OK, now that the season is FINALLY over it's time to kick back and do some reflecting on the sorry state of play in today's NBA. In Saturday's Chronicle was an excellent article by Jonathan Feagle discussing the lack of offensive skills, particularly shooting, in the league. Here's the link: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/1953049 and the full story: Finals prove league needs good shooters By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle As interesting as it might be to challenge David Stern to describe these NBA Finals as a thing of beauty, he probably could do it. This confidence in his mastery of spin has nothing to do with the gritty defense and clever strategies that have made the Finals so tense and dramatic -- not to mention unwatchable. Having heard the NBA commissioner ridicule those who have called the worst television ratings for the Finals since 1982 somewhat disappointing, we have no doubt he could similarly talk away any criticism of the quality of play. The NBA has tried to boast the vast improvement in ratings compared to whatever ABC offered last season at this time. But somehow, beating reruns of The Drew Carey Show does not seem impressive. Explaining away the horrid shooting of the league's showcase event might take some creative tap-dancing. But the truth the league will not share is that this is what it has done to itself. The league has been so obsessed with the Lakers, Kings and Mavericks, it might not have noticed that its rule changes haven't worked as planned. Yes, allowing zone defenses has cut way back on isolation plays and removed the confounding and frustrating illegal defense rules. But they also have put a premium on shooting at a time when NBA players cannot shoot. The Nets and Spurs are fine defensive teams. But teams in the Finals always excel defensively. But now, with the zones, the Nets and Spurs, like most NBA teams, lack the shooters to punish teams for the sorts of defenses that are permitted. This is no fluke. This is what has become of the NBA over the years, and especially after zone defenses allowed coaches to exploit the league's weakness the past two seasons. The Finals have been, with the exception of a few stretches, horrible. But they are not an aberration. "I've seen a dramatic lowering of the number of guys that can really shoot that midrange shot," Spurs center David Robinson said. "When I first came in, there were a lot of guys who could make shots, open shots from about 17 feet, make them on the move. Now it seems like there are a lot more extreme guys, either guys who can stand there and shoot 3s or guys who can get to the rim but not very many guys who are really good in-between shooters. "Just thinking off the top of my head, I can only think of guys like (Richard) Hamilton, Glenn Robinson. You can pick a handful of guys. There are not that many guys who really shoot that midrange shot well. When I came in, there were a ton of guys. There were a bunch of Ricky Pierces and Walter Davises, and everybody could shoot that thing. Some of the more fundamental skills are kind of lacking somewhat in a large percentage of the players." The most popular, and overly simplistic, explanation is that players shoot poorly simply because they spend their lives learning to dunk and nail 3-pointers in pursuit of SportsCenter glory. There is something to that. But for years, the NBA game, with heavy use of isolation and offensive moves off the dribble, encouraged those talents, then sacrificed offensive skills in the pursuit of quick-footed defenders to stop those one-on-one talents. "We have definitely set back offensive basketball about 15 years, both teams," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after Game 4, the worst of the offensive horror shows.. "There are not a lot of great shooters. There are not a lot of great offensive performers. There's one here and there on this team or that team, but they are not really great shooters. It might be a guy is a great athlete who is a great one-on-one player, and defenses are designed to stop those guys, whether they are big people or small people. "So I think in many ways it reflects a lack of skill on the part of players these days. Fundamentally they can run and they can jump and they can be athletic, but skills are wanting. I think it's one of the reasons you see so many foreign players in the game now. I think so many of them come over with more of those kinds of skills than a lot of American kids." The league, however, still celebrates its rule changes as an unqualified success. And in a way, it should. The changes, though shortsighted and reactionary, were designed solely to eliminate the illegal defense questions and isolation offenses. The NBA did not consider the side effects then or now. "(The NBA competition committee is) very happy with the way the game looks now," NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said. "They think it has improved dramatically. We really have curtailed isolation plays. You still see one-on-one play in the NBA and you still see a lot of pick-and-roll plays, despite the fact that some people said that wouldn't happen. But you don't see situations where you might as well have sent three or four of the offensive players into the parking lot to play one-on-one or two-on-two. We really think we have something now where all five players have to play and there's a lot more ball movement and it looks a lot better. "This year, we've seen, as teams have gotten more used to the rules, we've seen a lot more interesting defenses, a lot more teams playing the zone more often, and we think it's really helped to make the game a lot more interesting." The good news is that as long as the NBA keeps its blinders on, it won't overreact again, and the game will be allowed to correct itself, as it would have a few years ago. This time, the rules will not be changed. Coaches and general managers will seek shooters. And players will work on their shots. But for now, the NBA Finals -- no matter how the league chooses to explain the evidence -- have been ugly, and only slightly more attractive than those Drew Carey reruns. ____________________________________________________ Now, it occurs to me that Feagan is describing one of the key deficiencies of the Rockets - their poor and streaky shooting. IMHO, this should be the first thing that JVG addresses on the offensive side. When you look at the players on this team, namely Francis, Mobley, Posey, Taylor et. al., you see a collection of great athletes who lack many offensive skills. These are essentially one-on-one players whose game has been severely impacted by the introduction of zone defenses. I believe this is why Rudy stuck with his ISO offense to the bitter end - because he realized that he just did not have guys that can consistently hit midrange shots. That's the major reason the Rockets struggled to put points on the board last season and that's one of the reasons they are so far behind teams in their conference like SAC, Dallas and LA who can light it up. I'd like others to share their opinions on what steps the Rockets & JVG need to take in order to address this deficiency given the type of players currently on the roster. As the Rockets are at the salary cap, there doesn't appear to be any major free agents coming in the near future so I expect next season's team to return basically unchanged.
With Yao Ming stepping up and being more of the focus of the offense, that should open up alot of shots for people. Also that takes alot of pressure off of making the mid range jumper by creating more wide open shots. Bottom line is that good things happen when the big guy touches the ball.
Can you say And 1? Ruining the game IMO. I can sum up this article in 1 sentence: More PT for Terrence Morris!
I'm not so sure if I agree with that; streetball has been around for a LONG time, guys like Wilt Chamberlain, Dr. J, Connie Hawkins, etc were streetball legends who, even during their pro careers, would show up at West 4th St or Rucker Park and put on a show with locals in the offseason (for free). Was it on ESPN2 or did it sell mixtapes? No, but these guys weren't corrupted by it despite being avid participants. I think the popularity of the and1 tour is more symptomatic than causative.
I've said this yrs ago, if the nba wants to bring back the mid range game, move the 3pt line back. If that was a bad shot, which for the most part it is, then more guys would try to get to 15-18 ft more. I remember watching guys in the 80's that would hit you for 25 without taking a 3pt shot. Eddie Johnson,Ricky Pierce,Dominiqu,Jordan,Price not to mention a guy like KJ that would kill you from 18 ft. If J was playing now, he'd avg 25 easy without a problem. Now though,like with Rudy's old system , its lets find one player whocommands a double team, wait for the kickout and shoot a 3. Even guys who have no business shooting 3's shoot them because of the way coaches let the defense dictate the offense. Also, coaches micro manage games and call every play from the sideline. This results in no free flowing games for the most part. The NBA need more scorers like Mitch Richmond,Mullin,KJ, and guys like that. Those players never had off nights.
All that " game is better " talk is a load of crap. NBA needs ratings big time. They know it. I'd expect a lot of high flying action next season. Phoenix will benefit - they'd love to have stodemire and matrix instead of duncan and parker on the tv. Wouldn't you? Come on. The game is boring. We don't need a trapezoid key and zone defense. Let the boys fly. Nowhere else in the world can you see guys do that. That's the ticket to ratings. We want to see people do impossible things. A 4 corners passing game running down to a 15ft j is bo---ring. College ball can stay in college. Yeah, I'd like more fundemental skills, too. Balance it out. And get some minor leagues for goodness sakes. Some of these guys need to get sent down; conversely, teams could bring guys up when ready. Better overall skills.
The infusion of foreign players "could" help correct the shooting problem. So i agree that the game will work itself out and am confident that we will look back at this championship as a nightmare (as far as on court excitement goes)
Excellent point... The college and highschool 3pt lines should be moved back as well. Start early. The true pure shooters in the league, the Dirks, Reggie Millers, Ray Allens, etc. would still be able to hit the 3... players masquerading as pure shooters would be forced to start working on the higher percentage mid-range jumper. Example: Shawn Marion... that guy should be not be shooting so many 3s! His shooting form begs dunks and layups.
Excellent point!!! It's all about a love AND respect for the game. Do today's players really respect the game? They get millions of dollars from the NBA, millions more for shoe deals. Whats the incentive to learn fundamentals? Are modern players willing to sacrifice part of their "offseason" to improve their game? Do they play defense? Shooting a basketball is a lost art in the current NBA. It's kinda like a singles hitter in baseball. Homerun hitters (3-pt shooters) drive cadillacs, singles hitters (mid-range shooters) drive hondas.
Every generation laments the decline of of how things "used to be," but the overall quality of the NBA has never been higher. Today's 6th man would have been a star 20 years ago. The difference between today's superstar and today's star is much smaller. It's much more difficult to stand out in today's game because there is stronger competition and better overall quality. Because the standard of play has increased, it's much more difficult to dominate. Thus, it seems as though play quality has decreased. In fact, it's the opposite. But that's because the standard deviation in performance has shrunk as advantages and techniques are honed and mainstreamed (Stephen Jay Gould wrote quite elequently on this). Fifty years ago, George Mikan was a superstar in a new sport that had yet to discover the techniques and intracacies we take for granted today. Mikan's talents were new and unique, and players had trouble adjusting. But now the advantages he enjoyed are gone. He'd probably have trouble cracking an NBA rotation today.
I agree that today's players are better "athletes" but they are not better basketball players. Can you name me all these 6th men that you say would be superstars if they played 20 years ago?
Please, we all know players now are much more athletic than the ones from past generations.........common Fvckin sense. Problems: -Zone Defense Why is it here? These pansies are supposedly pros....you'd figure they'd learn how to move their feet by now. -Stupid semi-circle in the paint What the hell is this all about. Players just have to run in front of that area to take the charge.....and that's defense? -Flopping and acting It's one thing when a handful of players are doing it, but when every freakin' player including seven-footers are falling down....well, let's just say that's not defense. -Can't shoot 'Nuff said. Again, you'd figure players would learn how to shoot a basketball after so many years of playing. Don't give me this defenses are tougher now BS. No one can or wants to play defense, reason we dumbed the NBA down to allow Zone. -Expansion Good freakin' job Stern.....add another team to an already diluted piece of **** league. -There's no Jordan or true ambassador The league needs that one person that will make millions of people watch. It sure as hell isn't Shaq, Duncan, Kobe, KG, Tmac, Kidd, or any of the so called elites. -Learn how to play Woop-tee-Fvckin-do.....look at me, I can lift weights and get stronger, faster, and jump higher. Someone teach these pansies the basics. -Refs Though, it's not all their fault. Rule changes every year and players not knowing how to play basketball just makes their job that much more difficult. It's just terrible how much they affect the out-come of the game now. As of now, the best things about the NBA in no particular order: -TNT crew -Walton -8 second rule to pass halfcourt.
expansion/free agency. expansion has just terribly watered down the talent on each and every team. also, free agency has taken its toll. i know FA wasnt so much a drastic impact as in baseball but it doesnt allow the fans a real chance to get to know the players when they just get drafted and stick around for a couple years and then go someone else and kick, and some times the fans dont even get those first couple years with the guys anymore (see steve francis trade)
BobFinn hits the nail on the head: This one line describes the Rockets more than anything else. EG is practically the poster child for what's happening today. These guys are athletes first and basketball players second and that's the root of the problem. We can debate endlessly as to why but I feel that it starts with the kind of player that is coming into the league. For some time now, the NBA has been forced to allow younger and younger players into the league. These players arrive with underdeveloped basketball skills. Given time with the proper coaching, these players might have been able to raise their level of basketball skill and knowledge in a timely fashion. That's what used to happen when they played college ball for 4 years but no more. First it was college juniors who made the jump to the NBA, then sophomores, freshmen and finally today we have the parade of high school players. These players are taking 3 or more years to develop at the pro level which incidently, is the amount of time they would have been playing college ball. It's in the college teaching environment where they learn to take their skills to the next level. The NBA simply isn't geared for developing young players who often languish at the end of the bench while they work their way into the playing rotation. It is this dearth of basketball skills that's behind the current influx of foreign players who arrive into the league as more polished players with a better understanding of how the game should be played. Feagan is correct that given enough time, the NBA, the colleges and the players themselves will come to understand that first and foremost it really is about HOW you play the game.
Excellent analysis of the current situation in the NBA and of the Rockets in particular. We are seeing some really ugly basketball. I don't buy the idea that the best is now. IMO, the showtime Lakers would have blown the current Lakers off the court. (faster, smarter, more teamwork) Again, IMO, Bird and the Celtics would have destroyed the champion Spurs. The overall level of talent (position for position)was much greater on those teams. I think the "bad boy" Pistons would clean up on most of the teams in the league right now. However, I think the Mavericks are a "banger" away from being the next "showtime" machine.
I dont know about you guys, but even though the Rockets were not in the playoffs this year, I REALLY enjoyed watching it. But in truth, I didn't enjoy watching ALL the playoffs, I only enjoyed west vs west matchups. Anything to do with the east was rather boring and therefore the finals were boring too. But the West was REALLY fun to watch. Even San Antonio games were fun to watch, versus the Suns, Lakers, and kinda got boring with Dallas though but still fun.... The only good East games were with Allen Iverson I think... woulda been nice to see Iverson against McGrady but oh well. Anyways, I thought the NBA was very competitive this year and players showed a lot of heart... yes the mid jumper is missing more so that other years but I think this playoffs beats out a lot of past playoff seasons. Something needs to be done about the East. Someday hopefully there will be no East and West and all the teams can be in competition through seeding... the only problem is East teams only play West teams twice a year due to travel problems. But anyways, great playoff season in my opinion.... Timberwolves against Lakers, Dallas and Sacramento... i could go on and on. Now put the Rockets in that equation and you got an intense post season!
The problem is simple any time anybody other than Chicago NY LA or Boston wins the title or fails to make the finals, the media loves to pout than say its a * title. Like I heard Jimmy Rome say something like NJ was trying to act like LA or NY during the finals, what the heck is that supposed to mean? Nothing is wrong with this game its just when there are medium to small market teams are in the finals the ratings will slip every time. The finals are not the superbowl. The ratings need the big markets, but as an NBA fan it dosent matter to me. This years finals were fairly entertaining to me
Reason why they need to do away with the East vs West garbage and get the best teams in the playoffs no matter what conference. Of course that would mean that each team would have to play each other an equal amount of times during the regular season, three would be my choice. I mean seriously, you know you're in trouble when some crappy, bootleg version of another crappy show(I'm speaking of that show that's like American Idol, but with pre-teens) gets millions of more viewers than Game 6 of the FINALS!
Let's say you're playing four-on-four on a local court. Two above-average players show up. Does letting them play decrease the quality of play in your game? Not likely. Expansion has not watered down the NBA. There are 50 million more people in the country now than just a generation ago. Also, with the NBA discovering the untapped well of talent in Europe, the pool of available players is increasing every year. The addition of 50 players into a 300-player league has not damaged league quality -- it's akin to adding a 5th player in a pickup game.
Wrong my good friend Green. See, while Jordan was in his prime during the late 80's/90's, Stern saw fit to expand, and expand. Why not, the NBA was growing every year($$$).....I guess he thought Jordan would stay playing at an elite level at least for the next 40 years. Adding these extra teams just took away the possibilities of current teams getting stronger.....you know, having actual teams instead of 1 superstar and a bunch of roleplayers. I have no problem with expansion, but not when so many teams are below average, or just plain suck. Now, it's foolish to think there would be a league full of King-like teams that are about 10-deep, but it should be a lot better than it currently is. This combined with everything that's been mentioned in this thread is what the NBA has become. Adding that extra team in Charlotte sure as hell didn't help. And just because the pool of players has increased, doesn't mean the pool is better. Quantity is not the same as Quality.
