Today’s NBA is barely recognizable.

[foucault87]

I'm not sure how being able to casually clothesline people is considered defense but if thats what you want then you should be watching a different sport.

The defensive chess match is so interesting these days with all the different actions players can do and how versatile their games are. If I wanted to watch two dinosaurs who couldn't shoot from more than a foot away from the hoop, I would just play hoops with my friends.

 

[Ohioplayer00]

I'm not sure how being able to casually clothesline people is considered defense but if thats what you want then you should be watching a different sport.

The defensive chess match is so interesting these days with all the different actions players can do and how versatile their games are. If I wanted to watch two dinosaurs who couldn't shoot from more than a foot away from the hoop, I would just play hoops with my friends.

I’m not talking Bad Boy defense! I’m talking about up in your jersey chest to chest D and not letting people go wherever they want on offense! And also talking about putting a body on people when they drive to the basket. There are so many ticky tack slap fouls nowadays that lead to so many “and one” baskets. One of the first things I learned on defense other than moving my feet was “If you are going to foul a man in the act of shooting.....make sure he doesn’t make the basket”. All people do now is reach and slap people on the arm or as TT used to do a lot......jump up in the air and bump them with his body not altering the shot at all and allowing an easy completion of the shot.
And what dinosaurs are you talking that can’t shoot from more than a foot away. Maybe you’re too young to remember big men like Lanier, Cowens, Thurmond, Daughtery, Lambieer, Hakeem, Parish, etc. They didn’t shoot three pointers like big men today but then again we don’t have “big men” today! We have league of stretch fours! I’m not discounting those players or their skills in today’s game! It’s just a fact....Their skills fit today’s game of jump shooting perfectly. But don’t act like big men back in the day couldn’t shoot 15-20 foot jumpers! They could if it was needed.

 

[Derek]

I agree the rules need to be tweaked to make the game better, but pretending the average player in the 80’s could hold the jock of the average player today is laughable.

Not to mention, defense was probably worse in the 80’s, and teams weren’t even shooting 3’s yet. Funny enough, teams shots way more FT back then than they do now.

 

[Dr. Claw]

And the players that DO play defense are handcuffed by the league because the league wants to see high scoring games! I will never forget a couple of years ago when the Rockets were playing the Dubs! Patrick Beverly got all up in Durant’s jersey in a playoff game, frustrated the hell out of Durant who only scored 11 points. The very next game it was like Silver called the refs and said “we can’t have our stars being shown up” and what happens? Beverly gets hits with three quick foul calls in the first quarter essentially taking him out of the game defensively.

Of all the things mentioned in this post, this sort of officiating is what sucks the most.
I hate the "superstar calls", and non-calls for players on teams considered to be in the NBA's underclass.

It's the inverse of what was done when Iverson was at his peak, refs calling fouls to take that guy outta the game (and they even told him as such ON FILM).
Also one of the reasons while I'll always hold a grudge against the Warriors even if Durant is gone and they're not quite the same team. The sheer favoritism of officiating: "This is what we want to see as the standard bearer of the league". Cheapens the game and encourages flopping or Harden Ball (which, as Harden moves to ball handler mode, has now shifted on to Trae Young lol)


I don't mind many of the uniforms being worn today (even if they're very shameless means of generating more revenue for the league), even some of the weird ones. The only ones that are bothersome are the ones like Milwaukee's blue on blue (which they once wore against the Warriors or something), and the Oilers colors for the Rockets (a team that usually wears red) -- makes it hard to ID a team without the score on the screen when you're watching. There seems to be no reason or rhyme to that. That being said, if they're doing this, Cavs need to bring back Orange and Blue like they did for those "City" uniforms a couple seasons back. I did much enjoy the '90s Cavs uniforms last season (even though those are super polarizing among the fanbase). Anything that reminds of Richfield/early Gund I'm down for.

 

[Los216]

The reason why sticking to only 2 or 3 uniforms per season per team is a good thing has a lot to do with what we see in the NFL.

One of the complaints people have with the NFL is that the league has a hard time marketing some of the lesser known players because they all wear helmets. The good thing about that though is since all the players are wearing helmets the ones who perform better stand out the most.

That puts an emphasis on players in game performance and not on any of the extra stuff. This is also what separates the good players from the great players.

In today's NBA there's a lot of players who are really overrated and overhyped. They're good players but they aren't that good. They get the coverage that should probably go to better players but for a lot of non basketball reasons some of these guys get a lot of clout.

The product is better when there are less things that take you away from the players performance on the court.

 

[Ohioplayer00]

I agree the rules need to be tweaked to make the game better, but pretending the average player in the 80’s could hold the jock of the average player today is laughable.

Not to mention, defense was probably worse in the 80’s, and teams weren’t even shooting 3’s yet. Funny enough, teams shots way more FT back then than they do now.

We’re not talking about the “average” players in either era. We’re talking about the top players in each of the eras. I don’t think there was a player in the 80s or 90s that could stop LBJ, Cryie or Westbrook. But on the other hand there’s not a player in this era that could hold down Shaq, Maravich, MJ, or Zeke! (Especially with the hands free defense that the league employs today)

 

[Derek]

We’re not talking about the “average” players in either era. We’re talking about the top players in each of the eras. I don’t think there was a player in the 80s or 90s that could stop LBJ, Cryie or Westbrook. But on the other hand there’s not a player in this era that could hold down Shaq, Maravich, MJ, or Zeke! (Especially with the hands free defense that the league employs today)

The average player matters because that’s the competition.

Today’s players are far more advanced than guys 30 years ago.

Obviously, all-time greats would still be great, but not as great as they were during their own era.

 

[CavsFaninNJ]

I agree the rules need to be tweaked to make the game better, but pretending the average player in the 80’s could hold the jock of the average player today is laughable.

Not to mention, defense was probably worse in the 80’s, and teams weren’t even shooting 3’s yet. Funny enough, teams shots way more FT back then than they do now.

Because they were all crowded together inside of the arch lol

I'm not sure how being able to casually clothesline people is considered defense but if thats what you want then you should be watching a different sport.

The defensive chess match is so interesting these days with all the different actions players can do and how versatile their games are. If I wanted to watch two dinosaurs who couldn't shoot from more than a foot away from the hoop, I would just play hoops with my friends.

The skill level and athleticism is much better. I don't know how that could be a bad thing.

 

[CavsFaninNJ]

The average player matters because that’s the competition.

Today’s players are far more advanced than guys 30 years ago.

Obviously, all-time greats would still be great, but not as great as they were during their own era.

Agreed. The vast majority of the players on the court are "average players". Most nights you don't face an all-time great.

 

[2 For The Brew]

Having watched the NBA since the 70s I think the argument about defense totally misses the point.

Larry Bird and Dell Curry were two well—known early 3 point shooters. Larry averaged less than two shots a game and was under 38% for his career, while Dell at his peak was around five shots a game and not much over 40%. The game was about midrange and pounding the ball inside to a big.

Steph had 5 shots per game his first three years, then 8 his next there, and has been 10-12 ever since at 43.4%. He revolutionized the game (not him alone, but he was the most visible shooter).

Defenses have had to evolve to guard the three point line (not a concern in the eighties). More movement, more athleticism, more length required of wins.

The game has changed so much that I don’t see how we can compare defenses between eras, and that goes for many players as well.

I would think most players in the 80s would’ve worked on that three point shot if that was a big factor then but it’s a chicken and egg issue to some extent. Nobody thought then that a guy jacking up 12 threes a game made any sense.

The great improvement in shooting over the last 20-25 years has made the game better in many respects (hated the mid-nineties crap shooting era) but I think the three is too easy now and it’s unbalanced the game a bit.

 

[Ohioplayer00]

Having watched the NBA since the 70s I think the argument about defense totally misses the point.

Larry Bird and Dell Curry were two well—known early 3 point shooters. Larry averaged less than two shots a game and was under 38% for his career, while Dell at his peak was around five shots a game and not much over 40%. The game was about midrange and pounding the ball inside to a big.

Steph had 5 shots per game his first three years, then 8 his next there, and has been 10-12 ever since at 43.4%. He revolutionized the game (not him alone, but he was the most visible shooter).

Defenses have had to evolve to guard the three point line (not a concern in the eighties). More movement, more athleticism, more length required of wins.

The game has changed so much that I don’t see how we can compare defenses between eras, and that goes for many players as well.

I would think most players in the 80s would’ve worked on that three point shot if that was a big factor then but it’s a chicken and egg issue to some extent. Nobody thought then that a guy jacking up 12 threes a game made any sense.

The great improvement in shooting over the last 20-25 years has made the game better in many respects (hated the mid-nineties crap shooting era) but I think the three is too easy now and it’s unbalanced the game a bit.

All VALID points! I can definitely agree with your assessments here. The only point I was trying make was that today’s NBA players (except for a handful) don’t really play or know how to play man to man defense! And that today’s players can’t stay on the court due to “little” injuries that players back in the day would have played through!

 

[2 For The Brew]

All VALID points! I can definitely agree with your assessments here. The only point I was trying make was that today’s NBA players (except for a handful) don’t really play or know how to play man to man defense! And that today’s players can’t stay on the court due to “little” injuries that players back in the day would have played through!

Man-to-man defense is tough with a bunch of mobile wings. Also, I don‘t think Nance’s wrist is a little injury. I agree there’s a lot more load management and the like, but joints have to support more weight and more demanding moves than in the past.

The real issue older players have is that stars back then made peanuts compared to rotation players today. They also flew commercial, not team or chartered jets.

 

[Derek]

You also see a lot of older players limping around and I don't think there's anything wrong with ensuring your long-term health.

 

[Ohioplayer00]

You also see a lot of older players limping around and I don't think there's anything wrong with ensuring your long-term health.

Limping around???? Hell I see Barkley, MJ, Malone playing 18 rounds of golf. Those players you see limping around now had health issues back then or haven’t taken care of themselves since retirement. There was almost an entire week last year spent on NBA TV where older players were chiming in on load management and I didn’t hear one player say that the years of playing a full 82 game schedule had a negative impact on their bodies now! I remember MJ and Pippen saying when they needed rest Phil Jackson would make them sit out practice!

 

[Derek]

Limping around???? Hell I see Barkley, MJ, Malone playing 18 rounds of golf. Those players you see limping around now had health issues back then or haven’t taken care of themselves since retirement. There was almost an entire week last year spent on NBA TV where older players were chiming in on load management and I didn’t hear one player say that the years of playing a full 82 game schedule had a negative impact on their bodies now! I remember MJ and Pippen saying when they needed rest Phil Jackson would make them sit out practice!

Yeah, limping around. A couple players isn’t an effective counter example.

My dad still plays golf, too. Hip replacement, double-knee replacement, wrist fusions, screws in his ankles.

I’m not saying every player felt ill-effects, but taking care of your body and trying to ensure long-term health is a real concern.