@CoachRyanKY
The National Basketball Association once was a proud organization, filling conversations amongst office coolers nation-wide. I used to be as big of a fan as any, from collecting cards and jerseys to watching Ahmad Rashad break down the league news on “NBA Inside Stuff”. However, I now find the game to be unwatchable.
Game 4 of the NBA Finals took place on Friday. The Dallas Mavericks are taking on the Boston Celtics in an all out snooze fest to hoist the Larry O’Brian trophy before heading to Cancun or a similar beachside resort town regardless of the outcome of the series. I couldn’t help but notice a few things that have become a trend in the NBA (in my eyes).
These guys do not play defense!
Most don’t even attempt to play on the defensive end of the floor. Backpedaling, leaving passing lanes wide open, leaning over at the waist, you name it…it happens on every NBA defensive possession. You will see better defensive concepts being run by Division III College teams than what the NBA “Coaches” are running.
Why is every play an isolation?
I can pinpoint exactly when this happened. It happened when Steph Curry entered the league and was fueled by James Harden highlights. Literally every play seemingly is a ball handling guard (or wing) waving off a screen and trying to take the defender mono-e-mono. It resembles that of a high level driveway basketball game because that is what it is. What happens if they get stuck? They throw it to the corner and then they will swing it around until they find an open three point shot because someone closed in on the original isolations driver. These are basic concepts.
Why are there so many commercials?
Is it just me or does it seem like almost every time the ball stops there is a commercial break? Look, I understand executives have to pay bills but it completely sacrifices the flow of the game. An NBA game takes nearly just as long as an MLB game to sit down and watch from tip off to last buzzer. That needs to change! Basketball is a fast paced sport, make the coverage fast paced as well.
“Load Management”
What is “load management” you ask? It is not playing because the player feels they “need to rest”. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could demand “rest” from your multi-million dollar-a-year paying job and that request automatically be granted? Must be nice.
I know the numbers indicate the NBA is popular, I don’t understand why. A tough watch doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about it. I guess no one asked me, but the NBA needs some serious tweaking.
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