Tue Nov 09, 2004 4:44 am
I think a lot of people are turned off by the NBA because the rest of the world is finally catching up as evident by this years Olympics in Athens and the growing number of foreign born players on just about every NBA roster around the league currently.
The overall talent level of the NBA has been decreasing thanks in large part to guys entering the draft straight out of high shool and leaving college after only a year or two when their clearly not ready for the big leagues. The NBA should follow the NFL's rule by not allowing a player to enter the draft unless he is 3 years removed from his high shool graduation. Now everything is based on potential and the added bonus of being able to market certain players(Lebron James, Yao Ming, Darko Milicic).
The NBA advertises itself on nothing but flashy dunks and it's "individual stars" with their own shoes named after them. Also, if any of you guys have ever seen any of the And1 Streetball mixtapes you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. Basic fundamentals of the game are not being stressed anymore such as mid-range jump shot, team defense, passing, etc.. It's either you shoot 3's, dribble between your legs in an attempt to 'break your defenders ankles' and drive to the basket hoping to dunk it or get fouled.
Despite all that, I'm still a huge fan of my hometown teams and sports in general.
The overall talent level of the NBA has been decreasing thanks in large part to guys entering the draft straight out of high shool and leaving college after only a year or two when their clearly not ready for the big leagues. The NBA should follow the NFL's rule by not allowing a player to enter the draft unless he is 3 years removed from his high shool graduation. Now everything is based on potential and the added bonus of being able to market certain players(Lebron James, Yao Ming, Darko Milicic).
The NBA advertises itself on nothing but flashy dunks and it's "individual stars" with their own shoes named after them. Also, if any of you guys have ever seen any of the And1 Streetball mixtapes you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. Basic fundamentals of the game are not being stressed anymore such as mid-range jump shot, team defense, passing, etc.. It's either you shoot 3's, dribble between your legs in an attempt to 'break your defenders ankles' and drive to the basket hoping to dunk it or get fouled.
Despite all that, I'm still a huge fan of my hometown teams and sports in general.
Wed Nov 10, 2004 5:13 pm
Worse business model of any professional sport.
Their gauranteed contract structure is one of the worst business models in all pro sports and it really hurts THE GAME the way it is structured.
And the mentality of the players is really outrageous. Latrell Sprewell got an extension offer of 21 million over 3 years (gauranteed) and he called it "insulting" and the he had to "feed his family".
What fucking planet do these people come from? What the hell is he feeding his kids? Beluga Caviar at 10 grand a pop?
Too many expansion teams too fast have diluted the talent level.
As mentioned previously kids out of high school, Unprepared physically or mentally, that are ineffective for their first 3-4 years in the league. Those are the very years that they should be developing their skills and their knowledge at the college level. Not to mention developing their physique so they can actually compete with some of those really big bodies out there right now (Shaq, etc.)
What the hell is wrong with the owners? The NFL uses colleges as a farm league to develop all of their talent for them! FOR FREE! The NBA is taking them right out of high school, unskilled and under-developed, and bleeding themselves for cash to pay them.
This is actually called the Garnett effect because none of the general managers or coaches want to miss out on the next KG.
A lackluster effort coaching, and media hype, as previously mentioned, have taken many of the perimeter skills out of US Basketball in favor of great 3 second video clips for Sportscenter of some guy slam-dunking.
NBA is going the wrong way as a business.
Meanwhile over in the NFL, after succesfully squashing Maurice Clarett from driving the NFL into some of the same problems, they just extended half of their networks contracts for a cool 8 Billion.
Their gauranteed contract structure is one of the worst business models in all pro sports and it really hurts THE GAME the way it is structured.
And the mentality of the players is really outrageous. Latrell Sprewell got an extension offer of 21 million over 3 years (gauranteed) and he called it "insulting" and the he had to "feed his family".
What fucking planet do these people come from? What the hell is he feeding his kids? Beluga Caviar at 10 grand a pop?
Too many expansion teams too fast have diluted the talent level.
As mentioned previously kids out of high school, Unprepared physically or mentally, that are ineffective for their first 3-4 years in the league. Those are the very years that they should be developing their skills and their knowledge at the college level. Not to mention developing their physique so they can actually compete with some of those really big bodies out there right now (Shaq, etc.)
What the hell is wrong with the owners? The NFL uses colleges as a farm league to develop all of their talent for them! FOR FREE! The NBA is taking them right out of high school, unskilled and under-developed, and bleeding themselves for cash to pay them.
This is actually called the Garnett effect because none of the general managers or coaches want to miss out on the next KG.
A lackluster effort coaching, and media hype, as previously mentioned, have taken many of the perimeter skills out of US Basketball in favor of great 3 second video clips for Sportscenter of some guy slam-dunking.
NBA is going the wrong way as a business.
Meanwhile over in the NFL, after succesfully squashing Maurice Clarett from driving the NFL into some of the same problems, they just extended half of their networks contracts for a cool 8 Billion.
Wed Nov 10, 2004 5:24 pm
Booyakasha... Mavericks rock the house... Aight?
Wed Nov 10, 2004 5:49 pm
While I'm a firm believer that NBA players should be required to complete some level of college, I disagree that they lack talent or are physically unprepared for the league. Those few that do crack the league right out of high school usually fare well - better than the average player: Moses Malone, Kobe, Garnett, Stoudemire, Jermaine Oneal, LeBron, McGrady... All of them made immediate impacts.
The NBA is a little different than, say football, where you have 200 lb. linemen in HS and 300+ (except in Denver) linemen in the pros. The NBA is filled with 150-250 pounders (with a handfull above and below). You can easily find bodies in HS... Now as far as the skills level goes, there is a reason that only one or two exceptional HS-ers make it every few years. There are more complex schemes in the NBA so you need a combination of raw talent AND brains (although, one might wonder where Kobe's head was last year...).
Money is definitely turning off many fans but most facilities are still packed nightly because the brand of basketball being played right now is faster paced and higher scoring (more exciting). But who do these players think they're fooling with these "I gotta feed my kids" and "I gotta put shoes on their fee" comments? To me, it counteracts the league's "read to achieve" and other community initiatives by teaching kids that $$ talks... I think that both teams and players should be prohibited from talking publicly about contracts, money, etc.
Finally, regarding the rest of the world catching up with the NBA - please. Do you really think that that was the best team that the US sent to the World Games and Olympics? Hell, those teams would be .500 in the NBA. The problem with sending a team of half stars (thugs, whiners, "I" players) who practice for 2-weeks is 1) they are selfish (don't wanna work as a team) and 2) they are unprepared (don't know how to work as a team within the system). If we sent the Pistons there or any of the top 4 or 5 teams, it would have been a sweep. IMO....
Oh, BTW. I'm sticking with my top 5 at this early point in the season...
GO KINGS (although, at 1-3, they're nowhere near the top 5...it's still early...)
The NBA is a little different than, say football, where you have 200 lb. linemen in HS and 300+ (except in Denver) linemen in the pros. The NBA is filled with 150-250 pounders (with a handfull above and below). You can easily find bodies in HS... Now as far as the skills level goes, there is a reason that only one or two exceptional HS-ers make it every few years. There are more complex schemes in the NBA so you need a combination of raw talent AND brains (although, one might wonder where Kobe's head was last year...).
Money is definitely turning off many fans but most facilities are still packed nightly because the brand of basketball being played right now is faster paced and higher scoring (more exciting). But who do these players think they're fooling with these "I gotta feed my kids" and "I gotta put shoes on their fee" comments? To me, it counteracts the league's "read to achieve" and other community initiatives by teaching kids that $$ talks... I think that both teams and players should be prohibited from talking publicly about contracts, money, etc.
Finally, regarding the rest of the world catching up with the NBA - please. Do you really think that that was the best team that the US sent to the World Games and Olympics? Hell, those teams would be .500 in the NBA. The problem with sending a team of half stars (thugs, whiners, "I" players) who practice for 2-weeks is 1) they are selfish (don't wanna work as a team) and 2) they are unprepared (don't know how to work as a team within the system). If we sent the Pistons there or any of the top 4 or 5 teams, it would have been a sweep. IMO....
Oh, BTW. I'm sticking with my top 5 at this early point in the season...
GO KINGS (although, at 1-3, they're nowhere near the top 5...it's still early...)