Post#1969 » by SeniorWalker » Wed Apr 5, 2017 5:06 pm
Doctor MJ wrote:RightToCensor wrote:The modern NBA is so beautiful to watch for me. So many great players doing so many great things, and we still have some generational talent capable of taking away our breath away waiting to hit the floor next season in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. The next five years are going to be interesting. So many records will get broken by this generation of NBA players.
Agreed. I really think that most people who complain about the new era do so simply because they don't want to see any change at all. But change never stops. What we're seeing now is basically something that could have existed decades ago if coaches had better understood how to exploit the 3 point shot. The only thing that would have stopped this permanently would have been a complete lack of vision on the part of all coaches for all time.
Of course for old-timers that leaves open the rebuttal that things were better before the 3-point shot, but that's not based on anything real. Those who love post play don't look at that era as the golden age by technique, merely by numbers. The golden age of post play came later, and it was always based on tying the hand's of the defense with rules to make them play with less intelligence than they would if left to their own devices.
None of this is to say I don't sympathize for arts with become lost, but nothing lasts for ever. I can love watching Julius Erving and his unmatched grace of movement with a red, white, and blue basketball in his hand and also recognize the limitations of his style. Moments in history now passed by need not be defended with righteous fundamentalism. They can instead be admired as art.
I'd agree with this, in that modern NBA offenses can definitely be a pleasure to watch. I'd much rather watch the warriors of the last 3 years than the pistons of '04, for example, though I do love great post play as well.
Where I'd disagree really is in the officiating standards. I'm not advocating we return to "thug ball" as the moniker often goes but for the life of me, as a fan of basketball art, I cannot stand when players simply March to the free throw line 10 times a game on calls that are made after no significant contact whatsoever. I just cannot be convinced to appreciate certain players who, while wise for doing so, know they can barrell into the lane without actually trying to score, creating contact by running into a defender who is actually doing his job by holding position, and simply flail their arms. This isnt even getting into flopping either. It's just awful to watch. This is not a true test of offensive versus defensive skill. It's gaming the system and it flat out sucks.
This is probably the only significant blemish on the modern game for me. It drives me crazy when I see it...and I don't even get mad at the players who do it.
"And always remember: one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, knick knack, paddy whack, give a dog a bone, two thousand, zero, zero, party, oops! Out of time, my bacon smellin' fine."
