The NBA is unwatchable. A heartfelt thread by your friend, MM

Exactly: replace the word "Worst" with "Wokest" and you'd get identical responses.

 

https://news.gallup.com/poll/610046/football-retains-dominant-position-favorite-sport.aspx



Congrats. You're right there with auto racing.

 

Interests are far more divided than they ever have been before. Just so much programming across so many content platforms.

It seems to me that the boomers are just doing what every other generation does towards their later years and that's to romanticize the past in every way across every one of their interests and even when talking about things that never interested them. We saw and heard (oh how much we heard it) from the "greatest generation" up until a decade or two ago and now we're hearing the same tired (not in terms of repetitive but literally tired) talking points from the boomers. This isn't supposed to be a rant against boomers it's seemingly the way every generation does these things.

The NBA should stop looking at other basketball leagues in terms of game length and maybe adopt the more physical play. I would point out that the other leagues aren't letting more contact go during the shooting process but before that they don't call nearly as many fouls regarding bodying up or trying to get position.

I actually think the term gather should be eliminated from NBA vernacular. If a guy is shooting then he's shooting if he's just thinking about it or is really quick to get a shot up after instigating contact then that shouldn't be a shooting foul and for the most part unless the contact legitimately knocks the guy with the ball around or down then that shouldn't be a foul at all.

We should probably also adopt the FIBA rules as far as eliminating the cylinder.

These are pretty easily implemented and are just about emphasis on existing rules and sdopting rules that make sense from other leagues.

 

Too many 3's. I get it - the math works - Boston chucks threes and wins. I am not anti-analytics, but the game has changed. People create for themselves more than others now it seems. Everyone shoots threes. Less action away from the ball, getting a teammate open, cutting, etc. Evidenced by so many people getting 50, 60 points in a game. Used to be a huge deal when someone scored 50. Amazing athletes, so skilled, but the style of the game is worse for me. I dont need to see a team jack up 60 3 pointers.

 

Yes, people are watching. But not as many people are watching. There are only 4-5 teams who's TV viewership is up locally (in their market/local broadcast) compared to last season. All other teams are down.
The #'s don't lie FAMS!

 

The biggest thing for me is all the soft fouls that get called all game long. It stops the flow of the game and nobody wants to watch free throws.

 

No, what's happening is that most of the people voting for "football" are using it in the proper sense.

Notice also, that's "sport to watch". Let's see what the answers for "what sport do you actually play" are.

 

Who watches on TV when there are free streams on my laptop? I watch just about every Blazers game and I haven't watched basketball on the TV in a decade.

 

If there wasn't such a thing as the Portland Trailblazers, I wouldn't care about the NBA either.

Lack of Jordan killed it, sure, but the way they market the imaging of the NBA just seems so artificial, corporate safe, and doesn't scream "these are gladiators, giving it their all. They're fighting for their franchise and to prove something."

Obviously, it doesn't matter if the athletes are giving it their all or not, the packaging tape has to showcase as such to the viewer. Then, eventually a few big names will fill the rest once you advertise what to look for. Otherwise, the gift just doesn't seem all that special without that promise.

Actually, the NBA did kind of try that in the late 2000s/early 2010s with those Where Amazing Happens and NBA BIG commercials and we did see a resurgence in interest around then. But I believe Silver switched ad agencies once he took over so the advertising and promotions were no longer the same. A similar thing happened to the MLB. New commissioner, new ad agency, no proper marketing of stars, no unique narratives, decline in ratings.

Modern basketball being reduced to 37-48 three point shot attempts is pretty bad, too. At some level, it's just watching people race to the finish by passing the ball and jacking up shots and less about the strategy involved.

The way I see it. Limit 3PA into something that resembles the 2010s Warriors (under 30 per game, unlike Harden's Rockets that were pushing 38-45 attempts) and push a more masculine advertising campaign that talks about competitors while making it feel like you're going to watch Rocky rather than the Disney channel.

 

I don't know if there's a strategy to the NBA. Teams suddenly start flailing every time some other team finds a winning formula. NBA front office guys are obsessed with the latest trends in offense and defense, and it's preventing any sort of grand strategy to the game from forming. NFL Football isn't a solved game, but it's definitely more consistently played than the NBA. Same with MLS Football and MLB Baseball. There are ways to make the game's tactics fit your lineups that make each team unique, but essentially the fundamentals of the game are solved.

The NBA is a game of match-ups where no particular strategy is going to work. Out of all the major team sports, you have the fewest number of players out there for your team; each player *means* more on the court than a soccer team or a baseball team, which means everyone is doing two or three things out there. Weaknesses are exploited ruthlessly, because weaknesses are much more obvious.

Because it's such a game of match-ups, the only way to know what's going on is either: know the team you're watching really well (nerd shit) or follow a superstar who is going to do his thing no matter who he's playing against. This makes the attendance experience above average because everyone there is a fucking nerd too and you can complain about so-and-so's assist to turnover ratio with the stranger next to you. But it makes the viewing experience garbage because it's just second screen noise being sold as a premium experience. Did we just miss? Why did we miss? Does it matter? The next play is already happening. It's just noise.

The three point shot is worth too much; it's a gimmick shot that became the only shot anyone wants to get, and the ways they're getting these shots off is becoming more and more byzantine. Screens and rolls and feints and fakes and running the clock, it's nerd shit. It's not compelling television.

You know what is compelling television? Fast break dunks off a rebound or a steal. That's all any sports bar watcher cares about. The question is: do you want to cater to that guy? If so, then some things need to happen that might make some rich people unhappy.

1: Players are bigger than ever so widen and lengthen the court just a little, three feet wider and six feet longer. This has some knock on effects I'll list below but the idea here is to give the players one or two more dribbles to set themselves up and pick a direction.

1a: Make the half-court timer 10 seconds again, but reduce the overall shot clock to 20 seconds. This adds risk/reward back into a half-court or 3/4 court trap.

1b: Move the three point arc out 3ft and extend the arc to eliminate the corner three. Review the 3pt line distance every three years with an eye towards keeping 3pt attempts at around 33% of the total shots taken.

2: Loosen up the fouling rules a little. Allow perimeter hand-checking again, don't expand the circle under the basket, don't expand the key. Let the game be just a little bit less cautious. This will also have some knock-on effects:

2a: Eliminate the personal foul limit and team foul bonus; but after 3 personal fouls, your opponent also gets to shoot a technical foul before the fouled player shoots his FTs. Fewer FT calls should be made by the referees.

2b: Eliminate most referee and coach's reviews. They kill the flow, and prevent anger and tension from building over the game.

2c: A flagrant foul immediately benches the offending player for three minutes or the rest of the quarter (whichever is longer)

2d: Add line judge referees specifically for out of bounds and inbounding situations. Their job is to get the call right quickly (within 5 seconds). Their word is law and cannot be reviewed.

3: Move to running clock quarters and OTs, except for shooting fouls and timeouts. However, the last play of each quarter/OT goes the full shot clock even if the game clock goes to zero first.

3a: Reduce the number of timeouts allowed to three 60-second timeouts per half (use or lose) and two per OT. Lineup changes are only allowed coming out of timeouts or between quarters.

3b: If you sub out a player, they're benched until the end of the quarter.

I'm so very tired now.

 

The Bank account don’t lie son. You’re worth what somebody is willing to pay you. They would not have got that contract if there were problems.

 

Everything's fine and dandy until it isn't and then it usually wasn't for a while

 

I like it, but you missed the most important one of all, 11.6' rim.

 

Sorry but I’m definitely in the minority. I easily watch more NON Blazers games than ours. Love the league. Record about 5 games a night.
Shit I watch summer league games.

 

But, I want more dunks not fewer!

 

I love that you enjoy the game. However, you said it yourself, THE. You are in the minority