The league changed the game this year....when, we don't know. But it's more then rule changes regarding defensive 3-seconds, hand-checking and so on, it's almost the way the game is referred - favoring the speed and quickness over a slower game. Teams that were just recently the kings of the playground are finding themselves in trouble - and they all have one thing in common: They are great half court teams. And who are they in trouble against - run and gun teams. Teams with high-speed, and high athleticism. The Bulls have taken out Miami Phoenix is pouring it on. Golden State is giving Dallas fits And Utah looms over our slow-it-down, Knicks like era game. Even the Spurs were looking vulnerable to the nuggets.
You mean it has nothing to do with the Heat being old and decrepit or the Lakers roster totally stinking from top to bottom?
i don't know about that. miami just came off winning a championship playing half-court basketball. phoenix is beating a terrible lakers team, big deal. they are the darlings of the new nba and have yet to even make the finals. golden state owns dallas, who themselves certainly take advantage of the rule changes. utah is arguably slower and less athletic than we are, and even if that's false, the series is TIED. the game is definitely being referreed for midgets though. pretty soon you can compete for a championship with a 6' center. i really don't like the way the nba is going.
The Bulls are better in the half-court and play suffocating defense. Perimeter-dominated or not, that's not Showtime.
Utah is less athletic than us? We have to be one of the oldest, least athletic teams in the league. Most of the guys on our rotation are either too small, past their prime in terms of athletic ability, or can't jump more than 25 inches.
I like run and gun basketball. And I like breaking the conventional mode. I was glad when Detroit won, because it proved that you didn't have to have a dominating superstar to win a championship. You just need a bunch of very good players who play well together. The only "showtime" teams are Phoenix, GS, and Denver. We'll see how far they go. If the Rockets don't win, I want either Phoenix or GS to win. Just to break the conventional wisdom of "only half court game wins in the playoffs." Well, the Rockets are built in the conventional mode by default of Yao's presence, and the coaching of JVG. So if it works out, I am happy too.
Defensive 3 seconds is really rarely being called or rather not enough I watch the pheonix game. . . Nash lived in the lane while his man was at the 3 pt line They should really cut that rule. . .i prefer the No Zone rules Rocket River
Detroit still does fine in the half-court. So do the Spurs. The NBA started calling ticky-tack fouls at the beginning of last year in order to increase scoring (more fouls, more FT's, less aggressive defense = more points). Its worked, for the most part, but the playoffs are still always going to feature more physical play, and thus, the refs have to somewhat swallow their whistles for all the dirty stuff down low (they can still see, and call, the obvious bumps on the perimeter).
Good point. I understand why NewYorker may have made the comparison, but this isn't the Showtime Era redux. Different rules, and diluted talent, IMO. Having said that, and just for fun, if we had points like Smith and ET, with players like McGrady, Hayes, Snyder, Head, and Battier, all players who can run the court, Yao could play the Jabbar role. The problem is that Hayes can't shoot, Snyder still doesn't know his role (who's fault is that? lack of brains? maybe. someone else? could be), Head has choked, and Battier doesn't want to shoot. We have nothing like the Lakers squad of the era, or the Rockets squads of '85-'86, or '93-'94, for that matter. No bench we can count on when it counts. Come what may during the playoffs, we need to shake up the Rockets squad during the summer.
Great players make the game easier for everybody else. I don't think Yao has reached that status yet... especially when Utah can get by with single-guarding him, and the most Yao gets is 25-27 points, half of them coming on free throws (which don't really scare an opponent into defending you differently). Our role players need to hit open shots... but right now, the last two games, they weren't even getting those because Utah rarely had to double anybody (and if they did, they just sent the defender who wasn't guarding Chuck Hayes over).
No question about it. See Will's thread in the GARM about McGrady. I think he may have nailed the problem with him, as absurd as it might seem at first glance.
I have seen Showtime, and the only team that even remotely resembles the 80's Laker teams is Phoenix, and that's a big emphasis on "remotely"...
Small ball is not Basketball in my opinion! Basketball was invented as a game to be played by tall athletes. The height of players and their abilities are the beauty of the game. If you like small ball then you might also like TAG!
It's not small ball per se. It's just a different brand of basketball. We're seeing the effects of the rule changes that allow more penetration and put a great priority on hit jumpshots. Big men aren't as dominant now - look at the MVP race. Teams like Miami, SA, and Houston may not have a lot of long term prospects - not just because they are aging, but because of the style of play. Teams such as Chicago, Phoenix, Golden State, and even Dallas and Utah - are really where the future is at. It's not about half-court vs. fast-break, and my title is misleading at that. It's about high-octane offense with solid players at every position and a few stars - but not teams with the mega-stars and mediocre role-players. It's a different model. It really does take 5 in today's NBA. Which is why Miami is gone. It's why Golden State is giving Dallas fits - because Dallas has a weakness at the five offensively and against the very quick front court of GS. It's why Utah is now causing us problems - because they are just faster and every player on their team can hit an open jumpshot. We have Hayes and Mutombo. And Yao isn't really someone who scores off of dribble penetration from a point guard into taking a jump shot. he's a post player. When Phoenix takes San Antonio down in 5 or 6 games, that will be the nail in the coffin for the old NBA.
