NBA Playoffs 2023

[aceboon]

love it, get it to the midrange and just fry dudes

 

[CardiacAndre7]

The shooting is better because that's the focus, big men have a tough time making it today if they don't really stretch the floor. There's always been great shooters but the three pointer was hardly a focus in the league. The league was way more about post play and attacking the rim, way more people were dunking on each other in the 90's. Finishing through contact is a skill it's just not really much a part of the game anymore.

I don't believe guys are quicker, stronger, jump higher now. It's just a very different style of play.

I don’t think saying it’s the focus detracts from my statement. They are developed from a young age to have that versatility in their game. Just because the guys back then didn’t have to do it doesn’t mean they could have. Bigs were way more plodding. I mean, Plumlee was running the point at times last night for the Clippers, and no one think of him as some crazy hybrid big. That’s just training and development.

Players are 100% quicker if anything though, and way more creative in getting to their spots.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I don’t think the talent is much different from the 2000s era to now outside of guys just shooting the ball more. 80s and 90s though? Yeah probably.

Wings wasn’t a really deep position until after Jordan. Only difference in todays game is stretch 4s and guys having the green light to shoot more, but would guys like Webber, KG, Sheed, etc not adjust to todays game to be one of the best 4s in the league? Hell Dirk would fit PERFECTLY in today’s game.

IMO there’s no touching the perimeter players and Power Forwards from the early 2000s still.

Half the guys you mentioned retired in the last 10 years. They played a good amount of the modern game.

 

[aceboon]

I don’t think saying it’s the focus detracts from my statement. They are developed from a young age to have that versatility in their game. Just because the guys back then didn’t have to do it doesn’t mean they could have. Bigs were way more plodding. I mean, Plumlee was running the point at times last night for the Clippers, and no one think of him as some crazy hybrid big. That’s just training and development.

Players are 100% quicker if anything though, and way more creative in getting to their spots.

Plumlee can dribble and pass but also can't go to work in the post or hit midrange jumpers at an efficient clip like 80s/90s bigs, which would you rather have? Plumlee is just "a guy" now and would be the same in those eras too.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Half the guys you mentioned retired in the last 10 years. They played a good amount of the modern game.

I guess it just depends on when you think it starts. I was thinking of when the Steph Curry era began and they were well past their prime and on the way out for that.

 

[UConn990411]

Nobody is allowed to have a difference of opinion…if they do we should look down upon them.

I still enjoy the NBA, but can understand why some may prefer the college game. Individual player skill level isn’t the only reason why people watch sports…

For whatever reason there is a holier than thou attitude that some modern NBA fans have, and they tend to take it very personally if others don’t also like the modern game.

I can understand people not liking the NBA.

I don’t understand those people opening a thread titled “NBA Playoffs 2023” and feeling the need to post in it.

 

[superjohn]

I don’t think saying it’s the focus detracts from my statement. They are developed from a young age to have that versatility in their game. Just because the guys back then didn’t have to do it doesn’t mean they could have. Bigs were way more plodding. I mean, Plumlee was running the point at times last night for the Clippers, and no one think of him as some crazy hybrid big. That’s just training and development.

Players are 100% quicker if anything though, and way more creative in getting to their spots.

That's where we disagree. They could have it's just not the focus. Just like guys today could have much more refined post games like guys of the past but they don't because it's not the focus.

Same thing goes for guys in MLB, they would be able to hit it to the open part of the field and be able to bunt like guys used to if it was the focus.

 

[Jaydumo20]

It’s incredible to me that people feel this way, especially given we just won our 5th chip playing the most modern, NBA-style scheme on both ends that I’ve ever seen from a college team.

The league today is absolutely incredible — and getting better all the time — and has been for about 15 years. Players 1-through-5 are more skilled, off-ball actions are more complicated, defenses are more clever. It’s the game at its very best.

One thing I think about a lot is how Calhoun understood this 35 years ago, and how he was ahead of his time in understanding pace and space. Our greats from the 80s and 90s (Cliff, Smitty, Burrell, Donyell, Ray, Doron, Travis) would be even better today because the guards could all move, process multiple offensive options, and shoot, and the bigs could all defend in space but protect the rim, too.

Smitty’s the one I think about all the time. If he came into the league now he’d be a 6th man on an elite team instead of a fringe guy who fell out of the league in 3 years. Oh well.

I used to be in the NBA is unwatchable camp, but I just reinforced that nonsense by not watching. Self fulfilling.
To all the NBA haters (I was one) watch these playoffs with an open mind. Hard not to like...plus its filled with absolute legends and the best rising stars.

 

[Yanksrock615]

The shooting is better because that's the focus, big men have a tough time making it today if they don't really stretch the floor. There's always been great shooters but the three pointer was hardly a focus in the league. The league was way more about post play and attacking the rim, way more people were dunking on each other in the 90's. Finishing through contact is a skill it's just not really much a part of the game anymore.

I don't believe guys are quicker, stronger, jump higher now. It's just a very different style of play.

Modern training and medicine exist. Of course the guys are quicker, stronger and faster.

Finishing through contact is still very important. The most valuable shot in basketball are layups and dunks. Shots at the rim are what open up 3 point shooting. Defenses #1 priority is still to defend the rim.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Plumlee can dribble and pass but also can't go to work in the post or hit midrange jumpers at an efficient clip like 80s/90s bigs, which would you rather have? Plumlee is just "a guy" now and would be the same in those eras too.

That was just a name I threw out to prove something of a point. Centers in the earlier days, especially career backups, were not initiating offense as much as they do today.

 

[Yanksrock615]

That's where we disagree. They could have it's just not the focus. Just like guys today could have much more refined post games like guys of the past but they don't because it's not the focus.

Same thing goes for guys in MLB, they would be able to hit it to the open part of the field and be able to bunt like guys used to if it was the focus.

The best player in the nba and reigning back to back mvp operates from the post (jokic). Embiid who’s winning mvp this year operates from the post.

 

[MexicoHusky]

Looking forward to the playoffs. They should be good. Lots of big stars with injury problems in years past are playing.

I also prefer modern NBA to the grind-it-out crowded basketball of the late 90s and early 2000s.

 

[Matrim55]

That's where we disagree. They could have it's just not the focus. Just like guys today could have much more refined post games like guys of the past but they don't because it's not the focus.

I don't think guys of the past had more refined post games than today's players. I just think that coaches of the past were trapped in a cycle of defaulting toward inefficient hoops. Anyway...



There's lots of great post play in the modern game. What's different is that it mostly comes out of actions generating mis-matches instead of just one behemoth banging another, and a good section of it comes from 4-out spreads with a guard doing work in the post b/c big men are now able to shoot.

It's just a much, much better game than it ever has been.

 

[superjohn]

I don't think guys of the past had more refined post games than today's players. I just think that coaches of the past were trapped in a cycle of defaulting toward inefficient hoops. Anyway...



There's lots of great post play in the modern game. What's different is that it mostly comes out of actions generating mis-matches instead of just one behemoth banging another, and a good section of it comes from 4-out spreads with a guard doing work in the post b/c big men are now able to shoot.

It's just a much, much better game than it ever has been.

Jokic has one of the best arsenal of post moves ever but he's an anomaly in today's game and the best player in the sport, IMO. Even Embiid who is totally dominant has nowhere near the post moves of Jokic, Dream, or McHale.

Those guys weren't just behemoths. Dream, Shaq, Duncan, Robinson, Ewing, Barkley, Malone, Garnett etc. were huge but they also were unbelievably skilled on the block. I don't see that too much in the game today outside of maybe a handful of guys. It's why I enjoy watching DeRozan and Kawhi. They aren't at the level of Jordan who had one of the best all-time arsenal of post moves but they're still putting in work. There used to be so many big men with great post moves and there were also a bunch of guards who punished people in the post.

Today is a ton of fun to watch (I love it just as much as any other time) but I wish there was more balance. The shotmaking is incredible now but it loses some appeal when all the teams are shooting nearly 40 threes per game. I wish we could find a balance with post play, midrange, and threes.

It drives me nuts watching someone like KAT get taken out of a game in crunch time because Austin Reaves is guarding him on the perimeter and KAT won't punish him down low.

 

[Yanksrock615]

If you enjoyed watching UConn basketball this season, you’ll probably like the NBA. Our offense was NBA like with our shot diet and off screen shooting/ PnR offense.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Jokic has one of the best arsenal of post moves ever but he's an anomaly in today's game and the best player in the sport, IMO. Even Embiid who is totally dominant has nowhere near the post moves of Jokic, Dream, or McHale.

Those guys weren't just behemoths. Dream, Shaq, Duncan, Robinson, Ewing, Barkley, Malone, Garnett etc. were huge but they also were unbelievably skilled on the block. I don't see that too much in the game today outside of maybe a handful of guys. It's why I enjoy watching DeRozan and Kawhi. They aren't at the level of Jordan who had one of the best all-time arsenal of post moves but they're still putting in work. There used to be so many big men with great post moves and there were also a bunch of guards who punished people in the post.

Today is a ton of fun to watch (I love it just as much as any other time) but I wish there was more balance. The shotmaking is incredible now but it loses some appeal when all the teams are shooting nearly 40 threes per game. I wish we could find a balance with post play, midrange, and threes.

It drives me nuts watching someone like KAT get taken out of a game in crunch time because Austin Reaves is guarding him on the perimeter and KAT won't punish him down low.

Embiid is incredibly skilled in the post. Come on now

 

[Ratso]

sixers in 4

 

[superjohn]

Embiid is incredibly skilled in the post. Come on now

He is and he has a great drop step but so much of his game is just staring the defender down in the low post and high post and hitting shots and or getting fouled. He doesn't lose defenders the same way Dream, Jokic, and McHale do by putting them in the spin cycle.

Sanogo has excellent post moves and some of the best footwork you'll see but they don't even really see a place for him in today's NBA. If he came around just 15+ years ago NBA teams would be all over him.

 

[Ratso]

He is and he has a great drop step but so much of his game is just staring the defender down in the low post and high post and hitting shots and or getting fouled. He doesn't lose defenders the same way Dream, Jokic, and McHale do by putting them in the spin cycle.

Sanogo has excellent post moves and some of the best footwork you'll see but they don't even really see a place for him in today's NBA. If he came around just 15+ years ago NBA teams would be all over him.

if adama was 7’2 he’d be a nba mvp every year, but he’s 6’9 on a good day. karaban looks taller

 

[CardiacAndre7]

He is and he has a great drop step but so much of his game is just staring the defender down in the low post and high post and hitting shots and or getting fouled. He doesn't lose defenders the same way Dream, Jokic, and McHale do by putting them in the spin cycle.

Sanogo has excellent post moves and some of the best footwork you'll see but they don't even really see a place for him in today's NBA. If he came around just 15+ years ago NBA teams would be all over him.

But he also has a better face up game than all the guys you mentioned in the last post. Plus he’s a willing and good passer.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Biggest changes are analytics and the internationals. The international guys brought a depth of talent that wasn’t there without them, and a different type of player with the skilled bigs that could shoot. That happened around the same time analytics took over and teams focused on 3s and scoring at the rim and the illegal defense rule went away. The motion offense evolved to generate those kinds of shots, while ISO ball generated pull ups, midrange shots and contested shots at the rim.

I stopped watching during much of the ISO era, it was boring as hell. The NBA is much better now. I did love the 80s game, especially the Lakers style of play.

Hoping the Celtics can play a strong 40 minutes. Things are looking good again. At full strength they are better than the Sixers and as good as the Bucks. All three may be better than anybody in the west this year.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Biggest changes are analytics and the internationals. The international guys brought a depth of talent that wasn’t there without them, and a different type of player with the skilled bigs that could shoot. That happened around the same time analytics took over and teams focused on 3s and scoring at the rim and the illegal defense rule went away. The motion offense evolved to generate those kinds of shots, while ISO ball generated pull ups, midrange shots and contested shots at the rim.

I stopped watching during much of the ISO era, it was boring as hell. The NBA is much better now. I did love the 80s game, especially the Lakers style of play.

Hoping the Celtics can play a strong 40 minutes. Things are looking good again. At full strength they are better than the Sixers and as good as the Bucks. All three may be better than anybody in the west this year.

My money is still on a winner coming out the West.

One of Phoenix, Golden State, or LA. Too much championship talent and experience on those squads.

Gun to the head I don’t see how Golden State doesn’t win again with all the talent they have.

 

[Ratso]

if the sixers lose to the celtics again, I don’t see danny saying no to the sixers job

 

[HuskyHawk]

My money is still on a winner coming out the West.

One of Phoenix, Golden State, or LA. Too much championship talent and experience on those squads.

Gun to the head I don’t see how Golden State doesn’t win again with all the talent they have.

Old, old and old. At some point all that experience means you’re not what you used to be. Nuggets are the team to beat.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Unless he's lacing up, my interest in this rivalry has waned.