Hoops

My gripe with the NBA

The above is SO spot on. I'd also like to add that the Boomers WILL beat team USA in next 5 - 10 years and Aussie players succeed in the USA because of attitude, work ethic and hunger for the ball.

get any US coach in Australia for a clinic and they are astounded at the hunger for the ball, the pressure D and 3 - 4 players each team crashing the boards no matter what age level.

This hasn't been mentioned yet but my biggest gripe is that teams get the ball to the star player, he shoots it and the other four players on the team turn away from the ball and run down the other end... they don't know if the ball went in or if it was going to ricochet in their direction and it seems like every team plays this way.

Any wonder why teams hate playing against Delly because he actually fights for the ball.

FACT : NBA is the pinnacle of basketball and so many good basketballers are sitting at the end of benches not getting a chance whilst others are apathetic about being on the court... I want maniacal to the point where you get a silly foul and pull your head in but you show you want court time.

I remember watching a Lakers vs Clippers game this season and DeAndre Jordan and Griffin had 40 odd rebounds between them (I think Jordan had like 26 and Griffin like 17) and the Lakers players were basically playing like 'well those boys are too big and too athletic so of course they will grab the rebound' rather than trying to crash the boards or even do something that would upset Jordan of whom we know has a short fuse.

I honestly believe one day an NBL team will beat an NBA team, not because they are better or better coached but because NBA players are programmed to preserve energy due to the tough schedule that they will be surprised by how determined our players in our league are and some NBA teams are just awful.

Correct, the problem is the executives are following analytics now but aren't experts in statistics to actually know what they mean. You have the wrong people holding the right information and it has been applied incorrectly.

Cram

People talking about analytics as if it is some discovery like hey just found life on Mars.
The math has ALWAYS been there. The problem is, teams do NOT have the skillset of to take advantage of the math.

This is my point. Cousins and Davis should be dominating and obliberating everything in the paint.

Cousins is not very athletic and while he has a decent shooters touch like Davis, they will NEVER EVER be as good shooters as Curry and Thompson.

So why are they playing at a furious pace and shooting so many 3s?

They are not playing to there strengths, they have been conned and fooled like every other team in the NBA that if you play the Warriors way then you too will be as succesfull as them. It literally is like sheep following.

Steve Kerr must laugh every night when he goes to bed.

I agree with Snooch, its cyclical and will change over time. Like any era, some teams are trash, but there are plenty that are good to watch. Try watching the Celtics, Spurs or even 76ers some time. The Warriors sometimes coast, but they are brilliant to watch on both ends when they are dialled in. They move the ball, play defence and play the clock.

There's starting to be some more post play as well now with the return of outstanding centres like Embiid and Towns and there'll be more of that with several quality big men in next years draft.

I actually don't like too much post play though. I'd rather see more dynamic offences with lots of cuts and ball movement and quick post ups when the opportunity presents.

Personally I hated the walk it up style many teams had in the late 90s and early 2000s. It gets really tedious watching Alonzo Mourning or an ancient Ewing pounding the ball 30 times while they bump into each other and then throw up a brick!

My gripes would probably be:
1) that ball-handlers are allowed to carry the ball a little too much at the moment, making it almost impossible to defend guys like Curry, Irving, Lillard, Harden, etc.
2) the determination to protect players from concussion, etc has led to a situation where big men aren't able to use their size and strength around the basket anymore, because they will invariably get called for a charge or swinging their arms too close to some guards nose. Not sure what you do about it, because protecting the health of players is important, but I just get tired of little guys getting right up under a big man then drawing a foul when the big man even dares to pivot!

So yeah, I get that some teams are not playing to their strengths by copying the Warriors and it would be good to have some more diversity of styles, but I still think there is lots of good basketball being played at the moment.

The Suns shot 67% in the first qtr and are down by 7?

Again, just shows you the sorry state of the league.

.... is the 427 blatant travels in a game that just seem to get "missed". Then they ping one on a pivoting post up player who slides his foot 1mm. Absurd.

Oh and the CONSTANT bitching at refs after EVERY single bloody whistle. Not a unique thing to the NBA though, it's every sport now. Just shut up and get on with it.

THis is the culture of the NBA...

Scorers are put up on a pedestal, they get the big dollars. Therefore players save there energy for one side of the court.

There is an attitude that they will just get the points back on the other end just as easy.

If they lose, there is always tomorrow. If they keep on losing, then the coach will get sacked.

This is the problem

I guarantee you Michael Jordan would average very close to 50 in the league today.

GUARANTEED

The demise of the Centre as an offensive post post player is also sad.

NBA regular season games can lack intensity

Playoffs are awesome, but they often don't bring 100% effort during the long regular season.

Was watching a Clippers game the other day, couldn't believe how lazy Griffin was being on D.

lol @ Lawsy saying the game is too ISO driven then saying he prefers to the late 90s early 2000s era. Rose coloured glasses.

NBA is kind of like the AFL for me. Love watching two great teams go at it, but 7 games out of 10 aren't worth taking 2 hours of my day. The sheer number of games compounds the issue as it's just an "oh well, on to the next one..." feel after a loss, at least until the last month of the season.

Not every NBL game is amazing, but I'll watch Cairns-Hawks over, say, Atlanta-Phoenix in a heartbeat.

So jacking up a shot quickly even though there is a hand in your face is good?

I agree Lawsy....i honestly do prefer watching the NBL these days. There is pride on the defensive end, teams play to there strengths. There is diversity in styles.

In the NBA every team is playing the same way...fast and shooting 3s early in the clock even if a hand is in there face.

It's a very long season, so they don't play at full throttle.
4 games a week sometimes...

Run down Grand final winners results
Boys and Girls all grades
Boys Sturt 8 Girls 1 = 9
Boys F/Ville 2 Girls 5 = 7
Boys Norw 3 Girls 3 = 6
Boys North 2 Girls 1 = 3

Grand Final winners results Div 1 and 2 only 10 possible results
Boys Sturt 7
Boys F/Ville 1
Boys West 1
Boys East 1

Girls Sturt 1
F/Ville 5
Norw 2
East 1
North 1

Clearly not much has changed Sturt rule the Boys and F/Ville rule the girls although you do see the girls winners are more evenly spread than the boys.