One throwback jersey that you can only ear like 5 time in a season. Limit the alternate jersey to like 10 times in a season. The rest of the time there needs to only been home and away jerseys.

Part of the reason the game is hard to watch is because the game is hard to watch. Why are The Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets both wearing powder blue jerseys this year? How many times have you turned on a game and it took a few minutes to even recognize some of the players?

Limit these jerseys and I bet you it will be a lot easier to actually watch the game.

The presentation has a lot more to do with why the game sucks to look at then the rules. It's like watching Minor League Baseball every night. There's too many different jerseys and too much camera time being dedicated on what guys are wearing on their way to the games. I don't give a fuck what dean Wade wore on his way to the locker room. They need to get rid of that red carpet atmosphere before games. It's putting too much focus on non basketball related stuff and all it does is create more unnecessary drama.

Another thing is the shoes. The league messed up bad when they allowed players to wear any colorway of shoes after the 2018 season. That was a huge mistake. When the colors of your shoes had to match the team colors I'm telling you the league was better to watch.

The different color shoes and different color jerseys look real amateurish on the court. It really looks like a bunch of random dudes out there beyond the obvious star players.

I know more about Kelly Oubre Jr and SGA because of their off court fashion than their on court play. To be hones with you both players are average players. Like they are just regular guys. Not All Stars and not complete scrubs but they are average but their profiles have been elevated so high because of their fashion that when you watch the game they get talked about like they are actually better than what they are. We need to eliminate shit like that from the game.

I don't need to know what the Hawks MLK jerseys mean or see De'Aaron Fox wearing a red colorway of Kyrie's new shoes. Just play ball. There's way too much extra stuff distracting us from the actual game.

If the league got back to just hooping then I guarantee that the viewership wouldn't suck so much. The presentation would be better. The commentary on the game would be better.
 
On a related note, @Los216 , some of the basketball courts themselves are hideous.

Brooklyn's court especially is the worst venue for viewing I have ever seen in sports in my lifetime. And it honestly isn't even close. It feels like you are watching the game in black and white. It's just awful. I legitimately have a difficult time watching and following what is going on.

That is just the worst example, but there's a handful of courts that are also awful.
 
Ohio said:
On a related note, @Los216 , some of the basketball courts themselves are hideous.

Brooklyn's court especially is the worst venue for viewing I have ever seen in sports in my lifetime. And it honestly isn't even close. It feels like you are watching the game in black and white. It's just awful. I legitimately have a difficult time watching and following what is going on.

That is just the worst example, but there's a handful of courts that are also awful.
Click to expand...

The Nets court wouldn't be bad with fans there. Their black and white court is all about dimming the light on the crowd and making the court look brighter. It actually looks good with a full arena but with an empty one it looks like a rec league game.

I understand why the league wanted to do this whole thing with the Nike jerseys but they over did it big time. All of the different colors and patters of jerseys and shoes look so ugly and I swear I keep getting Brooklyn and Houston mixed up with those powder blue jerseys.

people don't want to admit it right now but part of the reason a lot of those old 90's colorways went away was because they were dated and ugly. Now all they did was recycle a lot of the same themes and added corny talking points to go along with them.

Tonight the Clippers are wearing their Los Angeles Times themed jerseys while printing newspapers is becoming archaic and they will be taking on The Milwaukee Bucks who will be wearing their blue city edition jerseys representing that gathering by the lake.

lolololololololololololol
 
Ohioplayer00 said:
I don’t need data to tell me that players today are softer than players back in the 80s and 90s. But if you want some data I’ll give it to you. Here it is: 1,192!
That’s the number of games AC Green played without missing a start. Find me one player in the last 15 years that come close to that. Today’s players miss games because their back is stiff, their ankle hurts, they shoulder is sore, their wrist is sore and please don’t get me started on load management! All of this at a time where sports medicine is supposed to be at its highest peak!!!

I don’t need data to tell me that today’s players are softer on the defensive end and lack basic defensive knowledge. I watch it every single NBA game. You have a handful (and I mean handful) of players today that know how to play strong man to man defense into today’s NBA. In 2016 when the Cavs beat the Dubs I watched the league’s MVP (Curry) bust his ass trying not to get switched onto Cryie because he knew was going to get beat like tribal drum.
I’m not going sit here and discount today’s players. Yes....they are bigger, faster and stronger! But there’s only a handful of players like LBJ, Durant, Kwai, Gannis, Butler, and maybe Zion that could translate their game to play in 80s and 90s. Without the hand checking that the NBA doesn’t allow in today’s game players like Zeke, Maravich, Gervin, MJ, Reggie Miller, etc would average 30 points a game easily.
But the league wants to protect its star players and let them shine! Two years ago when the Rockets played the Dubs I watched Patrick Beverly get down and dirty and played jersey tight defense on Durant. The result? A frustrated whining Durant who was held to 11 points! Again the result? Next game after the league called the officials front office and said we can’t have our superstars “shut down like that”.... the refs came out and nailed Beverly with three quick fouls IN THE FIRST QUARTER! Essentially taking him out of the game.
The league is very soft!
Click to expand...

AC Green played all those games because it was easier to play defense back then. Less exhausting. You guys just don't get it. You are proving the opposite point. With better nutrition and better medicare care, guys now can't play thousands of games in a row because it's just more stressful on your body.

"Without the hand checking blah blah blah would average 59 points" - you don't even acknowledge that those guys, while they could be hand checked (to some extent) they also had the BENEFIT of illegal defense calls. Imagine if guys nowadays had that...rules for defending them. Kyrie Irving and James Harden would have a field day if everyone had to stay on their man or commit to a double team.
 
Los216 said:
The Nets court wouldn't be bad with fans there. Their black and white court is all about dimming the light on the crowd and making the court look brighter. It actually looks good with a full arena but with an empty one it looks like a rec league game.

I understand why the league wanted to do this whole thing with the Nike jerseys but they over did it big time. All of the different colors and patters of jerseys and shoes look so ugly and I swear I keep getting Brooklyn and Houston mixed up with those powder blue jerseys.

people don't want to admit it right now but part of the reason a lot of those old 90's colorways went away was because they were dated and ugly. Now all they did was recycle a lot of the same themes and added corny talking points to go along with them.

Tonight the Clippers are wearing their Los Angeles Times themed jerseys while printing newspapers is becoming archaic and they will be taking on The Milwaukee Bucks who will be wearing their blue city edition jerseys representing that gathering by the lake.

lolololololololololololol
Click to expand...
The Nike jerseys have been absolutely awful, no doubt. A massive letdown.
 
I agree that the aesthetics of the game is a huge issue. You really can't turn on a game and immediately identify who is playing.

One team wearing a red jersey at home and the other a powder blue on the road.

I'm all for the game progressing but that doesn't seem to be all that effective and is more of a turn off as a fan. Home and Road jerseys would be nice. Shoes that matched to a degree would be nice.

Baseball is next with Nike. Once they start using their jerseys next season as opposed to slapping their logo on these majestics jerseys -- mlb will look like trash too
 
At least the Nike jerseys stopped ripping when players stretched too far...baby steps
 
I went to a Jazz game in Utah last season and the sound and video effects were constant(even during game action),
loud and forced me to put some plugs in my ears to bring the noise down to tolerance.

It's like those in charge figure the average fan has an attention span about the time it takes to
snap your fingers.

No mas!
 
CavsFaninNJ said:
AC Green played all those games because it was easier to play defense back then. Less exhausting. You guys just don't get it. You are proving the opposite point. With better nutrition and better medicare care, guys now can't play thousands of games in a row because it's just more stressful on your body.

"Without the hand checking blah blah blah would average 59 points" - you don't even acknowledge that those guys, while they could be hand checked (to some extent) they also had the BENEFIT of illegal defense calls. Imagine if guys nowadays had that...rules for defending them. Kyrie Irving and James Harden would have a field day if everyone had to stay on their man or commit to a double team.
Click to expand...
No YOU don’t get it!! Easier to play defense? Illegal defense??? Hell and that’s why you can actually play zone in the league now because most of today’s players can’t guard a fire hydrant. They need to “rest” on defense. Harden and his matador defense would be on the bench with four fouls in the first half because he’d be reaching all night! Wait! My bad! No he wouldn’t because he would do what he does now.....step aside let and his man swoop to the hole.
Pleeeeeeeeeease Michael Cooper and Joe Dumars would lock Harden down! He’s only got a left hand!
And you just made my point about AC Green....all those games and never missed a start in over 1,000 games when the game was so much more physical. All of this science and great medical care and today’s players still miss tons of games! Like tonight for example.....Drummond questionable with a “sore back” and Nance with a “sore wrist”! Poor babies!!!!
 
Last edited:
Los216 said:
The Nets court wouldn't be bad with fans there. Their black and white court is all about dimming the light on the crowd and making the court look brighter. It actually looks good with a full arena but with an empty one it looks like a rec league game.

I understand why the league wanted to do this whole thing with the Nike jerseys but they over did it big time. All of the different colors and patters of jerseys and shoes look so ugly and I swear I keep getting Brooklyn and Houston mixed up with those powder blue jerseys.

people don't want to admit it right now but part of the reason a lot of those old 90's colorways went away was because they were dated and ugly. Now all they did was recycle a lot of the same themes and added corny talking points to go along with them.

Tonight the Clippers are wearing their Los Angeles Times themed jerseys while printing newspapers is becoming archaic and they will be taking on The Milwaukee Bucks who will be wearing their blue city edition jerseys representing that gathering by the lake.

lolololololololololololol
Click to expand...

how about when the Lakers played the Mavericks err Bucks on Jan 21 on TNT. A national television game. My brain couldn’t reconcile that the Bucks were playing because they were wearing almost the exact Mavericks jersey. I literally turned it off...and it was a marquee, potential finals match up. It just made my brain hurt
 
Goodness. There’s actually people who don’t like the fact that other people don’t really like this NBA or think highly of it.... THIS NBA....lol
 
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