ADVERTISEMENT

NBA Finals thoughts

Sean Miller Fan

Lair Hall of Famer
Oct 30, 2001
64,714
20,788
113
OK, so I've been pretty vocal on my disdain for the NBA, for the style of play, lack of defense, inconsequential games and possessions (too many games and too many possessions take value away from each). That said, probably the greatest team of all time was playing LeBron and Kyrie 2.75 hours from my house so I went up to Game 3, paid close to $300 each for a few uppers which I thought was a heck of a deal. 4 of the Top 10 players of all-time. 5-7 future HOF'ers, as a basketball fans, not necessarily an NBA fan, I couldn't pass it up and it was worth every penny.

Maybe my biggest surprise was, ok, yea I know its the Finals, but I had low expectations for the atmosphere compared to college sports, student sections, etc. I can say that the crowd and the atmosphere was probably the best I've ever been to, surpassing Pitt/PSU, surpassing Pitt/UConn at the Pete, and BE Tourney. Some might say, "duh," but I wasn't really expecting that. It was very difficult to talk to the person next to you. You couldn't really do it during the game because it was too loud, at all times. I mean Cleveland would go on a 4-0 run and the place would be rocking. And during timeouts, the entertainment they had was so loud and....entertaining, you couldn't really talk then. My buddy asked me, "are we at a basketball game or a carnival." It was like that. It had the feel of an "event."

The Cavs had a Fan Fest outside the arena where people gather and watch on a big screen like the Pens but they had a bunch of other stuff, a stage with a rock band performing, a near full-size outdoor basketball court for kids to play on, all kinds of networks and TV shows airing live, it was pretty cool. The security around the arena was the most I've ever seen. There were bicycle cops, horseback cops, motorcycle cops, National Guardsmen. The Cavs also use this technology called flash tickets where they don't issue paper tickets. Its all on your phone. They print you a ticket to keep after they scan your phone. This eliminates all scalpers, not sure if that's a good thing though.

As far as the series overall though, I watched every single game, the first time I watched an NBA game since Game 7 last year and it was very entertaining, honestly better to me than watching a random college basketball game. Again, some may say "duh," but I think a lot of would rather watch Virginia vs NC State than Cavs/Warriors, we just don't like the NBA, but besides a Pitt game or maybe an NCAA Tournament game, it would be very difficult for a college game to match the excitement level. We know the level of play is better but that is sometimes to a detriment as the players are so good that scoring almost comes too easy but when you can score like LeBron, Kyrie, Steph, and KD, its almost like watching a great artist, great singer, etc. They are superhuman (and I don't think Kyrie gets the credit he deserves, his handle, penetration, and finishes are ridiculous.

In the end, Golden State is just too good. Durant is very close to LeBron. Steph is better than Kyrie but then when you have Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and guys like Iguodola are stepping up, the Cavs had little chance. Love, Smith, and Thompson needed to step up and they mostly didn't. Golden State is just too loaded and too good offensively. Say what you want about defense but in basketball, elite offense beats elite defense and Cleveland's defense was certainly not elite. That's the one thing I can say, I do believe that if Tony Bennett only coached Cleveland's defense and UVa's players only played D, they could have done a slightly better job on GS but not well enough. NBA players are bigger, longer, and more athletic, but there's no "help" and the rotations are lackluster in the NBA. College coaches do such a great job teaching team defense that they don't worry about in the NBA. But again, a lot of people don't like this which is why you see college rules changes and players looking to go to play for coaches who allow their players to focus on offense.

All in all, even though it was 4-1, it was a very entertaining series and I highly advise you to attend next year's GS/Cle series. Its definitely worth it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DiehardPanther
I'm not sure what the Cavs can do in the offseason to build a stronger roster to defeat Golden State as it already had the highest payroll in the NBA with the highest luxury-tax bill. Whatever gets done we're likely to see these same two teams in the Finals next year.
 
I'm not sure what the Cavs can do in the offseason to build a stronger roster to defeat Golden State as it already had the highest payroll in the NBA with the highest luxury-tax bill. Whatever gets done we're likely to see these same two teams in the Finals next year.

Cavs could try to add Paul George or Melo.
They might have to take a pay cut tho...
 
Cavs could try to add Paul George or Melo.
They might have to take a pay cut tho...
Yea,Cleveland is almost certainly going to get rid of Kevin Love and add someone like Paul George, Melo, or another big-time player. I will not watch a single game until the Finals next year but next year's series, the 4th in a row will be another must-watch.
 
I watched some and thought it was entertaining, but I've watched on and off since the 70's. NBA has its quirks, but so does college.
Love is shot.
 
Thankfully its over so it wont take up prime time space on any of the networks.
Chuck and duck is done for this year and maybe they'll go on strike next season. One and only hope.

The only real "winter" sport the NHL just wrapped up the Stanley Cup with the PENS being back to back winners!

Let the strong become stronger!
 
Thankfully its over so it wont take up prime time space on any of the networks.
Chuck and duck is done for this year and maybe they'll go on strike next season. One and only hope.

The only real "winter" sport the NHL just wrapped up the Stanley Cup with the PENS being back to back winners!

Let the strong become stronger!

USA viewers (on average)

NBA Finals: 20 million
Stanley Cup Finals: 4.8 million
UEFA Champions League Final: 3 million

The Champions League Final as a 1 game final is a great ratings advantage but lets not forget there were no home markets for networks to capitalize on as Madrid and Turin are not in the US. Compare that with Pittsburgh drawing a 40.0 Nielsen rating and Nashville drawing a 28.3 for Game 6 is a huge boost for networks capitalizing on home markets. In Pgh, that means 40% of people who were watching TV at that time were watching the Pens. That's insane.

The NHL is popular but its not in the same stratosphere as the NBA nationally and pretty much on par with upper-tier European soccer matches in terms of American interest.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DiehardPanther
Lack of defense? Four top 10 players of all time!? I... what? Your lack of interest in the NBA is really showing. In any case, I'm glad you enjoyed it. The NBA has some serious issues, but there is a lot to like about it, too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ski11585
USA viewers (on average)

NBA Finals: 20 million
Stanley Cup Finals: 4.8 million
UEFA Champions League Final: 3 million

The Champions League Final as a 1 game final is a great ratings advantage but lets not forget there were no home markets for networks to capitalize on as Madrid and Turin are not in the US. Compare that with Pittsburgh drawing a 40.0 Nielsen rating and Nashville drawing a 28.3 for Game 6 is a huge boost for networks capitalizing on home markets. In Pgh, that means 40% of people who were watching TV at that time were watching the Pens. That's insane.

The NHL is popular but its not in the same stratosphere as the NBA nationally and pretty much on par with upper-tier European soccer matches in terms of American interest.

Who cares about number of viewers of NBA games. Sure every inner city person is probably tuned in to the NBA and they cant even spell NHL!

I'm talking about the quality of the game in general, the hard work required to be player on an NHL team, the quality of the coaches, owners, players, etc.

The NHL is all about the game no sideline issues, you rarely hear of stuff like this for NHL players:

Sebastian Telfair: Ex-NBA player arrested in car

filled with loaded guns, police say

The numbers are the numbers but the NHL has quality numbers and will grow as time moves on. Imagine an NHL team in Nashville that has really swept up the city and has huge support. This surge will continue.

Give me the NHL over the NBA anyday!
 
USA viewers (on average)

NBA Finals: 20 million
Stanley Cup Finals: 4.8 million
UEFA Champions League Final: 3 million

The Champions League Final as a 1 game final is a great ratings advantage but lets not forget there were no home markets for networks to capitalize on as Madrid and Turin are not in the US. Compare that with Pittsburgh drawing a 40.0 Nielsen rating and Nashville drawing a 28.3 for Game 6 is a huge boost for networks capitalizing on home markets. In Pgh, that means 40% of people who were watching TV at that time were watching the Pens. That's insane.

The NHL is popular but its not in the same stratosphere as the NBA nationally and pretty much on par with upper-tier European soccer matches in terms of American interest.

Who cares about number of viewers of NBA games. Sure every inner city person is probably tuned in to the NBA and they cant even spell NHL![/SIZE]

Come on, man. I know you are extreme right-wing but you still have to at least try to not be so ignorant and backwoods -ish.

Like it or not, many more white people watch the NBA than the NHL.

Like I said, the NHL is a fine league with a strong niche fanbase but you cannot talk about it in the same breath as the NBA. Its on par with European soccer and much closer to.....gasp.....the MLS than the NBA.
 
OK, so I've been pretty vocal on my disdain for the NBA, for the style of play, lack of defense, inconsequential games and possessions (too many games and too many possessions take value away from each). That said, probably the greatest team of all time was playing LeBron and Kyrie 2.75 hours from my house so I went up to Game 3, paid close to $300 each for a few uppers which I thought was a heck of a deal. 4 of the Top 10 players of all-time. 5-7 future HOF'ers, as a basketball fans, not necessarily an NBA fan, I couldn't pass it up and it was worth every penny.

Maybe my biggest surprise was, ok, yea I know its the Finals, but I had low expectations for the atmosphere compared to college sports, student sections, etc. I can say that the crowd and the atmosphere was probably the best I've ever been to, surpassing Pitt/PSU, surpassing Pitt/UConn at the Pete, and BE Tourney. Some might say, "duh," but I wasn't really expecting that. It was very difficult to talk to the person next to you. You couldn't really do it during the game because it was too loud, at all times. I mean Cleveland would go on a 4-0 run and the place would be rocking. And during timeouts, the entertainment they had was so loud and....entertaining, you couldn't really talk then. My buddy asked me, "are we at a basketball game or a carnival." It was like that. It had the feel of an "event."

The Cavs had a Fan Fest outside the arena where people gather and watch on a big screen like the Pens but they had a bunch of other stuff, a stage with a rock band performing, a near full-size outdoor basketball court for kids to play on, all kinds of networks and TV shows airing live, it was pretty cool. The security around the arena was the most I've ever seen. There were bicycle cops, horseback cops, motorcycle cops, National Guardsmen. The Cavs also use this technology called flash tickets where they don't issue paper tickets. Its all on your phone. They print you a ticket to keep after they scan your phone. This eliminates all scalpers, not sure if that's a good thing though.

As far as the series overall though, I watched every single game, the first time I watched an NBA game since Game 7 last year and it was very entertaining, honestly better to me than watching a random college basketball game. Again, some may say "duh," but I think a lot of would rather watch Virginia vs NC State than Cavs/Warriors, we just don't like the NBA, but besides a Pitt game or maybe an NCAA Tournament game, it would be very difficult for a college game to match the excitement level. We know the level of play is better but that is sometimes to a detriment as the players are so good that scoring almost comes too easy but when you can score like LeBron, Kyrie, Steph, and KD, its almost like watching a great artist, great singer, etc. They are superhuman (and I don't think Kyrie gets the credit he deserves, his handle, penetration, and finishes are ridiculous.

In the end, Golden State is just too good. Durant is very close to LeBron. Steph is better than Kyrie but then when you have Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and guys like Iguodola are stepping up, the Cavs had little chance. Love, Smith, and Thompson needed to step up and they mostly didn't. Golden State is just too loaded and too good offensively. Say what you want about defense but in basketball, elite offense beats elite defense and Cleveland's defense was certainly not elite. That's the one thing I can say, I do believe that if Tony Bennett only coached Cleveland's defense and UVa's players only played D, they could have done a slightly better job on GS but not well enough. NBA players are bigger, longer, and more athletic, but there's no "help" and the rotations are lackluster in the NBA. College coaches do such a great job teaching team defense that they don't worry about in the NBA. But again, a lot of people don't like this which is why you see college rules changes and players looking to go to play for coaches who allow their players to focus on offense.

All in all, even though it was 4-1, it was a very entertaining series and I highly advise you to attend next year's GS/Cle series. Its definitely worth it.
To each his own. I used to be a big fan of the NBA. Not so much anymore. The rules in the NBA have given the offense a huge advantage. There is very little defense. Watched about 5-10 minutes of game 5. Changed channels when Iguodola goes length of court and slams while LaBron and another Cleveland player make no attempt to stop him. You would think that SOMEONE would have tried to stop him. After all, Cleveland had to win to keep their championship hopes alive. Matador defense alive and well.
 
OK, so I've been pretty vocal on my disdain for the NBA, for the style of play, lack of defense, inconsequential games and possessions (too many games and too many possessions take value away from each). That said, probably the greatest team of all time was playing LeBron and Kyrie 2.75 hours from my house so I went up to Game 3, paid close to $300 each for a few uppers which I thought was a heck of a deal. 4 of the Top 10 players of all-time. 5-7 future HOF'ers, as a basketball fans, not necessarily an NBA fan, I couldn't pass it up and it was worth every penny.

Maybe my biggest surprise was, ok, yea I know its the Finals, but I had low expectations for the atmosphere compared to college sports, student sections, etc. I can say that the crowd and the atmosphere was probably the best I've ever been to, surpassing Pitt/PSU, surpassing Pitt/UConn at the Pete, and BE Tourney. Some might say, "duh," but I wasn't really expecting that. It was very difficult to talk to the person next to you. You couldn't really do it during the game because it was too loud, at all times. I mean Cleveland would go on a 4-0 run and the place would be rocking. And during timeouts, the entertainment they had was so loud and....entertaining, you couldn't really talk then. My buddy asked me, "are we at a basketball game or a carnival." It was like that. It had the feel of an "event."

The Cavs had a Fan Fest outside the arena where people gather and watch on a big screen like the Pens but they had a bunch of other stuff, a stage with a rock band performing, a near full-size outdoor basketball court for kids to play on, all kinds of networks and TV shows airing live, it was pretty cool. The security around the arena was the most I've ever seen. There were bicycle cops, horseback cops, motorcycle cops, National Guardsmen. The Cavs also use this technology called flash tickets where they don't issue paper tickets. Its all on your phone. They print you a ticket to keep after they scan your phone. This eliminates all scalpers, not sure if that's a good thing though.

As far as the series overall though, I watched every single game, the first time I watched an NBA game since Game 7 last year and it was very entertaining, honestly better to me than watching a random college basketball game. Again, some may say "duh," but I think a lot of would rather watch Virginia vs NC State than Cavs/Warriors, we just don't like the NBA, but besides a Pitt game or maybe an NCAA Tournament game, it would be very difficult for a college game to match the excitement level. We know the level of play is better but that is sometimes to a detriment as the players are so good that scoring almost comes too easy but when you can score like LeBron, Kyrie, Steph, and KD, its almost like watching a great artist, great singer, etc. They are superhuman (and I don't think Kyrie gets the credit he deserves, his handle, penetration, and finishes are ridiculous.

In the end, Golden State is just too good. Durant is very close to LeBron. Steph is better than Kyrie but then when you have Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and guys like Iguodola are stepping up, the Cavs had little chance. Love, Smith, and Thompson needed to step up and they mostly didn't. Golden State is just too loaded and too good offensively. Say what you want about defense but in basketball, elite offense beats elite defense and Cleveland's defense was certainly not elite. That's the one thing I can say, I do believe that if Tony Bennett only coached Cleveland's defense and UVa's players only played D, they could have done a slightly better job on GS but not well enough. NBA players are bigger, longer, and more athletic, but there's no "help" and the rotations are lackluster in the NBA. College coaches do such a great job teaching team defense that they don't worry about in the NBA. But again, a lot of people don't like this which is why you see college rules changes and players looking to go to play for coaches who allow their players to focus on offense.

All in all, even though it was 4-1, it was a very entertaining series and I highly advise you to attend next year's GS/Cle series. Its definitely worth it.
To each his own. I used to be a big fan of the NBA. Not so much anymore. The rules in the NBA have given the offense a huge advantage. There is very little defense. Watched about 5-10 minutes of game 5. Changed channels when Iguodola goes length of court and slams while LaBron and another Cleveland player make no attempt to stop him. You would think that SOMEONE would have tried to stop him. After all, Cleveland had to win to keep their championship hopes alive. Matador defense alive and well.

I agree and its why I cant watch anything but Cavs/Warriors. The defensive effort in the NBA is much lower than in college but to be fair the offensive skill is so much higher than in college that it is somewhat futile to even try to play defense. Its not worth the effort to even try.

Honestly, the offensive skill is so great in the NBA and with the NBA having a worldwide pool of talent that is getting deeper all the time, I cant believe the NBA wouldn't want to expand to 35 or 40 teams.
 
The rules in the NBA have given the offense a huge advantage. There is very little defense.

It's absolutely bananas that people point to the era of "illegal defense" as a time when the rules didn't favor the offense so much and there was more defense. You watched 5 minutes. Maybe, just maybe, your opinion of the NBA isn't fully informed.

Funny how the people who say "they don't even try to play defense!" always, always, always end up being people who admit they never watch the NBA.
 
Who cares about number of viewers of NBA games. Sure every inner city person is probably tuned in to the NBA and they cant even spell NHL!

I'm talking about the quality of the game in general, the hard work required to be player on an NHL team, the quality of the coaches, owners, players, etc.

The NHL is all about the game no sideline issues, you rarely hear of stuff like this for NHL players:

Sebastian Telfair: Ex-NBA player arrested in car

filled with loaded guns, police say

The numbers are the numbers but the NHL has quality numbers and will grow as time moves on. Imagine an NHL team in Nashville that has really swept up the city and has huge support. This surge will continue.

Give me the NHL over the NBA anyday!
I don't care about stuff like that, it's just a TV show to me, so the players could be on work release from Allegheny County Jail on game day and I'd still watch.
 
USA viewers (on average)

NBA Finals: 20 million
Stanley Cup Finals: 4.8 million
UEFA Champions League Final: 3 million

The Champions League Final as a 1 game final is a great ratings advantage but lets not forget there were no home markets for networks to capitalize on as Madrid and Turin are not in the US. Compare that with Pittsburgh drawing a 40.0 Nielsen rating and Nashville drawing a 28.3 for Game 6 is a huge boost for networks capitalizing on home markets. In Pgh, that means 40% of people who were watching TV at that time were watching the Pens. That's insane.

The NHL is popular but its not in the same stratosphere as the NBA nationally and pretty much on par with upper-tier European soccer matches in terms of American interest.

For me, it's more team specific, I watched every single Pens playoff game, no others. Every year, I watch the SCP until the day the Pens are eliminated and then STOP, just like hitting a brick wall... DEAD STOP.

NBA, I watch at random every year, I was a Bulls fan back in the day, but since they dropped off the map, I have no other team, I did root far the Cavs the last few years, basically felt sorry for Cleveland and was glad they won last year, and I watched a lot last year. But otherwise, I watch NBA playoffs on a random basis, unplanned, if there is nothing better to do.
 
It's absolutely bananas that people point to the era of "illegal defense" as a time when the rules didn't favor the offense so much and there was more defense. You watched 5 minutes. Maybe, just maybe, your opinion of the NBA isn't fully informed.

Funny how the people who say "they don't even try to play defense!" always, always, always end up being people who admit they never watch the NBA.

They try to play defense, they just aren't very good at it and they don't try very hard. Basically, there are a lot of Artis and Young-type defenders in the NBA. They try harder in the playoffs but defense is not something that is stressed or practiced as much. Really, the lack of actual practices hinders the ability to game plan and coach defense.
 
I wish there was an in between thing? NBA doesn't coach enough, college coaches too much. I'd like to see them eliminate time outs, instead of 5 per half in college, make it ONE, then you couldn't waste it to see how they line up and the last minute wouldn't take a half hour. Euroleague is kind of that in between thing. Kind of a hybrid between the two.
 
They try to play defense, they just aren't very good at it and they don't try very hard. Basically, there are a lot of Artis and Young-type defenders in the NBA. They try harder in the playoffs but defense is not something that is stressed or practiced as much. Really, the lack of actual practices hinders the ability to game plan and coach defense.

Presumably, someone with "disdain" for the NBA doesn't watch many games. Your assertion that they don't try very hard on defense is unfounded. Just like you erroneously assume that college teams play good defense. In actuality, it's far more likely that most college teams and players are just bad at offense.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gilligan 3
They try to play defense, they just aren't very good at it and they don't try very hard. Basically, there are a lot of Artis and Young-type defenders in the NBA. They try harder in the playoffs but defense is not something that is stressed or practiced as much. Really, the lack of actual practices hinders the ability to game plan and coach defense.

There are individual players, possessions, and (regular season) games without much defense. I agree with you there. You are simply wrong to portray the entire NBA that way, though. Year after year, we see the teams that are good on offense and defense rise to the top.

As far as the "Artis and Young type defenders" bit, you're just flat-out wrong. I don't know why you think you have an informed opinion, but you don't.
 
OK, so I've been pretty vocal on my disdain for the NBA, for the style of play, lack of defense, inconsequential games and possessions (too many games and too many possessions take value away from each). That said, probably the greatest team of all time was playing LeBron and Kyrie 2.75 hours from my house so I went up to Game 3, paid close to $300 each for a few uppers which I thought was a heck of a deal. 4 of the Top 10 players of all-time. 5-7 future HOF'ers, as a basketball fans, not necessarily an NBA fan, I couldn't pass it up and it was worth every penny.
lolwat?
 
As far as help defense and team defense goes, is there any basketball coach anywhere in America that would ever tell the guy guarding Steph Curry or Klay Thompson or Kevin Durant to leave his man standing alone at the three point line to play help defense on a guy in the post? The reason why teams don't help more often in the pros is that helping on defense in the pros leads to wide open three pointers, and good NBA players make open three pointers at a very high rate. Better to give up a two than a three.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DiehardPanther
Basketball will always be more popular than hockey in this country.

It depends who you are? Not for me.
If the NBA went away it would be great IMO.
So its opinion.

He's talking about America, not you specifically. Stick to hockey, auto racing, golf, and other sports where you don't have to watch.......
 
OK, so I've been pretty vocal on my disdain for the NBA, for the style of play, lack of defense, inconsequential games and possessions (too many games and too many possessions take value away from each). That said, probably the greatest team of all time was playing LeBron and Kyrie 2.75 hours from my house so I went up to Game 3, paid close to $300 each for a few uppers which I thought was a heck of a deal. 4 of the Top 10 players of all-time. 5-7 future HOF'ers, as a basketball fans, not necessarily an NBA fan, I couldn't pass it up and it was worth every penny.
lolwat?

Top 10 in no specific order.

Jordan
Magic
Bird
Kobe
LeBron
Shaq
Duncan
Curry
Durant
Hakeem

I don't count different era guys like Bill Russell, Wilt, Robertson, etc. Sorry its my list and I don't

And I meant 3 of the Top 10 of all time.

Other possible HOF'ers

Klay
Kyrie
Love

Remember I said "possibly."
 
I wish there was an in between thing? NBA doesn't coach enough, college coaches too much. I'd like to see them eliminate time outs, instead of 5 per half in college, make it ONE, then you couldn't waste it to see how they line up and the last minute wouldn't take a half hour. Euroleague is kind of that in between thing. Kind of a hybrid between the two.

Pretty good post. I definitely think college coaches way, way, way overcoach and spend too much time developing a plan to stop the other team from scoring instead of trying to figure out how to score themselves. College basketball reminds me of how soccer teams are so defensive and just sit back and defend, defend, defend instead of actually trying to play offense.

I wouldn't blame NBA coaches too much for not coaching as much as college coaches. There is limited practice time and the game is set up to impede defensive play.
 
It depends who you are? Not for me.
If the NBA went away it would be great IMO.
So its opinion.
Why would it be great if it went away? I'm not a big NBA fan, but just because you don't really like it, why would you want it to cease to exist? Just don't watch it.
 
...college coaches way, way, way overcoach and spend too much time developing a plan to stop the other team from scoring instead of trying to figure out how to score themselves. ...

I honestly think that there is way too much coaching in most sports. The nature of soccer and hockey I think leads to less micromanagement. But football and basketball are ridiculous in over coaching! Like I said, basketball, I'd reduce the number of time outs as one way to reduce over coaching, in football, I'd take the radios out of the QBs helmet and make the play clock 25 seconds, force the QB to call the plays, like Bradshaw and Unitas did, I mean with those giant salaries, are you saying it's too much to ask to be able to call plays?
 
Top 10 in no specific order.

Jordan
Magic
Bird
Kobe
LeBron
Shaq
Duncan
Curry
Durant
Hakeem

I don't count different era guys like Bill Russell, Wilt, Robertson, etc. Sorry its my list and I don't

And I meant 3 of the Top 10 of all time.

Other possible HOF'ers

Klay
Kyrie
Love

Remember I said "possibly."
That's like a list of BB players w/o Ruth/Gehrig/Mantle & Mays. Or a FB list w/o Unitas/Butkus/Payton or Jim Brown. I.e., a list w/o value.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jpripper88
Well, if what you meant when you said "4 of top 10 all time" was "3 of the top 10 to play in the last 30 years" then, ok. Leaving out Kareem, Wilt, and Russell will leave you with a very different list.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jpripper88
I find the NHL playoffs far, far, far more compelling than the NBA. Of course, I am a hockey fan first and foremost and have a vested interest. But if all things were equal, I would find the NHL playoffs far more compelling than the NBA.

Basketball, you have 2-3 really good guys, you are golden. You have a great player and 2-3 really good players, you are Conference champs. You have a couple of great players, and you are Champs. It is so much easier to build a competitive NBA team than the NHL. It also shows you clubs like the Clippers and TWolves and lately Sixers and Knicks have such poor management, I mean alot of these guys are "ex players" who never graduated college. They aren't that bright and it shows. Overall, worst managed Pro Sport in what I mean they have several Cleve Browns and Jaxville Jaguar franchises.

The NHL, all 20 guys play, and probably 15 play significantly. It takes awhile and smart planning to build teams with a hard cap. But the grind is insane. INSANE. Even the greatest of teams would never come close to 16-1. The 92 Pens won 11 games in a row, but their first series was a 7 gamer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jpripper88
I find the NHL playoffs far, far, far more compelling than the NBA. Of course, I am a hockey fan first and foremost and have a vested interest. But if all things were equal, I would find the NHL playoffs far more compelling than the NBA.

Basketball, you have 2-3 really good guys, you are golden. You have a great player and 2-3 really good players, you are Conference champs. You have a couple of great players, and you are Champs. It is so much easier to build a competitive NBA team than the NHL. It also shows you clubs like the Clippers and TWolves and lately Sixers and Knicks have such poor management, I mean alot of these guys are "ex players" who never graduated college. They aren't that bright and it shows. Overall, worst managed Pro Sport in what I mean they have several Cleve Browns and Jaxville Jaguar franchises.

The NHL, all 20 guys play, and probably 15 play significantly. It takes awhile and smart planning to build teams with a hard cap. But the grind is insane. INSANE. Even the greatest of teams would never come close to 16-1. The 92 Pens won 11 games in a row, but their first series was a 7 gamer.

The NBA could make it like the NHL, just allow the inferior teams to foul LeBron, KD etc. during the playoffs without blowing the whistles.

You see a player like Crosby should get WAY MORE calls than a typical player, because he's so good that he beats players more often and they have to resort to fouling.

If you officiated straight by the rules, same exact calls, regular season and playoffs, none of this "swallow the whistles/let the players decide" NONSENSE, the better teams would dominate, as they should.
 
Last edited:
It's absolutely bananas that people point to the era of "illegal defense" as a time when the rules didn't favor the offense so much and there was more defense. You watched 5 minutes. Maybe, just maybe, your opinion of the NBA isn't fully informed.

Funny how the people who say "they don't even try to play defense!" always, always, always end up being people who admit they never watch the NBA.
I said I used to be a big fan. Still watch some games. But don't tell me that the pendulum hasn't swung to help the offense when "walking" is virtually obsolete and zones are discouraged. What about the 3 second call on DEFENSE. That's insane. You shouldn't have to alter the game to make it EASIER for the best players.
 
Top 10 in no specific order.

Jordan
Magic
Bird
Kobe
LeBron
Shaq
Duncan
Curry
Durant
Hakeem

I don't count different era guys like Bill Russell, Wilt, Robertson, etc. Sorry its my list and I don't

And I meant 3 of the Top 10 of all time.

Other possible HOF'ers

Klay
Kyrie
Love

Remember I said "possibly."
Yeah, I don't think Durant is a top 10 player in NBA history, at this point. Steph Curry is most definitely not a top 10 player in NBA history at this point. And you don't count Kareem, Wilt, Russell, O, etc.? So you don't count anyone from "different era(s)" but you have Bird and Magic, who certainly played in a "different era" than Steph Curry. So did Hakeem, Jordan, and even Shaq, really. Steph Curry would have been a solid player in the 80s and 90s, but he would have looked a lot more like his coach, Steve Kerr, than an NBA superstar. Even right now, I don't think Curry would be anyone's 1st, 2nd, or 3rd pick to build even a 1 (or 10) year team around. Probably not even 4th or 5th.

Klay, Kyrie, and Love are way, way off of HoF status at this point. Could they get there? I guess, but I wouldn't count on any of them being HoFers.

BTW, remember you DID NOT say "possibly". This was, literally, your statement, word for word:
"4 of the Top 10 players of all-time. 5-7 future HOF'ers"
 
I said I used to be a big fan. Still watch some games. But don't tell me that the pendulum hasn't swung to help the offense when "walking" is virtually obsolete and zones are discouraged. What about the 3 second call on DEFENSE. That's insane. You shouldn't have to alter the game to make it EASIER for the best players.


You know that back in the "good ol' days" zone defenses were illegal in the NBA, right? Today zones are discouraged mostly by the fact that too many teams have shooters that would absolutely shred a zone defense.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ski11585
I said I used to be a big fan. Still watch some games. But don't tell me that the pendulum hasn't swung to help the offense when "walking" is virtually obsolete and zones are discouraged. What about the 3 second call on DEFENSE. That's insane. You shouldn't have to alter the game to make it EASIER for the best players.

I agree about the walking. That stinks. The part about zones, though, doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Zones aren't "discouraged." People leave their man to slough off all the time. That was literally illegal in the mythical golden era of defense. LeBron would have a much easier time if the rules required teams to guard him on an island.
 
ADVERTISEMENT