DD has a point. Still some great assist men in the league but not with flare. Hate to point to the 3 point shot as the harbinger of all change in the NBA... but consider younger players are going to focus on that skill firs time. And then in NBA offenses simple pick and roll and spread the floor making the right passes is the most important thing. Doesn't mean there aren't fast breaks and other opportunities for flashy passes.
No Larry Bird? I am disappoint with this thread. I'll have to post that recent bday vid made for his 60th
What are you talking about? Flashy passers are generally fan favorites. Magic, Kidd, Nash, Jason Williams, and prime Rondo were all highly regarded. If you're talking about guys like Sebastian Telfair, Rafer Alston, and Rubio it's because those guys had huge, back-breaking flaws in their game. Heck, Rondo has been given so many chances despite his inability to shoot. If he weren't absolutely insufferable to play with, he'd probably still be respected.
In an interview this week, Milos said he'll join the NBA in the near future, definitely looking forward to that. My favourite player in Basketball.
Right. Jason Kidd is one of my all-time favorite players for that very reason. I can even ask sometimes "Why is ther no VIDEO off ___ PASSING!?" Maybe its not the PASSEs in and of itself. A completed flashy pass is a positive play. Everyone likes that. Everyone likes slick ball handling too, which ties into passing. I'm saying fans love it, but for a time period was also bashing certain players for having too much "style points" over effectiveness. Again, I guess critique is more about WHO's doing the passing. More toward "combo" guards and wings asked to do all the passing, but not polished enough in PG skill to do it sharply. People like the Magic Johnson passing, but when its Magic doing it not some stiff pretending to do it lol There's also Stephon Marbury, Rondo even, who get accused for ONLY trying to rack up assists and building a brand over winning. And to a lesser extent guys like Iverson, Steve Francis, James Harden who are scorers-first not true point guards, but considered stat padders, ball dominators, are doing things for the "wrong" reasons. Russell Westbrook of course, being selfish. Terrence Williams, Royce White, throwing more balls into the 3rd row seats than to teammates...flair is good when the turnovers are low
I see the exact opposite problem. Flashy players like Marbury, Iverson, and Francis were heavily criticized, somewhat deservedly so. But they were always considered franchise players, all-stars, and well known by even casual basketball fans. Rock solid, but not exciting players like Lowry, Mike Conley, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul Millsap don't get much criticism, but that's because they get no attention at all! I have friends that know who Demar Derozan is, but not Lowry, and the latter is the better player IMO. Leonard is the best player on the second best team in the league and people don't even know what his voice sounds like. He got 100K fewer votes for the all-star game than Zaza Pachulia, btw. The league is built on the casual fan, not the hardcore, and the casual fan only pays attention to the flash. Critique comes with fame. I don't know how fans drove that style out of the league when Westbrook is a strong MVP candidate (favored in the media's narrative over Harden), and all the players you mentioned were max contract guys with multiple all-star appearances. Why even mention Iverson? He won MVP, led the league in jersey sales for years, and had one of the most successful shoe lines of all time. Might as well mention Kobe while you're at it. If anything, analytics killed that style. The post game isn't the most efficient shot and has been phased out. It's no surprise that crossovers and spin moves that lead to a midrange shot aren't that great either. But don't blame fans. Fans want that stuff.
There is a fine line between flashy and good and flashy and bad...... But I miss the flare passes......seems we don't have that so much anymore..Harden makes some decent ones on the pocket pass, and Rondo can, but he isn't playing...but I really love the guys that push it and make the defender look stupid..... Oh, great point, maybe that is why I put him in the first post in this thread. DD
