First of all, I think that the NBA should nationally televise EVERY team. I am sick of seeing the Blazers, Spurs and Lakers every night on TNT and NBC. Especially since these are the best defensive teams, and games are always low scoring and lop-sided. Every team should be on national TV at least 10 times. That goes for even the cellar-dwellars. I think that would keep the interest up. Secondly, refs need to stop calling ticky tack fouls, or flops. They need to stop tacking players with techs for hanging on the rim and all those stupid rules. Let them palm the damn ball too. Everybody does it. The three point line should be moved back to where it was in 95. That really helped percentages. Enough of these mandatory timeouts. Every second whistle produces a mandatory timeout. They get VERY old VERY quickly. Market a variety of players, not just Kobe, Vince and Kidd. You know coaches, offense is important too. Stop signing useless no-offense players like Kelvin Cato, Tyrone Hill, Samake Walker, Greg Ostertag and Shawn Bradley. Defense is good, but I am so sick of seeing these guys blow wide open shots and layups. Note to players, try driving to the hole once and a while. If you can't stick a jumper, drive to the bloody basket. A few days ago, I read a chron article where Mobley ranked making the all-star team above making the playoffs. Unbelievable. While he did say that if he played well, the team would do well, there is no way that making the stupid all star team should be ranked above postseason play. How many people here would rather see Mobley in the all-star game instead of the playoffs? I don't even think he is an all star calliber player---yet. If the NBA can market teams again, instead of players, we will see improvement. Instead of rewarding stats, reward winning. If the Rockets are not at .500 or above when the all stars are chosen, there is no way any player on the team should get to be on the all star squad. Although, if someone averaged 40 points and 20 rebounds on a losing team, there could be an exception... ------------------ "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning how to put food on their family while being put to death."
I think the athleticism of athletes today is what has changed the game. Remember back when Magic played, he was considered an absolute freak-of-nature PG? Hell, nowadays you've got 6-7 and 6-8 guys bringing the ball up the court regularly (Pippen, Penny, Kobe, KG, etc.). I was watching an old dunk competition that Dr. J was in. I laughed at how the commentators said things such as how great a dunk that was or how incredible his ability is... they were lame dunks by today's standards. Take Vince ramming his arm through the hoop and compare it to some of Dr. J's dunks and there's no contest. Athleticism and flash have taken away from the "substance" of the game. By the way, I tried to check the validity of your statement that FG% has been going down over the years : The average FG% of players playing more than 40 games and averaging more than 25 min/g back in : 80-81 - 49.6% 85-86 - 49.5% 90-91 - 48.5% 95-96 - 47.0% 99-00 - 45.4% If the data/source I used is correct, you have one hell of a good point. ------------------ "Don't slap the glass Mobley, slap my ass...yeeeoooow!" -- HeyPartner decides to out himself. Makes you wonder if he's calling ISO's and 2 Shakes for himself... hehe [This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited January 10, 2001).]
Rickem: I said Francis and Marbury are the two best "TALENTS" by this I mean a chance to be amongst the best ever, now the keyword in all of that was chance. I never called them the best players. Kobe Bryant is peaking, he will not get that much better as there is not much room to grow he is by far the best player at his position and arguably the best player in the league(I say KG but...) However the way I see it Francis and Marbury have what it takes physicaly to be the best ever at the 1, now them actualy reaching that stature is a whole other story. Jeff: I find the defense actualy worse than what it was in the 90's. Why? First handchecking was allowed. Second Olajuwon, Mutumbo, and Robinson were in their prime. Also defensive specialist were much more abundant. You know come to think about it rebounding seems a lot lower also. As for Hakeem he had an attitude as far as refs go, but for the most part he was an intimidator something we don't see much of anymore(please don't say Reggie Slater). As to why I didn't include other great shooters? Come on now I can't list every damn person. It's like naming every fine woman in the state of Alaska it would take a long of time..... Ummmm never mind. ------------------ "We need to fockass".....Dream back in the day [This message has been edited by Scarface (edited January 10, 2001).]
Scarface Rebounding being lower while the FG % is lower seems to be contradictory. More Misses would mean More Rebounds Then Again Better Defense could mean Less shots which would mean less rebounds Which argues that the Defenses are better Rocket River I think the game is ok . . . could use a few tweaks ------------------
Dr of Dunk, When did the 3 point shot start in the NBA? Wouldn't that have some bearing on the shooting percentage going down? Mango ------------------ Lets get the Mo Go working! Test Your NBA Trade Ideas 1. Put new topics in the proper forum. Things happening in the rest of the NBA 2. Use clear wording for new threads. 3. No duplicate threads 4. Conduct yourself as an adult. The Serious Police are watching. Donate Blood or be assimilated!
Mango--this doesn't really have much to with your specific question but it is kinda funny when you think about it--if I remember correctly, when the NBA decreased the distance of the 3 pt line I think the % numbers actually went down, because anybody with half a j figured they could just start jacking (Larry Johnson, anyone?). About the NBA as a whole (and this sort of alludes to what Jeff said about the league being between eras), the fact of the matter is that just 2 years ago we witnessed the end of the Bulls dynasty, brought to us by the last great player of the entire Magic/Bird/Jabar/Erving regime. We can't expect to all of a sudden have a league rich in storied rivalries like the one4s above when all the storied teams of the past don't exist anymore (at least personnel-wise). What I think we can expect, however, is that after about 5-7 years there will be a select group of players that truly separate themselves from the rest of the pack (like KG, Duncan, and others), provided that their respective teams are able to stay competitive. And when this happens I think we'll see natural rivalries between these players begin to develop (and not these fabricated ones the NBA puts together on NBC). That's when all the complaints about style of play will be ignored, because it won't be about that--it will be about pure competition, just like it was with Bird and Magic and Jordan. For now, though, the NBA is going to go through some growing pains, and inevitably its popularity will decline some, but that doesn't mean there's anything seriously wrong with it. It will have to reload, but not necessarily rebuild. ------------------
Prempeh, Also the shorter distance meant that the rotating defender was in the shooter's face a bit sooner and made it easier to defend. Mango ------------------ Lets get the Mo Go working! Test Your NBA Trade Ideas 1. Put new topics in the proper forum. Things happening in the rest of the NBA 2. Use clear wording for new threads. 3. No duplicate threads 4. Conduct yourself as an adult. The Serious Police are watching. Donate Blood or be assimilated! [This message has been edited by Mango (edited January 10, 2001).]
Ok let me first start off with saying I used to LOVE this game... Now I just really like it. Ok here is the situation. The NBA as it is now sucks, and it pains me to say it. Where have the great shooters gone? Quick name the best shooter today. John Stockton? Tony Delk? Matt Bullard? Kids don't practice shooting anymore they practice the crossover dribble. you want proof look at 3 point shooting its going down every year. Look at the fg% its going down every year. The league is turning into a bunch of show boating punks. Lets face it Utah has been the most consistent team in the league the past decade, and they did it with one superstar. What it has come down to is the NBA marketing everyone, as they have no real megastar as was in the past. Thus players like Mobley, Ron Mercer and Larry Hughes are born. These players have great individual talent but are not necesarily team players, they are more concerned about individual accolades and fame than to win a ring. I do not hate Mobley, but the guy has no brain and his motivation is questionable. Does he produce baskets? Yes, but is he smart enough to help you win a championship? I highly doubt it. Players like this were around way before the decline of the NBA but were never heard of nationaly because of the true megastars. These players were quick to change their ways as teams would get rid of them rather quick if they didn't change their tune. Which brings me back to the NBA as a whole. Look at the Damn scoring this year. With teams being held to all time lows I think we need to look no further than last nights game between Charlotte and Chicago. 3 overtimes in the 80's and early 90's meant at least 130-140 points. Today? 102 to 95 man if that isn't the biggest sign of futility I don't know what is. P.S. I am no old fogey I'm 21 and consider Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury the two best talents in the league. Notice I said talents because these guys have yet to prove themselves at all in my mind. Once Steve learns that he needs to score to create for others then he will become great, and once Stephon learns to trust his teamates more he will be great. Bring back the shooters please!!!! ------------------ "We need to fockass".....Dream back in the day
The NBA 3-pt line in its original form/distance came into existence back in 1978. I don't know about it having an effect on FG %. I'd have to look closer, but looking at the numbers, we've been in a downtrend for that entire period. I could go year-by-year and see... ------------------ "Don't slap the glass Mobley, slap my ass...yeeeoooow!" -- HeyPartner decides to out himself. Makes you wonder if he's calling ISO's and 2 Shakes for himself... hehe
For those interested in the downward trend of FG%, check out the following article from the Houston Chronicle (nice to see we're beating the Chronicle to press... hehe) : http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/795035 I like the way it says that the 43.9% this year is the lowest since 1965-66, but if you look back at the 1998-99 season, it was 43.7%. ------------------ "I personally don't think Jordan would have enjoyed playing with himself." -- JeffB lets us all know that Popeye and Clutch aren't the only ones with inside sources... (also an example of a BBS "sound-bite") [This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited January 14, 2001).]
Reggie Miller I think is the most exciting shooter in the game. He can hit the wide open 3 like Walt and Bullard, and he can hit the 3 over guys or off balance. I love to watch him play, the way he comes off the screens to the 3 point line. Did anyone see that shot he made the other night as the shot clock expired? He got a pass and knew he couldn't set, so he caught the ball and threw it up all in one motion...and it swished. It looked like he was throwing up an alley oop almost. ------------------ "Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing." - Vince Lombardi
Those bastards at the chron bit off me. ------------------ "We need to fockass".....Dream back in the day
