NBA changed for the good or worse?

[ProfessaPackMan]

INB4 the excessive hyperbole about how Today's NBA is alot better or how the NBA in the 80's and 90's were more physical comes in.

[InthePaint]

Quote: Originally Posted by SteelersFreak

He did that well before the 2010-2011 season.

Is 2009/10 well before?

What year/season are you going back to?

[Taur3asi3]

My issue with the league is that it just isn't fun or enjoyable to watch anymore. The team I root for, the Miami Heat, are coming off a championship and have 3 of the premiere players in the league along with Ray Allen who has been a favorite of mine for years but the league just isn't enjoyable or entertaining. I've done a complete 180 on the league over the past 4-5 years, wrote a piece on how much I loved the league and how great it was when Chris Paul was having his monster "best point guard year ever" season and now I can barely watch a full regular season game.

I can't exactly explain why I find the league so bad now but given my favorite team's overwhelming success it seems kind of damning that a long time fan is being turned off to the point where I can't watch a full regular season match.

[DukeC]

I think that the lack of TEAM defense being emphasized is a large reason why a lot of people harp on the old days.

Its incredibly hard to find players to commit to defense night in and night out. Guys did that regularly back then. This is exluding the teams who employed the philosophy of trying to outshoot you like those nuggets teams or the early era pringles suns team.

[ojandpizza]

The kids on here like today better, the rest of us the 80/90s, if there were many here old enough here we would see more 60/70s guys, that's how it will always be. Everybody always goes for the era they grew up watching.

I wasn't trying to say I think the NBA is better or worse now, I was just trying to take the biased factor out of which era I grew up watching.

I'm a fan of the NBA from the Russell days all the way to now and the LeBron days.

[SteelersFreak]

Quote: Originally Posted by InthePaint

Is 2009/10 well before? What year/season are you going back to?

Dirk had established himself as a physical presence and threat in the low post going way back to 2005-2006.

Acting like Dirk's supposed refusal to play in the post is the reason he didn't win a championship until 10-11 is pretty ****ing ridiculous.

[iLLosophy]

Quote: Originally Posted by DukeC

I think that the lack of TEAM defense being emphasized is a large reason why a lot of people harp on the old days.

Well if you follow the money, a) Defense doesn't sell tickets or boost ratings and b) intense defensive players are more likely to create situations where fights ensue, something David Stern has been hellbent on preventing (since Nov 19, 2004) in order to preserve the NBA brand.

[DukeC]

Quote: Originally Posted by iLLosophy

Well if you follow the money, a) Defense doesn't sell tickets or boost ratings and b) intense defensive players are more likely to create situations where fights ensue, something David Stern has been hellbent on preventing (since Nov 19, 2004) in order to preserve the NBA brand.

I disagree.

1. Defense can easily sell tickets and boost ratings...so long as that defense translates into Offense (a fast break offense like the Miami Heat...who won on said defense) at the other end of the floor via a block, steal, or even a defensive rebound via an outlet pass.

2. To expand on point 1, then what about the Lakers during their 2 championship run? Weren't they playing very good defense and still drawing in money just because they were the Lakers (and they had Kobe)? Wasn't AI selling tickets and boosting ratings when he was by himself even though that Philly team LIVED on its defense? Same goes for Lebron when he was in Cleveland?

3. You see how each of these works? As long as you have a player that is supremely dominant on the offensive side of the ball for the fans it doesn't matter what the TEAM does. Because the fans the NBA is supposedly targeting are only their to watch that player anyway. And, odds are, that player isn't going to be as effected by the team defense as other players.

4. As to address B, you don't need intense defensive players. Just ones that do their job and are effective at doing what they are assigned to do (like the Miami Heat or the Memphis Grizzlies, or the Spurs when Tim Duncan decides he wants to protect the rim).

It helps if you have an intense guy like Garnett, but you don't NEED a guy like him per say. Just guys committed to the defensive side of the ball night in and night out.