Clippers v. Heat

[aceboon]

If the stars of the 80s operated in the 24/7 sports media world that we live in now they would be known as d*ckheads just like this current era.

Watch the last two weeks of the NCAA tourney all the way through the championship game and then watch a week of the NBA.

Any basketball fan will quickly realize that less than 10 players from the best 8 teams in college will ever see a second contract and maybe 2-3 will ever play in an All-star game.

As almost everyone else here has said the skill level at every position in the NBA is ridiculous. Kevin Durant is 6'9" and drains 25' fadeaways like they're layups. PG's that can go from foul line to foul line in 2.5 seconds, etc.

That being said, the NBA has always had amazing athletes. Wilt, Dr. J, Connie Hawkins, Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, David Thompson were all freaks of athletes compared to their contemporaries.

And, there's always been high skill players like Russel, Jabbar, Gervin, McHale, Magic, Bird, etc.

The variable for the NBA is the gedness of it's top stars. When it's Bird, Magic, Isaih, MJ, Olajuwon, etc things are good.

When it's Kobe, AI, and the group from the turn of the millenium, not so much.

 

[UConn990411]

Yeah, as big a fan of Bird as I am, he would be absolutely hated nowadays on a similar level to LeBron. Not only was he a gigantic trash talker on the court, but he constantly said arrogant/cocky things to the media as well.

That doesn't fly in today's world, where you get blasted for not being 100% politically correct.

 

[DaddyChoc]

millions & millions of dollars thats being handed out to these NBA is what some fans dont like.

making 8 mill/year and averaging 6 & 4 just doesnt look right.

also the free agent stuff is wacky too... trades every 4-5yrs in your career didnt happen in the 70's & 80's.

Magic was a LAKER, Bird was a Celtic.... who is Shaq (Magic, Heat, Lakers) we're almost forgetting LeBron was a Cav first.

Caron, Ray... who are they loyal to (its not their fault but).

and as college fans who love Adrian, Rashad, etc it would be nice to see them play in the NBA long after UConn but that doesnt happen. seeing players develop is what college fans enjoy, in the NBA they want results right away.

competing for spots in the NBA is much tougher than in college where just about everyone is good

 

[traitor71]

The Knicks are still on the rise, and I could see them peaking as a Finals-caliber team a year or two from now once they find one more backcourt piece.

I know it's been a few weeks since this was posted, but I can't help but think about it every single time the Knicks stumble on to the court and pretend to play basketball. You didn't seriously believe that when you typed it did you?

 

[mauconnfan]

LeBron and Wade have changed with the game, nice guys coming in, level headed now you cannot fit them into a building - there are many others but there's also some good hard working players too who I tend to gravitate to if I find a sceond to watch the crap..............I respect those who love the NBA for what it is but that's the same reason I hate it. It's a joke and the start of this season has been pretty funny with the amount of teams scoring in the 40's-50's enetering the 4th quarter until they play even less defense than they already did and somehow eek out 70-8o by finla horn.

 

[Silk City]

I know it's been a few weeks since this was posted, but I can't help but think about it every single time the Knicks stumble on to the court and pretend to play basketball. You didn't seriously believe that when you typed it did you?

Yes? They have a lot of talent at the forward and center positions. If they trade for a respectable PG that can run the system and keep the offense flowing of course they can make a run in a year or two. Carmelo and Amare may not exactly be young, but look what the veteran Celtics did when they got flowing with Rondo.

The East is weak. The Knicks might be playing like crap right now, but I see no reason why they can't contend if they find a guard that commands the offense and doesn't just jack up 3s. I think it's kind of silly to overanalyze a short term skid and make assumptions for the team a year or two down the road.

How'd the Celtics look two weeks ago? Now they're as hot as anyone. That's how the NBA works