Give The NBA A Fair Shake
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Roger Grossman, Lake City Radio-
I was watching the first game of the Bulls-Cavs series Monday night and something occurred to me. I would like you to think about it too.
The NBA is somewhat of a ‘middle child’ in this area. We tend to be more high school and college-oriented basketball fans here. And if you prefer the college and prep game to the pros I don’t blame you one bit.
But I want to offer to you that, right now, the NBA may be as much fun to watch as any time ever in the history of the televised league. Here is why:
• MARKETABLE STARS: The Association has always had guys it propped up in front of us in ads for games or as product spokesmen. But right now there are a bunch of guys in the league that we not only recognize but that we know and know well. And not only do we know them but they are people that we like. LeBron James, despite his very public four-season ‘affair’ with Miami, is back in the good graces of much of NBA nation because he asked Cleveland to forgive him and moved back in.
Who can’t cheer for Steph Curry? This year’s MVP seems small at 6-foot-3 compared to his teammates and opponents, but his game is mighty. He’s a throw-back in the way he handles the ball like it’s an extension of his hands, the way he can shake a defender who is in perfect position and get himself squared to shoot from odd and unusual angles. He also bridges a generation gap, because guys my age and older watch him play and can’t help but think how much he reminds us of Pistol Pete Maravich. And there’s Kevin Durant, whose only fault is that he’s been hurt a lot lately. There’s old standards like Dirk Nowitski, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan who are winding down their careers but are still factors.
• CHARACTERS: The personality of the league and its players is SO much better than it was a decade ago. Oh, sure, the NBA has knuckleheads. But don’t you have some of those at your job too? Of course you do. But Curry is not only a great player but he has a love for the game that is infectious. He does things with a flair the game missed for a while. You have Houston’s James Harden’s beard, which really should have its own area code. And for all we heard about Joakim Noah being a challenge to get along with, he’s been nothing but a great teammate, a hustler and a leader for the Bulls.
• HIGHER SKILL LEVEL: The biggest difference in the league now compared to a few years ago is the skill level. Generally, the level of play is better. The league’s rosters have a lot more guys who are skilled basketball players than it used to. They are better shooters, they are better dribblers and they see the floor better. When the league went through its dry period, it was because all that was coming into the league were athletic college kids and high school kids who looked like basketball players but didn’t really know how to play basketball. Now you have a balance of basketball players and athletes, and it’s a good balance.
• INCREASED EFFORT: I know, ‘they don’t play hard all of the time’ and ‘they don’t play defense until the last two minutes of the game and in the playoffs’. But that’s not true right now. Again, you don’t work every second of every day do you? You spend a couple of extra minutes on Facebook when you get to work or when you come back to lunch right? The current NBA has a lot of players and teams that not only are willing to play defense but they take pride in it and are really good at it. Better effort, better product.
• AND TWO KEY RULE CHANGES: Defensive three seconds replaced the illegal defense violation and it’s actually done a lot to help free up the game. Players really do guard the people who they are supposed to guard while still allowing them to participate in team defense. The other thing that has changed is hand-checking. The officials consistently call defenders who get too physical with the man who has the ball. That leads to more freedom of player movement, which leads to more ball movement and it just looks more like what we all recognize as basketball.
I can see this trend continuing for a while too. The better players in the league are younger players who, assuming good health, have long careers ahead of them.
You may never be an NBA fan. You may prefer the Tigers or Warriors or Vikings to the Bulls or Pacers or Thunder. I get that.
But now is the time to give it a try. Call it a test drive. See what you think.[[In-content Ad]]
I was watching the first game of the Bulls-Cavs series Monday night and something occurred to me. I would like you to think about it too.
The NBA is somewhat of a ‘middle child’ in this area. We tend to be more high school and college-oriented basketball fans here. And if you prefer the college and prep game to the pros I don’t blame you one bit.
But I want to offer to you that, right now, the NBA may be as much fun to watch as any time ever in the history of the televised league. Here is why:
• MARKETABLE STARS: The Association has always had guys it propped up in front of us in ads for games or as product spokesmen. But right now there are a bunch of guys in the league that we not only recognize but that we know and know well. And not only do we know them but they are people that we like. LeBron James, despite his very public four-season ‘affair’ with Miami, is back in the good graces of much of NBA nation because he asked Cleveland to forgive him and moved back in.
Who can’t cheer for Steph Curry? This year’s MVP seems small at 6-foot-3 compared to his teammates and opponents, but his game is mighty. He’s a throw-back in the way he handles the ball like it’s an extension of his hands, the way he can shake a defender who is in perfect position and get himself squared to shoot from odd and unusual angles. He also bridges a generation gap, because guys my age and older watch him play and can’t help but think how much he reminds us of Pistol Pete Maravich. And there’s Kevin Durant, whose only fault is that he’s been hurt a lot lately. There’s old standards like Dirk Nowitski, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan who are winding down their careers but are still factors.
• CHARACTERS: The personality of the league and its players is SO much better than it was a decade ago. Oh, sure, the NBA has knuckleheads. But don’t you have some of those at your job too? Of course you do. But Curry is not only a great player but he has a love for the game that is infectious. He does things with a flair the game missed for a while. You have Houston’s James Harden’s beard, which really should have its own area code. And for all we heard about Joakim Noah being a challenge to get along with, he’s been nothing but a great teammate, a hustler and a leader for the Bulls.
• HIGHER SKILL LEVEL: The biggest difference in the league now compared to a few years ago is the skill level. Generally, the level of play is better. The league’s rosters have a lot more guys who are skilled basketball players than it used to. They are better shooters, they are better dribblers and they see the floor better. When the league went through its dry period, it was because all that was coming into the league were athletic college kids and high school kids who looked like basketball players but didn’t really know how to play basketball. Now you have a balance of basketball players and athletes, and it’s a good balance.
• INCREASED EFFORT: I know, ‘they don’t play hard all of the time’ and ‘they don’t play defense until the last two minutes of the game and in the playoffs’. But that’s not true right now. Again, you don’t work every second of every day do you? You spend a couple of extra minutes on Facebook when you get to work or when you come back to lunch right? The current NBA has a lot of players and teams that not only are willing to play defense but they take pride in it and are really good at it. Better effort, better product.
• AND TWO KEY RULE CHANGES: Defensive three seconds replaced the illegal defense violation and it’s actually done a lot to help free up the game. Players really do guard the people who they are supposed to guard while still allowing them to participate in team defense. The other thing that has changed is hand-checking. The officials consistently call defenders who get too physical with the man who has the ball. That leads to more freedom of player movement, which leads to more ball movement and it just looks more like what we all recognize as basketball.
I can see this trend continuing for a while too. The better players in the league are younger players who, assuming good health, have long careers ahead of them.
You may never be an NBA fan. You may prefer the Tigers or Warriors or Vikings to the Bulls or Pacers or Thunder. I get that.
But now is the time to give it a try. Call it a test drive. See what you think.[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092