We have a winner. Any single player/position can be the "star QB" that can lift a team to the next level, much more so than any other sport due to there being only 5 people on one team playing at a time. Hockey has only 5 people playing at a time (6 if you count the goalie), but they play in shifts with a star player playing maybe 20 minutes a game, roughly a third of a game. Where as a star NBA player could play 40 minutes a game, which is over 80% of a game.
One thing no one ever mentions is the fact that to get to the Finals in the NBA, you have to go through the most grueling process in any sport. Each round is 7 games... 7 GAMES! You can't just catch lightning in a bottle like in MLB or the NFL. You have to have a good team. Star players are important, but its the team as a whole that wins you championships... and that's real talk.
I'm not completely disagreeing with you, but you can hardly catch lightning in a bottle in the MLB. Sure they have a best of 5 series in the DS, but still winning 3 of 5 is tough to do for any team... but I agree that the NBA has the most grueling playoff schedule with the extra round
Dont think I can agree with this - What about a pitcher who throws a complete game , a shut out , a no hitter or a perfect game ? (yeah I know , they only go every 5th day) The basketball equivalent would be a player going the full 48 minutes and having a hand in every basket be it a rebound , assist or shot. I will agree that any single player / position can be the star being able to make the game easier for those around him is exagerated in basketball when compared to other sports.
You gave me the answer to fix EVERYTHING. Make games 80 minutes! And to keep their total length about even, each team only get 2 TO's and no 20's. No TV time outs either btw. Now a single player can dominate. Right?
Bulls won it six times in the 90's. Rockets twice. Lakers and Celtics were practically the ONLY teams that were expected to make it to the Finals back in 70s and 80s. Nobody complained up to now
You really think the NBA wants the Spurs to win the NBA title? I do agree that the NBA tries hard to promote stars instead of teams, but it's not a scam. New York has sucked for many many many years until now.
You kind of answered your own question. But to take it further: the pitcher has minimal, if any, impact on the offense. He only contributes significantly on one side -- defense. Your basketball equivalent analogy fails because it doesn't take into account the defensive side of the ball as well as the offensive side. No major sport is affected more by individual play than basketball -- it's not really that disputable. Even the elite pitchers can only affect games once every five days -- basketball players affect EVERY game.
I highly doubt thats true. For the most part as Rockets fans we've always enjoyed having great players to build around from Elvin Hayes , Moses Malone , Hakeem and finally Yao & McGrady. We werent complaining when we had those players. Other teams fans who were stuck in perpetual suckitude were saying the same things we are saying now .... It sucks to be on the outside looking in. The players realization that they can dictate where then go and with whom they play is going to exagerate the number of teams who are on the outside looking in. When it's the GM's wheeling and dealing for top tier players , they have to have a partner willing to make the deal which severely limits their ability to create rosters such as what Boston has done. They added two aging stars around another star in his prime. Thats worlds apart from having three superstars in their primes like Miami has done by getting those three together more by what the players did than the GM other than clearing cap space. Free Agent players dont need a partner to make their demands of going to a specific team. The effect upon the league as a whole is much greater. There's a huge difference.
The reason's simple. You can't fault the Bulls for having a dynasty. They drafted Jordan, traded for Pippen when he was young, and overall "built" their championship rosters. Same with the Rockets, or any other contender during the era like the Jazz, Sonics, and the Suns. Fans can live with that. Because they believe that while other teams are winning, their team can obtain future top player through drafts and eventually obtain their Jordan or Hakeem. Then the Lakers traded a bag of chips for Gasol. KG and Allen went to the Celtics. And, of course, Lebron, Wade, and Bosh conspired to go to Miami. Melo forcing a trade to NY. And now all the best players are talking about where to go when their contracts are up. Suddenly, things aren't as simple as it used to be. It's no longer about waiting for your turn, hoping for the right ping pong balls or your management pulling something out of his hat. There's a sense that no matter what you do, you can't compete with the field long term.
The spurs won four championships and have a shot at it again this year. The Pistons won one within that same period and actually battled San Antonio the very next year in the least watched finals ever. That's five championships in nine years, none of which were due to a flashy market or a bunch of superfriends teaming up. Please stop kidding yourself by suggesting the game has been fixed the entire time.
