[NBA] Unofficial Discussion Thread

[Captain Corporate]

It is obvious that everyone hated this all-star game, and to be fair I do not remember that many games in the last 10 years that excited me like the good old days. However, people are forgetting that while the old days didn't have this many "let him score" moments, it wasn't really a hardcore defence like the league was doing. Remember, those days were the days of hand checking and good defence, but at the same time people didn't shoot from the half court like Dame did, if you were in 99' and tried half court shot, nobody would have defended either. And we had self-oops in those days too. So, while I do believe that it got worse, it was never awesome to be fair, all-star games were always more "fun" oriented than regular season games, but those days defence was harder, so when you do softer defence in all-star games, the defence was still on par with regular season defence of today. Also, one important thing is that the dunk contest was seen as much more important on those days, I still think the three point contest is fun, but the dunk contest got worse, so that really took a lot of air from the weekend as well. We no longer have Vince, Kobe, r.josh, t-mac type of dunkers, now we have G-league dunkers. So when you combine that, with less defensive league and even less defence on all-star, it started to look worse.

[dwyane36]

So when you combine that, with less defensive league and even less defence on all-star, it started to look worse.

I think the NBA management realizes this, and that's why they experiment with this event year after year. It's in their best interest to make All-Star weekend a more interesting event because if the audience doesn't like and watch it, the NBA risks losing its advertising contracts.

[Baofeng]

So when you combine that, with less defensive league and even less defence on all-star, it started to look worse.

I think the NBA management realizes this, and that's why they experiment with this event year after year. It's in their best interest to make All-Star weekend a more interesting event because if the audience doesn't like and watch it, the NBA risks losing its advertising contracts.

Yes, but it's getting worst than ever, we have seen the Slam Dunk and I think this is the weakest of them all. The game itself, East vs West, no defense and it's the first time that we've seen they score more than 200 points.

So something needs to be done next, like having a good dunkers really join the Dunk Contest.

Or perhaps have Steph vs Dame next to settle as who is the best shooter in the league.

[LogitechMouse]

So when you combine that, with less defensive league and even less defence on all-star, it started to look worse.

I think the NBA management realizes this, and that's why they experiment with this event year after year. It's in their best interest to make All-Star weekend a more interesting event because if the audience doesn't like and watch it, the NBA risks losing its advertising contracts.

I think they should go back to the old format where they will just reach a target score like what they did in the past (can't remember the year it happened).
An East Vs. West match-up while having a target score. I still remember that at that time, there was at least a little bit of defense, unlike this year when it was just a game where players could shoot anywhere they wanted too. I was surprised TBH that they didn't shoot from the other side of the court to the other side.

The NBA doing experiments is good so that they know what to do in the future, but it has been a constant failure. I guess one reason why players don't want to be competitive in the all-star game is the fact that they might get injured during the game which is ridiculous because no one has ever injured (or at least a season-ending injury) during an all-star game. The reason is kind of "MEH". They've been paid a lot, and considered the best players in the league, but don't want to get competitive.

I'm not expecting much changes further with regards to the All-Star game. We will be seeing this kind of game over, and over again. Really embarrassing.

[dwyane36]

The NBA doing experiments is good so that they know what to do in the future, but it has been a constant failure. I guess one reason why players don't want to be competitive in the all-star game is the fact that they might get injured during the game which is ridiculous because no one has ever injured (or at least a season-ending injury) during an all-star game. The reason is kind of "MEH". They've been paid a lot, and considered the best players in the league, but don't want to get competitive.

I'm not expecting much changes further with regards to the All-Star game. We will be seeing this kind of game over, and over again. Really embarrassing.

I also don't remember any major injuries during previous all-star weekends either. The only moment that comes to my mind is when Wade broke Kobe's nose during the all-star game in the 11/12 season.
p.s.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I sometimes get the impression that players of the current generation are getting injured much more often than their predecessors, even though the style of play in the NBA has become much softer.

[Zed0X]

~
Maybe I'm wrong, but I sometimes get the impression that players of the current generation are getting injured much more often than their predecessors, even though the style of play in the NBA has become much softer.

Right? Where are the advance training method and medical technology that the new school have been bragging about? I think a lot of teams (including the top 6) are not that transparent when declaring the injury status of their players. They try to extend the rest during the regular season as long as possible and have an advantage for the playoff.

[LogitechMouse]

~
Maybe I'm wrong, but I sometimes get the impression that players of the current generation are getting injured much more often than their predecessors, even though the style of play in the NBA has become much softer.

Right? Where are the advance training method and medical technology that the new school have been bragging about? I think a lot of teams (including the top 6) are not that transparent when declaring the injury status of their players. They try to extend the rest during the regular season as long as possible and have an advantage for the playoff.

That's what the teams were doing last year, and I guess it's still happening this year. I mean if you heard the term "load management", you will know that teams are letting their superstar player/s not play because they might not play during the playoffs because of injuries.

The league is way softer now than it was decades ago. A small touch can lead to a foul. A small bump can lead to a foul. A small foot extension when shooting can lead to an offensive foul. One wrong move can lead to a technical foul. A small hit to the face can lead to a foul and a possible technical foul. Gone are the days when teams are focusing more on defense rather than offense. I think that was the Pistons way back years ago that did the thing for a season. Gone are the days when both teams scored less than 80 points because of good defense.

Anyway, fans love to see their favorite players shoot, so I guess let's just accept it.

[Baofeng]

The NBA doing experiments is good so that they know what to do in the future, but it has been a constant failure. I guess one reason why players don't want to be competitive in the all-star game is the fact that they might get injured during the game which is ridiculous because no one has ever injured (or at least a season-ending injury) during an all-star game. The reason is kind of "MEH". They've been paid a lot, and considered the best players in the league, but don't want to get competitive.

I'm not expecting much changes further with regards to the All-Star game. We will be seeing this kind of game over, and over again. Really embarrassing.

I also don't remember any major injuries during previous all-star weekends either. The only moment that comes to my mind is when Wade broke Kobe's nose during the all-star game in the 11/12 season.
p.s.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I sometimes get the impression that players of the current generation are getting injured much more often than their predecessors, even though the style of play in the NBA has become much softer.

Yes, but some injuries could really be a freak accident, just like when Chet injury, a season ending last year during pre-season game. And it's really hard to compare era's. Jordan himself was bang throughout his career, but we haven't seen him getting a career threatening injuries. While Kobe has a lot of injuries, but he keeps on coming back and that Black Mamba mentality come into fruition.

Lots of game tonight, what's your pick?

Lakers vs Spurs, -  Lakers -8.5 @1.72
Rockets vs Suns - Suns -1.5 @1.71
Wolves vs Bucks - Over 224.5 @1.86

[dwyane36]

Anyway, fans love to see their favorite players shoot, so I guess let's just accept it.

The fact that many NBA players can score well nowadays is a good thing, and fans certainly like it. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of fans who absolutely hate the moments during games when some NBA players use flopping and show their poor acting skills at the slightest contact with the opponent. Such moments of "soft" style of play sometimes spoil the experience of watching a game.

[Baofeng]

Oh well bad day for me, the Suns lost their game against the Houston Rockets. They took a good lead by they lead the Rockets claim back, and in the 4th they have a chance to win.

Bucks vs Wolves didn't go as I expected, in the 3rd quarter, Wolves only scored 13 points.

Lakers won but wasn't able to cover the handicap.

[bisdak40]

Oh well bad day for me, the Suns lost their game against the Houston Rockets. They took a good lead by they lead the Rockets claim back, and in the 4th they have a chance to win.

Bucks vs Wolves didn't go as I expected, in the 3rd quarter, Wolves only scored 13 points.

Lakers won but wasn't able to cover the handicap.

Rockets vs Suns was a close game, it's just that the breaks of the game favor the home team in the dying minutes of the game, hitting those 3's when badly needed. One good thing for the Suns though they lost the game was that Bol Bol was having a good game with 25 points and 14 rebounds in just 27 minutes of play.

[LogitechMouse]

Anyway, fans love to see their favorite players shoot, so I guess let's just accept it.

The fact that many NBA players can score well nowadays is a good thing, and fans certainly like it. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of fans who absolutely hate the moments during games when some NBA players use flopping and show their poor acting skills at the slightest contact with the opponent. Such moments of "soft" style of play sometimes spoil the experience of watching a game.

What's worse is that referees are buying it, and they are calling fouls on it even though it's pretty obvious that it's a flop.
Correct me, but is there an NBA rule implemented already regarding flopping?

I didn't watch games of the 80's or 90's so I don't want to compare how they played at that time, and now, but the league now is very soft. Small contacts lead to a foul. Anyway, it is what it is, and like I said, let's just accept it.

~
One good thing for the Suns though they lost the game was that Bol Bol was having a good game with 25 points and 14 rebounds in just 27 minutes of play.

When I saw this one, I said to myself "I hope that Frank Vogel gives him more playing time to showcase his talent." because we know already that he has the talent, and we saw it back when he's still in Orlando. He can shoot inside and outside, he can handle the ball. I even tell one time that Bol Bol's playstyle is the same as Wemby, but less efficient. Kind of weird to compare both of them knowing how Wemby plays right now, but some analysts compared the two back when the regular season didn't start yet.

Overall, I just hope that Frank Vogel will give him more time to play.

[dwyane36]

Correct me, but is there an NBA rule implemented already regarding flopping?

Yep, the flopping rule was implemented last year, and it should be in effect this regular season. However, in my opinion, referees rarely use it during games, and the penalties for violating this rule are very low. As far as I know, if a player is caught flopping during a game, he will be penalized with an unsportsmanlike technical foul. In case the fact of flopping is discovered after the game, such a player will be fined $2k.

[Zed0X]

Correct me, but is there an NBA rule implemented already regarding flopping?

Yep, the flopping rule was implemented last year, and it should be in effect this regular season. However, in my opinion, referees rarely use it during games, and the penalties for violating this rule are very low. As far as I know, if a player is caught flopping during a game, he will be penalized with an unsportsmanlike technical foul. In case the fact of flopping is discovered after the game, such a player will be fined $2k.

There are already some notable players that were called for flopping this season https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/list-nba-players-fined-flopping-2023-24-ft-kristaps-porzingis-jalen-brunson

How many of the fouls called do you think were because of flopping? I think players are more mindful on how they would sell the foul now. They can shout but there are less overacting to light bumps and touches.

[LogitechMouse]

Correct me, but is there an NBA rule implemented already regarding flopping?

Yep, the flopping rule was implemented last year, and it should be in effect this regular season. However, in my opinion, referees rarely use it during games, and the penalties for violating this rule are very low. As far as I know, if a player is caught flopping during a game, he will be penalized with an unsportsmanlike technical foul. In case the fact of flopping is discovered after the game, such a player will be fined $2k.

So there's a rule already. Thanks for this.
Did Lebron pay for his fines? I mean we've seen him flopped multiple times already, right?

Anyway, it seems like this rule isn't implemented at all because we aren't seeing flops being penalized. If it isn't for the flops, it's the soft calls the referees are doing that might ruin the whole game. What I remember is the game against the Knicks and Raptors where a referee called a foul on a 3-point shot in the dying seconds of the game only to find out that there hadn't been any contact at all between Brunson and the Rockets player. The Knicks would've won that game, but because of that controversial call, the Rockets won.

Anyway, it is what it is. I just hope that everybody here won on their bets.