OFFICIAL AROUND THE NBA: AUGUST 2023

The Bucks Are About To Completely Fall Apart

 

I’m confused. Your post:

It used to be more physical
When you look back, it wasn’t

Huh?

 

How old are you? Did you watch a lot of basketball in the 80s & 90s?

 

Again, you are touching on the outliers. And certainly more contact was allowed but seriously, Go watch any random Blazer game from the late '80s and early '90s, it ain't special.

 

42. Started watching religiously right around the bad boy pistons, who yes, were certainly physical and had notable altercations and their famous Jordan Rules. That said, the play-by-play, game-to-game contact is really not as different as many want to believe. I encourage one to pick a random YouTube regular season game and check it out. I think it's WAY overstated.

 

So in the 80s and 90s, just for one example, when a player took the ball to the whole if they were hit in the body by a defender and didn't end up on their head, that didn't get called as a foul. The defender had to alter the shot by hitting the player attempting to score in the arms in order to get called. Screens, hand checking, contact while dribbling, guys didn't even get called for undercutting jump shooters until after Bruce Bowen cost too many all stars too many games. That's the shit that refs saw and didn't call, the grabbing, and elbowing away from the play back then was something that players would fight about if it happened today, they'd get techs today, it just doesn't happen today.

The responses you are getting are so extreme because the idea that the league wasn't a lot more physical in the 80s and 90s than it is now is about as shockingly off as a take can be.

 

I started watching the NBA back in the early 70's when I was in high school. The idea that the game wasn't more physical back in those days is just ludicrous. I base this not only on my own eyes but by numerous former players from those days who say the same thing. Oh - and the bad boy Pistons - they were not so bad compared to those days.

 

This is classic hyperbole to the extreme. Plenty of touch fouls were called in the 1990s too, though I will give you that more was allowed and flagrant fouls are now far quicker to be called. All the away from the play stuff is absolutely still happening (watch game 5 of the finals this year for example). Curry and Dame are still grabbed and pulled coming off screens. Guys are still greeting cutters with forearms. Boxouts still involve jostling and climbing one's back.

Are there less fights and blatant flagrants? 100%. But play by play physicality was far milder than our memories and childhood nostalgia wants to make us believe.

 

There once was a position known as "Power Forward." It was played by guys like Truck Robinson and Maurice Lucas. Now it's just called the 4.

 

Buck Williams' eye socket begs to differ.

 

There once were positions called PG, SG, SF and C. Now they're referred to as 1,2,3,5. It's an easy short hand designation of positions. First Base in baseball can also be called 3 for score keeping. Don't let change that isn't change scare you.

 

Watching one game on YT doesn’t tell the overall tale. The game was more physical, period.

 

Oh brother. Pick 100 or 1000 games then. They are available, and I think you'll be surprised.

 

No, just giving you shit for the angle of the photo.

 

I just watched a BBvault compilation of old school intense NBA altercations. In one clip, mid-80's, a 76er was scrapping for a rebound. Turned into a standing armbar match. The Sixer got angry punched his rebound wrestling partner in the back of the head! The Philly big guy wasn't kicked out of the game, the refs never even called a foul. Everyone just continued the game like nothing ever happened, NO BIG DEAL. Clean it up you guys...
... PLAY BALL

 

And you know that Larry got him back for that - somehow or another Lambeer paid a price.

 

Years ago, I got to spend a few hours with Norm Van Lier. The way he talked about how physically those Bulls teams played that he was on with Jerry Sloan, Bobby Love ... just brutally physical, and most teams played that ways, but those Bulls teams lived by it.

 

I don’t have to pick ANY games on YT. I watched them LIVE.