This has to be one of the best articles I have read in a while. Its so true its scary. I find it funny that people get mugging confused with D. They are two different things. 1. Basketball is supposed to be a non contact sport. Tell that to shaq or anyone that plays down low. 2. The secret to scoring more points is D. Plain and simple, if you have a team that knows how to fast break, turnovers and rebounds are the outlet to your fastbreak. If you dont force any turnovers or get any rebounds, you are not going to fast break. Its pretty simple. The game has changed so much its pathetic. Anyone can see it. Just put in any tape from the early 80's playoffs, and you will see a totaly different game. You may think. "But no one is playing D" Actually they are, they are playing D the way its supposed to be played, hands off, palying the passing lanes. Offensivly, well SImmions was right on in pointing out the lack of ball movement, I dont think you need to look further than the rockets to see that. Relly its sad to watch the NBA, I would rather watch the college game and High School basketball than this. I have coached teams that average more points per game than some of the NBA teams, an we are known as a great Defensive team. This is with an 8 minute quarter not 12.
For anyone out there lucky enough to have ESPN Classic, please watch some of the classic games. Last night they showed the 'Gar Heard Game' from the '76 Celtics\Suns Final. It was so beautiful to watch I damn near cried. Watching some of these games has led me to conclude a few things: 1. The athleticism in the NBA now is head and shoulders over any other era (not exactly a newsflash), the guys now are absolute freaks. However, 2. There are maybe 40-50 real players in the NBA right now. And by real players, I mean guys who can really play the game and have actual skill. That means 10-15% of the entire league can truly play, the other 85+% are just athletes playing basketball (it's been the other way around in the past). It's kind of like track stars who play WR or CB in football, they can't play but their athleticism & speed makes up for their lack of skill, that is until they're matched up against a real player with comparable talent. That means, 3. Defense is over-rated! Its been repeated by too many players to not be true, No defender or defensive scheme can truly shut down an NBA-Caliber offensive player. Contain maybe, but not shut down. So all this great defense teams brag about, a lot of it has to do with the fact that there are so many guys who have no clue how to play offense. Oh, many know how to score, but scorers having a true well-rounded offensive game and fitting into a true team concept, those players are few and far in-between. Think about Dallas & Sac, and what they do to some of these rock-solid defenses & defenders. My prediction: With the influx of international players, and the pressure they'll begin to put on American youngsters to work on their skills, the NBA will begin to see the return of the 'Hooper', the guy who's as good a player as he is an athlete. The specialists and one-trick ponies will always be in the league, but they'll go they way of VCRs and tape decks.
