March madness is so much better then NBA playoffs

[Jaydumo20]

New gig shirt!?!?!

View attachment 109461

If this is yours i will buy this off you.

You may not remember but for our early 2000s shows I used to wear random football jerseys on stage. James Stewart, Andre Wadsworth and Rod Gardner.

Im going for the gold though this summer

 

[HuskyHawk]

The better product I desire is physical play being allowed like it's being allowed during these playoffs and less three pointers. Not less games.

I believe that the only fix to the three pointer situation is to make it worth 2.5 points. No distance is going to matter as these guys have the range dialed in. The other factor would be to allow more post shot contact, which would impact the close out ability. Until then, hoisting 3s is mostly smart.

As for physical play, some of it is good, some bad. There's a lot of shoving on the boards that should be called. Basketball has a problem like the NHL has a problem. Do we want to showcase skills or do we want to showcase toughness and physicality? The regular season shouldn't be a different game than the playoffs.

 

[Deepster]

I don’t mind that you guys don’t watch the NBA. I and others do, and I think the consensus is these playoffs have been incredibly entertaining and mostly super high level.

I mind those that don’t watch it and complain about the product. If you watched in the early-mid 2000’s and were a fan of that product and not this, I find it very odd.

What do you find incredibly entertaining in games where one team shoots 15 for 60 and 10 for 40 from 3 pt in back to back games?

 

[Jumpman62114]

The NBA regular season is too long and the per game product is too watered down, particularly with load management. Hard to get up for any particular game. With less games, best players will play more consistently and each game will mean more. I also hate that almost every team plays the same way as oppose to college where talent/ roster differences really lead to diversified offense/defense strategies.

 

[superjohn]

the amount of space players have to cover in a game due to the 3point shooting is night and day compared to back then. watching basketball in the 90s I don't remember guys being struck down by calf or abductor muscle injuries at a high rate and now it's damn near every week where you see players getting sidelined with these injuries. I don't think it's a coincidence that with the game and the floor more spaced out than ever that we're seeing a rise in soft tissue injuries.

Could be the case, even more reason to get teams to stop shooting 45 threes per game.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

What do you find incredibly entertaining in games where one team shoots 15 for 60 and 10 for 40 from 3 pt in back to back games?

The fact that wasn’t every game and there are other aspects to basketball in general.

 

[Waquoit]

I would like to see the NBA get off teams' backs about load management. No one cares if Tatum or Lillard show up for a late January ESPN prime time game.

Season ticket holders care.

 

[Inyatkin]

Season ticket holders care.

Probably more so people who only get to one game. OKC is in town but SGA is sitting for load management. Fun!

 

[cullaville]

The season is way too long. Cut about 20 games and the playoffs should be wrapping up right now. The load management issues would go away, the regular season would be meaningful and the playoffs might actually feature teams with healthy players.

Game 7 of the 1970 playoffs was played on May 8th, 1970,

 

[shizzle787]

Move the 3 point line back a foot or two and the product will improve.

 

[Deepster]

The fact that wasn’t every game and there are other aspects to basketball in general.

Like what?

 

[Kenny11]

I prefer NBA playoffs (unless UConn is making a run).

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Like what?

Way better defense, great shotmaking, more physical play, beautiful ball movement, more strategy from Coaches, great players stepping up or wilting, etc.

 

[EricLA]

I hate watching the Celtics. They're really successful in this version of the NBA but all they do is shoot threes and it's awful to watch.

The league in general is far too three point focused but the Celtics take it to a comical level. I wouldn't judge the whole league based on them.

Wait until they create the 4 point shot. You know it's coming...

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Season ticket holders care.

Would you rather see the starters play 40 minutes of a late January game, or have a healthy, fresh team heading into the playoffs? The late season injuries in the NBA have gotten completely out of hand, and most of these injuries are fatigue-type injuries. Just as bad are the spent teams at the end of the season. Read any interview of any player, and they will talk about the fatigue and being tired at the end of the season. Either teams need to load manage or play fewer games.

The NBA is part of the problem, but these old school coaches like Doc Rivers are a bigger part of the problem. Budenholzer was a lousy game coach, but he had the Bucks fresh heading into the playoffs, and he stretched out Middleton's, Lopez's and George Hill's careers. Rivers, Riddick and Thibodeau are burning players out like they are 1980's Billy Martin or Tommy Lasorda managing their pitching rotation. I expect to see a big dip by KAT next season because Thibodeau is just overplaying him.

Kerr, Spoelstra and Popovich are good at stretching out careers. Atkinson did everything right, and it still didn't work out, but I expect that team to be back. I can't believe more GMs are not making their HC's to manage playing time better given the investment these teams make into stars and the damage an injury can do to a franchise.

These players are getting massive contracts, and the salary cap means that an achilles or ACL not only wipes out a player's season, but makes it impossible for the franchise to replace the injured player, effectively burning the prime of any other star on the roster. Lillard's injury didn't just end his career as anything more than a role player, but also effectively ended the Giannis era in Milwaukee. I would have fired Doc in mid-game when Lillard went down if I was the Bucks' GM. Doc didn't just screw up one player, he dumped the Bucks into a long-term purgatory. It may be 5 or more years before the Bucks return to the playoffs if they trade Giannis this offseason, and it could be decades before a northern, small city franchise like the Bucks challenges for even a conference title. The Bucks went 17 years (2001 through 2018) without getting out of the first round. Hiring Rivers was dumb enough, but letting him burn the franchise to the ground with his 1990's coaching is unforgiveable.

 

[Deepster]

Way better defense, great shotmaking, more physical play, beautiful ball movement, more strategy from Coaches, great players stepping up or wilting, etc.

I don't know. Those are pretty generic cliches you could apply to any Tuesday night WNBA game too.

I see a complete lack of defense, off balance and ill-advised 3 pointers most possessions, less actual halfcourt X/O strategy and lots of whining and flopping.

But if you like it? Enjoy.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

But if you like it? Enjoy.

If only that were true. The anti-NBA crowd is the loudest faction on any of these threads.

Incidentally, with respect to Xs and Os, if you can't see that a lot of these teams are running versions of the offense that everyone was so in love with here 2 years ago but they're doing it faster, with bigger bodies, better athletes and better shotmaking I don't know what to tell you.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I don't know. Those are pretty generic cliches you could apply to any Tuesday night WNBA game too.

I see a complete lack of defense, off balance and ill-advised 3 pointers most possessions, less actual halfcourt X/O strategy and lots of whining and flopping.

But if you like it? Enjoy.

Cool so you’re “watching” the playoffs with your eyes closed. All good.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

If only that were true. The anti-NBA crowd is the loudest faction on any of these threads.

Incidentally, with respect to Xs and Os, if you can't see that a lot of these teams are running versions of the offense that everyone was so in love with here 2 years ago but they're doing it faster, with bigger bodies, better athletes and better shotmaking I don't know what to tell you.

It’s so hard for them to just not watch if they hate it that much. I cannot fathom the insanity.

 

[HuskyHawk]

If only that were true. The anti-NBA crowd is the loudest faction on any of these threads.

Incidentally, with respect to Xs and Os, if you can't see that a lot of these teams are running versions of the offense that everyone was so in love with here 2 years ago but they're doing it faster, with bigger bodies, better athletes and better shotmaking I don't know what to tell you.

I don't get it. Is it too many 3s at times? Sure. But the Pacers and Celtics, when clicking, move the ball a ton. Also, saying there is no defense? 15 years ago the league was allergic to defense, now it is an absolute priority and teams punish any weakness relentlessly. Castle can't shoot much and won rookie of the year. Defense matters.

The worst era was the late ISO/illegal defense era. That was awful, boring one on one basketball.

 

[Deepster]

If only that were true. The anti-NBA crowd is the loudest faction on any of these threads.

Incidentally, with respect to Xs and Os, if you can't see that a lot of these teams are running versions of the offense that everyone was so in love with here 2 years ago but they're doing it faster, with bigger bodies, better athletes and better shotmaking I don't know what to tell you.

Hey, I respect your ability to have an opinion on it and if that's what you see? Great.

The offense everyone fell in love with here resulted in alley oops, wide open layups, slip screen back door cuts, etc. When I watch the Celtics take an off balance three 7 seconds into a possession, get the rebound, immediately kick it out for another three that bricks even worse than the 1st one? I don't think that's "beautiful".

 

[Deepster]

It’s so hard for them to just not watch if they hate it that much. I cannot fathom the insanity.

Calm down for chrissakes. There's baseball on. Playoff hockey and playoff basketball. Flicking around during intermissions, halftimes or lulls in a baseball game isn't "insanity". Some people, contrary to your beliefs, just click off the basketball and back onto the other sports because they're a better product.

 

[Deepster]

Cool so you’re “watching” the playoffs with your eyes closed. All good.

Such a weird position.

If you don't agree with me, you're stupid! Okaaay.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I don't know. Those are pretty generic cliches you could apply to any Tuesday night WNBA game too.

I see a complete lack of defense, off balance and ill-advised 3 pointers most possessions, less actual halfcourt X/O strategy and lots of whining and flopping.

But if you like it? Enjoy.

Detroit kept lighting themselves on fire at the end of the games in the Knicks series because they are young and inexperienced, but how can any basketball fan not enjoy the way that team plays? It is like a team of prime career Rudy Gays flying up and down the court. That is a fun team to watch.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Such a weird position.

If you don't agree with me, you're stupid! Okaaay.

You described seeing the caricature that you think of modern basketball. Sure, there’s still a ton of 3s in the playoffs, I will cede that. Everything else in that post is categorically wrong though. Defense has been great, offense is even more intricate, it’s more physical and refs are letting them play.

It’s not me saying you’re stupid for your view, it’s just you have an idea of how the game is and nothing could really change your mind.