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I grew up on Magic and Bird in the 80's. I can't tell you how much I miss watching them play. But the 90's were not all that great, IMO. Sure there was Jordan. But the 90's was when the game really changed. It got ugly in the 90's. The Bad Boys, Riley's Knicks and Heat, the game really changed. The 90's gave us the 93-87 type scores for playoff games. I remember when the Lakers and Celts played in the 80's they ALWAYS broke 100 points. And they were not bad defensive teams. They simply played the game faster.
The 90's gave us the term "franchise players." You know, as in one guy is more important than the team. The 90's gave us slow, half court games. The 90's gave us "smash mouth" defense.
As a Lakers fan, I feel weird writing this but I will anyway. The best thing that could have happened to the NBA in recent years would have been the Suns winning the title in 2007. Maybe it would have motivated teams to really embrace playing a quicker, cleaner style of ball. Instead many fans today mistake moving screens, flying elbows, and jersey grabbing for good defense.
Last summer I watched a few of the Euro-Championship games. I was very impressed. The game was quicker and cleaner than the NBA game. And they were much more skilled than anything you see at the college level. I never thought I would say this, but when the NBA gets back to its team-oriented fundamentals it will become more popular in the States.
A lot of people agree that the game has transitioned from the fundamentals of the 50s and 60s, into the highlight reel we have today. Somewhere in between, you had the combination of the two elements: the 80s and 90s.
That was the best the game had - Magic, Bird, Jordan, etc., who knew how to play the game without boring us to tears, and giving us (imo) the greatest show on earth.
I love basketball, I played basketball for many years in school, I still love playing a pick-up game...but it's just too darn boring to watch on tv. Live is better, but marginally so. And it only really gets good at the last moments in a close game (unless they start that lame foul-a-rama b.s. to get possession)...frankly, some sports are boring to watch because there isn't enough scoring, but bball is boring to watch because there's too much scoring.
It's kind of like wishing Hulk Hogan would have remained in WWE and stopped The Rock and Stone Cold from having their time to rule in wrestling. Until we can realize the past is past and those days were good but won't come back, then we can't move on to the next big thing in life or sports
Well guess what?? Magic and Bird wasn't going to play forever so you need to get over it. You have to know that there always will be up and coming talent and everyone gets older. So stop with the Magic and Bird crap
Little abrasive in your assessment of my opinion, don't you think?
Its ironic to see that the 1990s was an era of slow-tempo games and defense fundamentals, yet it had the highest ratings ever. Perhaps Michael was larger than life. Stern changed the rules after Michael left to bring out a more high-scoring game with less emphasis on defense so the ratings can be higher. Guess what? It failed to reach the Jordanesque ratings despite its more "excitement".
The problem with todays players is that the individual NBA players are more one-dimensional. Many players are great at offense, but lack true defensive skills. The game play of the 1990s produced many well-rounded athletes that dominated both sides of the court. Pippen himself said todays players lack defensive fundamentals, because it's all about show and high scoring games.
Michael said todays players lack work ethic as well. They are given multi-million dollar contracts before they play their first game in the NBA (remember lebron got famous before his first game in the NBA). Corporate America is basing their offers to these players based on their POTENTIAL that they may be great. MJ got his deal because he had a game that validated the offer. When players get so much before their first game, they are not going to work as hard.
There's a lot of differences between todays era and the 1990s. The 1990s had more mature players, more intense games, players were more well rounded etc.
Location: Moose Jaw, in between the Moose's butt and nose.
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The NBA has a credibility issue with it's zebras and the superstars being prima donnas (except for a few like Dirk N, Nash and Tim Duncan)....
I watched the celebration and the interviews that CBC did after the BHawks won the cup last week and thought that the NBA players may have, at most, 1/3 to the accessiblity that the NHL players gave in that sistuation...
the league looks to be getting a load of new stars hopefully when you look at evans, durant, walll,turner,curry,granger,rose,westbrook,lopez,gr iffin{once he plays} and of course we get to enjoy guys like lebron,kobe,wade,howard,cp3,dwill,rondo and so on
1) Too much emphasis on slam dunks, which leads to height discrimination
2) Lack of emphasis on defense
3) Too much ambiguity on the rules (traveling especially)
4) The NBA lack of competitive edge. Only 8 teams have won the finals in 20 years
In my opinion basketball has the most appeal of all US sports, and is the most marketable internationally....but it is stuck in Show Biz!
I disagree with all of this.
For one, I think the NBA and MLB suffer from the same attendance problems because they both have WAY TOO MANY GAMES. The NBA season needs to be shorter. Maybe 50 games? Football, on the other hand, has only 16 games in the regular season, and each regular season game is far more important to a team's fate than regular season games in the NBA. With so many games in the season, it's hard to keep up with a team's schedule, and the result is that most people don't start really paying attention until the playoffs start.
Second, cable television has ruined the marketability of the sport. In the 90s, there were only two channels that broadcasted NBA games: NBC and TNT. Back in the day, you knew that NBC would always have a triple-header on Sunday and that any other games during the week would be on TNT. And the tip off time for all of the games would be the same from week to week. So, once you got home from church on Sunday, you knew the Knicks and Heat were getting ready to go at it, followed by Bulls and Pacers, followed by Rockets and Spurs.
Fast forward to today and you have NBA games coming on ESPN, ABC and TNT. The 2pm game may be on ABC, then the following game might be on ESPN, and then the third game may be on TNT, or there might not even be a third game at all. The following week, you may have four games on ESPN alone. It's too inconsistent. I feel like I have to work to find out what channel a game is going to come on instead of simply turning to NBC and watching the pregame with Bob Costas, Marv Albert, and Ahmad Rashad on the sidelines.
Third, ABC just needs to give up the NBA contract. They completely suck. Remember the days when the NBA was on NBC? Every single game was an epic battle between good and evil. For example, Marv Albert would say something like this over some really serious sounding music:
"The last time these two teams met, the pure hatred and animosity between Jordan and Oakley rose to an all time high. The pressure was unbearable. Jordan's intensity was insurmountable. The X Man's artistry was indescribable. But the Bulls came up short, and now they head back to Chicago, and face elimination at the hands of their most hated rival. And now, Jordan says, 'IT'S PERSONAL!!!!!!!!!'"
Then intro the NBA on NBC theme music with the lights coming out of the peacock. Marv Albert and NBC knew how to get you excited!!! The pregame show was sometimes better than the actual game. They also had commercials throughout the day where Marv Albert's voice simply said, "Bulls!!! Knicks!!! Revenge!!! Sunday!!!!" The anticipation for those games was ridiculous!!!
Now we have Jeff Van Gundy and other random clowns to look forward to:
"Our coverage now begins from the Staples Center where the first quarter is already underway...."
WTF!!! We couldn't even see tip off?!?!? There's supposed to be explosions and death threats and fiery eyes in the camera way before the game ever tips off. Terrible.
"And I must add, Mark, that that Pussycat Dolls performance at the beginning of the game was just terrific!"
And these clowns wonder why the ratings are so low!!! Gimme a freakin' break. What happened to the passion? The intensity? The lust for blood?? This is why the NBA is not the top sport in America.
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