RealGM

Yep, for all the people that are still in denial that the NBA has been completely wrecked by the meddling of Stern and his rules changes, here you go, and for all the people that still believe the NBA is more physical than FIBA (the ones still living in 1992).

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ush ... 2739.story

Q: How does international play differ from that in the NBA?

A: I think the NBA is actually a little less physical than international basketball. I think the international basketball rules and what they have, it's what the NBA used to be in the '80s, in terms of being able to hand-check and set screens and roll with the guard under, real physical in the paint. It's a much more physical game.[/b]

that's why USA loses!

Stern does it again, softens up our players to the point when they actually play REAL physical ballers, they get beat...


seriously, yeah i agree, I think it's more physical because you can get away more and no sissy hand checks and stuff, so that does make it a little exciting...when the games aren't a blowout


But how ironic is it that the game 'we' created (james naismith canadian?) is now being played in international leagues with more physical play than currently in the NBA and the same physicality the NBA used to at one of it's highest peaks?

the nba is soft....it needs to stop shooting jumpers and get in the paint like a man!

Of course, Stern has pussiefied the league, with all the touch fouls and BS calls to try and make his perimeter players invincible.

(what's ironic is that Tony Parker really took advantage of these soft-ass rules that don't allow any contact with perimeter players, and a big reason why the Spurs waltzed to two more titles, and low NBA finals ratings, lmao)

I thought it was funny when people were whining about the officiating of the FIBA rules. Oh noes, they didn't give Wade 30 FTs off of phantom or tiny incidental touches! THEY HATE AMERICA!

Tell us something we didn't already know.

Da-Met wrote:Of course, Stern has pussiefied the league, with all the touch fouls and BS calls to try and make his perimeter players invincible.

(what's ironic is that Tony Parker really took advantage of these soft-ass rules that don't allow any contact with perimeter players, and a big reason why the Spurs waltzed to two more titles, and low NBA finals ratings, lmao)

I thought it was funny when people were whining about the officiating of the FIBA rules. Oh noes, they didn't give Wade 30 FTs off of phantom or tiny incidental touches! THEY HATE AMERICA!

+1

What they actually called travel on that Lebron James 4 step dunk? Blaspheme!

No revelation..Stern and company were hell bent on cleaning up the nba "thug" image, physical play included. Guess they would rather have Ginobli be the face of the league over a Charles Oakley.

This doesn't mean that guys who play under Fiba rules are tougher though...they just get away with more. On the flipside Fiba refs are maddingly inconsisent. They will let a very physical, borderline dirty play go and then call an obvious flop.

Lets see how Kobe likes it when he gets hacked on a drive with a no call because he's Kobe. Then gets called for a ticky tack foul when he's trying to play D at the top of the key.

I agree with Kobe. That's why I like FIBA basketball much more than NBA basketball.

so why are the majority of Euro players complete pussies when they reach the NBA? something isn't adding up here..

HarlemHeat37 wrote:so why are the majority of Euro players complete pussies when they reach the NBA? something isn't adding up here..

Because people base their opinions on a handful of players (maybe ones that come to the NBA) on hundreds of players (in Europe that don't care about even considering the NBA in many cases even for the very best players). If 3 or 4 "Euros" are pansies in the NBA, everyone in the US assumes they are,

1. "The best players from Europe"

and

2. All Euros are "soft"

But most of the best European players by vast majority never even come to the NBA and actually there are many very physical teams in Europe in pro clubs, especially when you talk about national teams. FIBA European Championships are absolute physical wars where the players can barely stand after the game. Compare that to the FIBA Americas Championships that resemble more to all-star exhibition games.

The FIBA game or players will be soft and zero defense if that's what they are, like FIBA Americas Tournament or players like Juan Carlos Navarro and Sarunas Jasikevicius. But in FIBA if the team is physical and the players are physical then you have a war just like the NBA of the old days.

But people in the US fail to understand that for example Navarro and Jasekivicius can't play a lick of defense in Europe either, even in the Greek League Jasikevicius is one of the worst defenders in the entire league. But people in the US perceive him as "the best Euroleague player ever (even though he has never been the best player on any team he played on in the Euroleague), it's all about perceptions.

I think the rules changes Stern made make it harder for US players when they have to adjust to the rules in FIBA against physical teams and top of that it maks it harder because of this exact perception that all European teams let's say are "soft", which also has sort of caught the US of guard.

They have probably had enough realization now though to understand these issues.

I'm not disagreeing, but it's a fact that most Euro players in the NBA ARE soft..

I believe the BEST players from Europe are in the NBA..if there's a guy better than Dirk or Manu, I'd love to see him in the NBA..but there isn't..we've seen it with a few other guys from Europe that came to the NBA with a lot of hype and failed..

Manu for example is one of the toughest guys in the NBA. Nocioni too...
Never heard anyone call them soft yet...

HarlemHeat37 wrote:I'm not disagreeing, but it's a fact that most Euro players in the NBA ARE soft..

I believe the BEST players from Europe are in the NBA..if there's a guy better than Dirk or Manu, I'd love to see him in the NBA..but there isn't..we've seen it with a few other guys from Europe that came to the NBA with a lot of hype and failed..

You aren't listening. What I am saying is that most of the players that do come to the NBA were soft. But the vast majority of the best players never come to the NBA and MANY of them are not soft and some are.

It's nothing but a stereotype. It's like in Europe expecting every single American player that comes to Europe to be a moron, a thug, have no b-ball IQ, and to be a dunk machine. That is the stereotype in Europe on American ballers. Yet it's not true, some are just that, and some are nothing like that.

In the US there is just some same crazy nonsense stereotype that all the Euro players are soft and don't play D. Based on the fact that some of the very worst defenders in Europe are the ones who played in the NBA.

HarlemHeat37 wrote:so why are the majority of Euro players complete pussies when they reach the NBA? something isn't adding up here..

Why not flop around when the rules make it advantageous to do so?

pl wrote:Manu for example is one of the toughest guys in the NBA. Nocioni too...
Never heard anyone call them soft yet...

Exactly and Scola. That's the thing these guys and Diamantidis, etc. But if none of them ever came to the NBA they would all be labeled "soft". Like Scola was until this year and Diamantidis still is.

It's like in Europe the US players stereotype that they are all like Qyntel Woods. Well yeah some are, some are nothing like that.

It's just as dumb to believe all Euro or FIBA player are soft and play no D. Hell in Europe everyone considers PAO Gasol soft.

HarlemHeat37 wrote:so why are the majority of Euro players complete pussies when they reach the NBA? something isn't adding up here..

Excellent point. That's what I'm trying to figure out.

Umm... since when is Argentina in Europe?

kevC wrote:Umm... since when is Argentina in Europe?

Um, since when is Argentina national team not part of FIBA? Try to read the topic correctly. And all of the Argentina players played years in the Euroleague.

well who are the best players in europe then, if theyre not over here

It's been done a few times on the board before, but when you put together a list of "non-soft" or "tough" foreign players that have made it to the NBA, the list is actually pretty long.

BTW, flopping does not mean you're soft. It's taking an interpretation of a rule and using it to your advantage.

Lakers_4_Life wrote:

kevC wrote:Umm... since when is Argentina in Europe?

Um, since when is Argentina national team not part of FIBA? Try to read the topic correctly. And all of the Argentina players played years in the Euroleague.

Well shoot, isn't Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Angola part of FIBA as well? Larry Ayuso played in Euroleague, is he a european player? Manu is an Argentinian balla who has played a stint in the euroleague, now he's in the NBA. I don't look at him in the same light as a Sarunas Jasikevicius.

It's just as dumb to believe all Euro or FIBA player are soft and play no D. Hell in Europe everyone considers PAO Gasol soft.

Gasol is considered soft in Europe, yet he's one of the best European players? Oh so what you're saying is they're are a bunch of James Poseys in Europe..but just not talented enough to play in the NBA? Oh that's right they are just not 'thinking' about the NBA. The NBA aint no thang but a chicken wang to them..nothin. Na I think most rational people know that not all Euros are soft. It's best to avoid generalizations in any case.

But I can't think of many NBA players on the top of the game that are soft. A Reggie Miller is the exception rather than te rule. At the same time where are all the lockdown european defenders in the league? Maybe Sasha Vujacic.