why they pay this guy to write this bulls-h-i-t article. http://www.indianastatesman.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/20/4265ded7af2e0 Professional basketball is completely unwatchable The Sideline By Jared Sexton April 20, 2005 Yawn. Is it time for the NBA playoffs already? Wow, the season sure went by fast. All that excitement, I suppose. Do me a favor, wake me up when professional basketball is interesting again. I'm not saying the NBA's boring - I wouldn't dare say that, after all everyone knows that watching the isolation offense is compelling sports, especially when the defense covering it is about as porous as volcanic rock. Now that's the basketball I want to see, two major players on every team taking horrible, off-balance shots while being double-teamed, and the minor, support players getting their five to 10 points off the rebounds. Man, I love this game. Come to think of it, when's the last time an NBA game actually interested you? Seriously, be honest. You might be able to mention some close game or whatever from January or something, but was the game itself interesting until the clock started running down? Of course it wasn't. It's hard to watch a game in which the players are seemingly less interested than the average viewer. Whether or not the Hawks are blown out by 30, or just get buzzed by three points, the players react in the same way. After the final horn, they walk off the court and give their unintelligible interviews about "playing team ball," ad nauseam. It's almost too disgusting to bear. The "stars" we have to endure, it's like being made to watch your family beaten. They're all 18 or 19-years-old, and the last time anyone took the time to help them learn how to "shoot," yes, that forgotten art, was at a fifth grade AAU camp where Nike was already shilling them shoes. Now we're treated to the likes of Amare Stoudamire, the "future" of the NBA, who hasn't shot a jump shot since entering the league. Instead he streaks to the basket and dunks on every possession. No wonder we can't compete in international tournaments. What about pure scorers like Tracy McGrady, you say? Give me a break. McGrady has never helped a team actually win anything. See: Toronto. See: Orlando. See: Houston. McGrady, and players like him, (I'm including Allen Iverson, Steve Francis, and Baron Davis), are ruining franchises every year. Sure, it's helpful to have a player who can cut to the basket or take the ball when the points count, but never passing and then bricking shot after shot? The point is that there isn't a game worth watching. Team play is nonexistent, and no one really cares who wins or loses, as long as the paychecks keep coming. As if the lack of passion doesn't detract enough from the league, who can keep track of who players for who? Keith Van Horn has played for every team, some twice, and even made a brief trip to Europe to see if there were anymore organizations he could suit up for. There isn't a single player who can really be related as a symbol of his team, with the exception of maybe Tim Duncan, and to be honest, I've had more fun watching my decrepit uncle Jim working the post in my family's 3-on-3 game at the reunion. And as for Shaquille O'Neal, I get more entertainment trying to bet how many pounds he'll be overweight when he shows up for training camp than whether or not he'll get a ring before Kobe. Each year the ratings show the story. The Finals are enjoying their lowest numbers ever. No one is watching the NBA, no one is really getting excited about anything the product puts on the floor, and they shouldn't. After all, who really wants to watch the world's finest athletes standing around the perimeter until their star teammate takes an off-balanced fade away? Until the league threatens to deduct from paychecks for missed jump shots, I'll be waiting for October and Midnight Madness with baited breath.
well I dont like his examples which make him sound like a moron but he does have a point. The NBA as a league has been losing fans and ratings every year since the late 90's. J
Last year's Final's ratings were some of the best in a long time, I believe attendence is higher than it's ever been. The NBA is fine, stupid people like this idiot writer don't have a clue.
Wow.. they pay this guy? T-Mac: How he can include Houston on the "hasn't won anything" list is ridiculous. Last time I checked, we've played close to .700 ball after the break. Stoudemire: Amare's biggest improvement this year is having a 15 foot jumper. Guys give him space to shoot it and he hits it at a decent clip. AI: most exciting player in the league.. throws his body around like its his last day to live. Shaq: Came into the season the lightest he has been in years. I don't think this guy has even watched basketball at all this year. If anything, basketball is more watchable this year than any year since the Jordan era. There is no clear cut favorite for the title (last year's lakers.. yawn). We have the emergence of young superstars in Lebron, Wade, Carmello. The Phoenix Suns have brought back showtime basketball running on every possession (given I can't stand their whiney players and coach). And finally, we have new super-duos with Shaq-Wade, Yao-Tmac, Duncan-Parker and who knows where Bogut goes next year. Since this is coming from the Indiana Statesman I'm guessing he misses the "pure shooter" days since Reggie is retiring. Well... he should retire the typewriter as well.
Everybody claims it's the brand of basketball, but I think it's racially motivated. The NBA has a lot of hip-hop culture in it and old white folks don't like that. It's as simple as that. I love the NBA. You can't evaluate and watch a game with prejudice about the players. Because if he was unbiased, he would see that Tracy never takes a shot when he's double teamed. They always go around the horn and pass to the open man. Francis and Iverson are a different deal. However, Baron Davis has been averaging 11 assists a game since he went to Golden State. If this azzhole watched the highlights of the Golden State warriors last night, he would have seen at least four spectacular passes from Baron Davis. All of these guys are team guys and want to win. Iverson and Francis have a little bit of a playground mentality, but they are team guys as well. The preparation behind this article is laughable. This guy hasn't watched a lick of what the Rockets or Warriors or Magic do, I guarantee it.
I would somewhat agree if this article was written a couple of years ago when isolation offenses seem to rule. But I think more team ball is starting to come back. Scoring is up this year, making it more entertaining to watch. Now if they would only get rid of the special foul treatment for superstars!
What year is it? 2004 or 2005? A year ago, maybe this article makes sense. But scoring is up something like 3-4 points this year...an unheard of jump in one season. And it is exciting to watch. The Suns, Sonics and Cavs kept me intrigued through the first half of the season. The Spurs have been consistent throughout. You can't deny the Nuggets late season run was amazing. The heroics of T-Mac have transformed a Rockets team from a boring team to a high scoring offense. Shaq in Miami. The downfall of the Lakers. A brawl. Collapses by Minnesota and Cleveland. The return of Vince Carter. Maybe it's just me, but as a whole, I thought this season was one of the best in the last few years....how many times can you watch Spurs vs. Lakers vs. Kings triumverate??
Well last years ratings were the best in a long time because the overall finals ratings have been so poor. I read somewhere attendance is picking up which is good news but TV viewship and ratings is not doing too well. I am personally ecstatic about this season and all the changes Shaq/Kobe's Breakup, more exciting BB, more scoring, more passing and better teams. Previously you would have a few elite teams beating up on everyone but look how tight the playoff seeding was until the last few games.. This year alot of teams have a legit shot at the championship. J
McGrady has never won anything, he's right about that. But "never passing and then bricking shot after shot"? He's lumped McGrady in with the wrong cast of characters. And how can you say "See: Houston" as to how he's never won anything, when there hasn't been anything to win yet but regular season games, and he and the team had a pretty damn good season this year. But whatever. I agree though that McGrady will only get higher respect when he wins playoff games.
I am really really pissed about this article. He says T-Mac hasn't helped Toronto , Orlando or Houston win anything. Well, let's see. In Toronto he was a 170 pound skinny teenager who came out of high school and was unprepared for the NBA game so he had to learn. His third year, he came of the bench and did a good job for toronto, averaging 15PPG playing behind established stars Carter, Antonio Davis, Charles Oakley, Alvin Williams etc That was the year when he was "introduced" to the NBA. The next year he got his own team (Orlando) and developed into a great young player. He did not take his team beyond the first round, but he performed like no other player has in the playoffs since Jordan. He torched Milwaukee, Charlotte and Detroit. Unfortunately, his best complimentary player in Orlando was Darrell Freaking Armstrong (a benchwarmer with Dallas right now). In Houston, he hasn't been in the playoffs yet, but he did help the Rockets during the regular season. Unless this guy has a time machine and knows what happens to the Rockets in the next few years, he should shut the f up.
You can post feedback about the article on that page, I just submitted something. Lets see if they post it.
I do agree that iso plays are boring to watch, no matter who you are pulling for. But in the same sentence, if you want to watch a slugfest, watch the Rockets-Knicks finals. That was pretty much the most defensive Finals ever played. It was little different from the way they play now, except both teams dumped into their center, instead of their 2/3. If you were looking for offensive excitement, it wasn't there at all. Unless, of course you were a Rockets fan and got to see them close out Pat Riley....
I see a lot of articles b****ing about the degeneration of the NBA and I don't disagree with much what they are saying. But this article makes me forget about basketball entirely and instead focus on the unfortunate degeneration of media and journalism in our country
