What are some of the small details of the game that you enjoy seeing when you watch an NBA basketball game? I like: When a defender pokes the ball out of bounds. Bounce passes through traffic. Ball movement on 3-on-1 fastbreaks. Steals. Tim Duncan's bank shots. Spin moves that lead to layups. What about you?
In order of fondness and appreciation: 1. Miami Heat assembling a dream team we can all appreciate 2. David Stern's loving interventions for "basketball related reasons" 3. the crab dribble (4.5 jolly steps to the basket) 4. Violet Palmer 5. Dick Bavetta 7. Lakers fans (tie) 7. Mark Cuban (tie)
In seriousness, I love watching Steve Nash play. A relatively non-athletic guy with such deadly game - the 3-way attack of court awareness, stop-n-pop sharpshooting, and being able to herk-jerk his way into the lane somehow, weird layups jumping off the wrong foot, etc.. Sam Cassell was enjoyable in a similar way, but to a lesser degree than Nash. Also, seeing a player for whom the basket has become the size of the ocean, whatever they throw up is locked in like a heat-seeking missile. ("He's on FIRE!"). That's such a cool feeling, even if it makes me want to puke when it happens against the Rockets. Rick Adelman's offensive sets. yum. Jeff Van Gundy's defensive sets. yum.
-Shane Battier's "Face Block" when defending a shot. -A good jab step with a jumper. (LaMarcus Aldridge style) -A corner three-point shot (Shane Battier style ) -Coaches that get a technical to fire up their team. -HOUSTON ROCKETS
I like most of Nashty's game, but I hate how much he flops with minimal contact. I live in Phoenix, so I get to go see him play in person pretty frequently. On TV, I thought he was tough, but once I sat courtside, the dude is a major flopper. When he runs through a weak pick, you would have thought Precious booty-bumped him into the stands.
I like when an offense moves the ball well but the defense is so solid that a bad shot has to be taken to avoid a shot clock violation. I also like back-door cuts. But I like most of all when a post player keeps a ball high when he's down low. That is perhaps the rarest of all things in basketball.
With all the CRAP thats REALLY bad about the NBA, overall the quality is MUCH better to look at than college. Really the NBA dwarfs any other league besides Euroleague.
This guy's choice Spoiler <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bcHI-IrCu5s&start=22&end=30&autoplay=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bcHI-IrCu5s&start=22&end=30&autoplay=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Marv Albert <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/B3et6qAsOxo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Euro-steps (Giniboli, Tyreke Evans to name a few) Hard working big men (Brandon Bass, Chuck Hayes, Zach Randolph) Defensive stops late in games (Rockets) Smooth players (Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, I guess Jamal Crawford too) Breakout games for young players raw power dunks (Shawn Kemp stuff) People splitting the picks (D-Wade, Chris Paul, Ish Smith was pretty good at it too)
Defenders who anticipate the offensive players' move and make a play by beating them to the spot (taking a charge, making a blocked shot, forcing a player into an awkward shot, poking the ball away and making someone look silly Chuck Hayes style, etc.).
