Are you still watching the NBA?
 

As soon as I found out that Kevin Durant joined Golden State last year, I told myself that there was no way I was going to waste my time watching this sh*t anymore. And every time I look at the latest scores on my phone, I know that I made a good decision. :)

Amen!


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No. Haven't watched a game in over 10 years.

Mike

I'll never understand the groaning and the Superteam label regarding Durant going to Golden State.

Golden State was essentially a homegrown team who added (1) major guy to the mix, while sacrificing a lot of depth in the process so they could afford him.

It's nothing compared to The Heat recruiting Lebron James and Chris Bosh in the same season to pair up with Dwayne Wade, and then two seasons later able to bring in an aging but still effective Ray Allen.

My short answer to the question is a big no. I'm an old timer (going on 69) and have been a basketball fan since back in the early 60's. Can actually recalll when the Lakers were in Minneapolis. A loyal Knick fan all those years and I finally had enough a few years ago when the dysfunctional ownership at MSG busted up a team that was under construction and then IMHO compounded a series of blunders by chasing Carmelo. The importation of Jackson was the final nail for me. Walked away. Don't know if I'm ever going back. Plenty of other good round ball to watch during college season, but even that is becoming strained with the one and out set up that's business as usual now. Maybe I'm
just getting to old?? Anyway, that's my take on it.

I will watch the Finals, but nothing other than that is worth watching. At least the NBA is trying to stop this with their new super max contracts. When guys are going to lose 50+ million dollars to form a superteam, I don't think you will see another Durant to GSW as a free agent.

Alright, your post clearly shows that you are a Golden State fan :D Yes, I agree that Bosh and James going to the Heat was a really bad thing for the NBA. However, I think that Durant going to the Warriors was pretty bad too. He could have signed with the Clippers or the Rockets, but no, out of all the teams he had to choose Golden State. Imagine New England Patriots signing one of the best offensive players in the NFL? Wouldn't that be just stupid? Do you think the Pats are lacking in that area (or in any area?)

Yeah because stuff like this never went on in the old days, >cough< Wilt Chamberlain to the Lakers >cough<. Not to mention then bringing back Gail Goodrich after he became a bona fide star.

It seems to me that for some reasons dynasties and rivalries are loathed in the present and glorified in the past.

So when the Pats signed Randy Moss that was stupid? Not sure I'm reading you right.

I am not sure what the Pats' offensive situation was like back then. Didn't they get eliminated from the playoffs before that? Maybe they lost their WR to injury and needed a new one? I can't remember because all of this took place 10 years ago. Anyhow, my point is that I am just opposed to the idea of creating a superteam. It kills the competition and makes the games boring to watch.

Nah, I stopped watching the day I realized that, with just a little practice, I would be able to shoot free throws better than 20-30% of the league.

Clippers could not afford him, already paying Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin.

Also, remind me why THAT wouldn't be considered a superteam?

Houston? I don't know why any superstar would want to play with James Harden and the Rockets ugly style.

Golden State's style of basketball was the perfect fit for Durant. Spread the ball to everybody, open the floor, non-ISO, non-selfish and very efficient style of offense. Evidenced by Durant having his most efficient shooting season since being in the league.

He also had perhaps his best season as a defender since being in the league. It helps having team-mates who aren't running around like chickens with their head cut off all the time.

I also laugh when I think of Charles Barkley constantly criticizing Durant for his move to Golden State, when he did exactly the same thing when he defected to Houston years ago while chasing a title.

....and again, Golden State was a team that built itself drafting guys outside of the lottery system and bringing in under-appreciated veterans and role players other teams had given up on.

Durant was their one big signing in.............I don't know how long.

It's too bad that The Spurs suffered all the injuries they did. I think with a healthy Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker they had the perfect team to matchup against Golden State and give them a run for their money.

No...appropriately enough...I am resting until the finals.

yawn


...and when they do begin, I am quite likely, at any time, to switch to whatever infomercial is playing at the time.


bigger yawn

.

I personally do not have any problem with Durant's move. What's wrong with the guy wanting to get a ring or two? Logically, if you were an NBA player, you would want to be on the best overall team to increase your chances of winning that championship.

NJ Dunkin

Basketball?

Ha Ha, they don't play by the rules, they travel, they carry the ball, dive when bumped. It's pretty phony, nowhere near what Naismith intended it to be. It's pretty much a street ball show.

I don't care so much about the traveling and carrying. Used to annoy me but it opens the door to a little bit more creativity as long as it's not too egregious.

What does bother me immensely is the Italian Soccer League style flopping that has become popular among players the last 5 years or so. Offensive players throwing themselves into defenders beyond the 3 point line to throw up a no hoper and getting 3 free throws out of it. Getting 3 free throws on one play used to happen once every few games........now you have teams like the Houston Rockets who specialize in getting that call several times per game.

It's the reason why my least favorite team and player is the Rockets and James Harden. Guy would rather trick the refs into calling a foul while throwing the ball into the 3rd row, rather then go hard to the basket and put it in the basket and risk NOT getting a call.

I like the Warriors a lot, because they seem to be more interested in putting the ball into the basket as efficiently as possible, while using ball movement to get guys open, then turning games into free throw contests.

Sigh...
 

I do catch myself often hitting "rewind" ... and sure enough, the guy took 3 steps. Yeah, the 'ol jump into the poor defender just standing there like a statue and throw up a, cough, cough, supposed shot trick irritates me, a lot. Like c'mon refs, that should rightly be a technical against the Offensive player. Jeez, I could do that myself all day long... and make a few of the free throws.

I like how they threatened to start fining guys who were caught flopping a few years ago. They only fined a few bench players, usually in situations that didn't even warrent it, ignored the stars when they did it, and then completely forgot they made up the rule to begin with.

The problem has only gotten progressively worse, since they introduced that toothless policy.

Nope, don't watch. Quit watching sometime in the mid-to-late 1980s. My dad (who is 86 now) referred to the NBA as the "push-shove-and shoot" league. That about sums it up for me...

NBA- I don't like how the players act so don't watch it.

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I'm a Cavs fan (less so than the Indians and the Browns) and I think I watched 2 Cavs regular season games all year. I've watched a couple playoff games, and last night's Game 1, but I can't stand the NBA. It's no longer basketball. It's street ball. They don't play defense, they travel more than flight attendant, and the players are the most entitled brats in the world. Only reason I'm watching The Finals is the economic impact it would have on Cleveland if the Cavs win again, and I hate Golden State more than a lot of things in this world.

Tried to watch game 1. Almost made it to end of first quarter.

First NBA watching of the year was game one. First half then went to bed. Saw the only basketball worth watching the whole year. I love to play, and would love to watch ,but the product on tv right now is not great

Haven't watched a second this year.
My son on the other hand devours it.

I'm not very interested.

It's not that the teams aren't interesting, or have great players, or storylines.

The reason I'm not interested is, the games are too spread out. Three and four day spreads, and the team doesn't even travel to another city? Scheduling has messed up the Finals.

The Finals should have begun on Tuesday, and they could have had a game Thursday. Instead, the Finals began on Thursday, and now to capture TV, the next game has to be tonight, Sunday. Game 3 should be tonight in Cleveland, and the TV market still gets captured.

I can't even imagine the players trying to stay " up " for the Finals, when games are so far apart from each other. Maybe the NBA Champ will be decided by July?

Can't believe this is what the NBA has turned into. I have not watched in years and now I know why. So transparent the NBA wants the Cavs to win game 3 so they can generate more money. What a joke.

Well, the Cavs lost, so there goes that.

I hear what you are saying, but I think the NBA has improved a lot in the area of swinging the momentum of series from a reffing standpoint.

I mean, the way they call games in general is infuriating sometimes, but they are usually pretty consistent throughout a game with how they are calling it. Refs might swing momentum throughout a game, but not so much an entire series. Evidenced by the large number of one sided playoff series this year. Generally the best team won each series by a comfortable margin.

Reffing was much more crooked under David Stern then it is now under Adam Silver...............at least when it came to purposely extending series or playing favoritism for certain teams.

Still infuriating now and for different reasons, but consistently infuriating.

NBA- I don't like how the players act so don't watch it.



Unfortunately, the NFL is getting there as well.

I used to be a big fan, but stopped watching after the 2002 Lakers vs Kings series.

It looks like the Cavs are about to get swept - uh oh! I wonder what LeBron will do during the off-season? Maybe he will convince Curry and Durant to join the Lakers with him. Haw haw haw

+1 I glance at the finals, but I haven't watched the NBA since the days of Bird and Magic.

I watched one highlight on the news and it was actually too much.
I could have lived without it. To me the NBA looks like a rag tag free for all the couple times my wife has had it on the tube in the last few years (she like the Mavs a little bit, DirK and all....he is cool). My first comment stands too.

Just for balance super teams do not always win. When Payton and Malone joined Kobe and Shaq, the Lakers lost. Karl and Gary are still looking for their rings.

The current game has devolved though,

when you can get from midcourt to the basket and dunk without travelling,

when palming the ball is now considered dribbling and not a violation,

and when 80-90 % of the shots are either less than 2 feet or 3 point attempts.

Finally, if only two teams (at most 3 or 4) have a chance to make the finals, is an 82 game season really necessary to determine who comes in 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th?

PS: What about the one and done NCAA minor league of professional hoops? Are those players required to take freshman English, attend any classes at all, or take any exams? I sincerely doubt it.

I'm guessing that they take classes their firsr semester to remain eligible. I'm also guessing that those classes require little actual studying and work, because the school wants them to be eligible. :rolleyes:

With all this (justified) criticism of the NBA, the one thing that I don't see is any reference to Tim Donaghy, that ref who threw games about ten years ago. He even "lost" a playoff game for Phoenix against San Antonio! This should be a scandal the size of the Black Sox in baseball. Yet somehow the NBA managed to sweep this under the rug. We all heard about it, as did fans everywhere, yet somehow it never rose above the level of a footnote to that season. Amazing.

I've never been a big fan of dunks...they only count two points and are pretty easy for any athlete over 6-4 to accomplish. Then there's the taunting (i.e. celebrating) that follows...not a fan of that either.

Dunks should count as one point - since they are so much easier than free throws for the same millionaires. I'm amazed at home many 'great' players cannot make free throws.

What I do like is a lot of passing - involving all five teammates - in efforts to find the best possible shot.

And that's what the Warriors do...I always check the box scores to see how many assists they have...it's almost always much more than their opponents.

Other teams just run 'clear-out' one-on-one basketball where most of the other players are just bystanders.

I find that very, very boring.



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It's all over. I watched about 20 minutes last night and here is what happened: foul, free-throw, foul, free-throw, foul, free-throw, foul, free-throw, foul, free-throw - and the players who weren't sent to the line went crying to the ref! Wow! How do people watch this sh*t?

Anyways, LeBron showed some class last night and was the first person to hug Durant. Here is a shot below and the quick conversation that went on between them:

LeBron: Congrats, Kev. I'm really happy for you.

Durant: Thanks, man. I appreciate the love.

LeBron: Listen, before I let you go, um, can you sign with the Cavs this summer? I want to beat Jordan's record, I -

Durant: Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Come on, man. What are you doing? I just won my first damn title! Let me enjoy this moment, please.

LeBron: Yes, yes, you are right. I'm sorry. Um, I will text you next week, okay? I want -

Durant: Bye, LeBron.

LeBron: Alright, later. Text you soon, buddy.

Durant: Could you please let me go?

I watched the NBA Finals. I watched a lot of basketball this season, and much of the playoffs. I live near Charlotte, so I pull for the Hornets and the Warriors (since Curry is from here, and is the son of Hornets star Dell Curry). Yes, I know that every year my Hornets have a slightly above zero chance of winning it all. But, this "Superteam" concept is nothing new. There are only five guys on the floor, so if you have three all-stars, you have a really good shot at winning.

The Boston Celtics of the 60's had several teams with EIGHT Hall of Famers. They had a starting five of all Hall of Famers, then had three more coming off of the bench. If you look at most of the NBA Champions of the past, there are multiple HOFers on the team. And as far as not every team having a chance, well, the 80's (the glory days according to many) had only five teams that made it to the Finals for the entire decade (Lakers, Celtics, 76ers, Rockets, and Pistons). In the 90's, two teams won eight of the ten titles (Bulls and Rockets). Having great teams dominate the league is nothing new.

But, if you have the attitude that certain teams can never win, just remember the Warriors. For most of about a 30 year stretch before Curry, they were one of the most awful teams in the league. They had a six year stretch where their #1 draft picks were Mickael Pietrus, Andrus Biedrins, Ike Diogu, Patrick O'Bryant, Marco Belinelli, and Anthony Randolph. So, they stunk. When they stopped drafting stiffs and managed to grab Curry, Thompson, Green, and Barnes (all guys that were not picked early in the draft), they suddenly became great. If my Hornets stop picking the Adam Morrisons, Malachi Richardsons, and Noah Vonlehs and start finding the gems, it can be done. But it isn't easy. Ask the 76ers.

So a little while back, my alma mater got in to trouble for creating 'Rocks for Jocks' classes for members of the basketball team. One of the classes was Basketball 101. The local paper published several of the questions from the midterm in that class. The only one I can recall off the top of my head was:

How many points is a three-point shot worth?

A) Three

B) Two

C) Four

D) One

I imagine someone got it wrong.

Hopefully on purpose, though I guess if they thought it was a trick question then anything is possible.

Partial credit was given for those answering B & D.

This group also received an honorary degree in Mathematics.:D

I agree with all of your points, Frank.

I would start watching the NBA again if they eliminated the three point shot. It never made sense to me to clear the ball out for a 23 foot jumper after an offensive rebound. If anything, I would favor having the first free throw be worth one point and if it is made the second would be worth two. If the first is missed then the second would be worth only one...:D

Honestly, the WWE is less predictable than the NBA is.