NBA 2020-21: The Final Covid-19 Season?

[Bourgeois Zee]

If I thought running up and down the court, playing little or no defense, while shooting a ton of 3-pointers was entertaining, I'd just park my self at the local Y. I dislike this type of basketball immensely.

I reject the idea that they play no defense. There's just not much a defense can do when Lillard shoots from the logo. Or VanVleet get incendiary, as he did last night.

This generation of scorers are the greatest ever, simply put. You cannot stop Kevin Durant, short of fouling him. You can't block his shot-- it has too high and too quick a release, even as a jumper. You make him shoot over you and hope he misses.

I love when they run like hell up the court too, largely because I remember the Bataan Death March that was 1990's NBA basketball. Every shot, a defender clipped an elbow or hit your hand or punched you in the gut. Teams walked the ball up the court, set up iso plays, and took long twos which, for the most part, clanked harmlessly off the rim. Any team that showed promise or fun-- Seattle's Sean Kemp/ Gary Payton team, for example, or Phoenix's KJ/ Thunder Dan/ Barkley squads-- were bounced by squads of goons whose soul job was to make the game a slog.

Give me games with actual offensive plays. Give me transcendent offensive stars like Curry and Trae Young, who almost assuredly wouldn't have played more than token minutes in the Jon Konkak/ Joe Kleine/ Bill Wennington era.

Also, I'm unsure of the location of your YMCA, but the competition there must be a lot better than the one where I play. We look a heck of a lot more like Pat Riley's Knicks than anything you describe.

[M2]

If I thought running up and down the court, playing little or no defense, while shooting a ton of 3-pointers was entertaining, I'd just park my self at the local Y. I dislike this type of basketball immensely.

I dig it. The newfound up tempo style is what brought me back to the league. The decades where it turned into Greco-Roman wrestling drove me away, though everyone's entitled to their own style preference. My observation is that I don't think this style is going away. The genie's out of the bottle on shooting. You literally can't defend it when all five opposing players can drill it from 25 feet. It's too much space to cover.

[Kingspoint]

If I thought running up and down the court, playing little or no defense, while shooting a ton of 3-pointers was entertaining, I'd just park my self at the local Y. I dislike this type of basketball immensely.

Agree. There's nothing "professional" about this brand of basketball. The NBA has trended their marketing towards the jump-on-the-bandwagon fans who buy the dorky jerseys who think this is good basketball for years now, and it's at an ultra-ugly peak at the moment.

[M2]

Agree. There's nothing "professional" about this brand of basketball. The NBA has trended their marketing towards the jump-on-the-bandwagon fans who buy the dorky jerseys who think this is good basketball for years now, and it's at an ultra-ugly peak at the moment.

Players learned how to shoot from farther away. It's not going away.

And it is good basketball. These teams would mutilate teams from the past (pretty much always the case in every sport). Hell, go no farther than your team. Dame would launch from 35 feet, hit it and it would become instantly clear these modern mutants are on another level.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Players learned how to shoot from farther away. It's not going away.

And it is good basketball. These teams would mutilate teams from the past (pretty much always the case in every sport). Hell, go no farther than your team. Dame would launch from 35 feet, hit it and it would become instantly clear these modern mutants are on another level.

The Blazers' squad with Walton wouldn't even know how to guard him. He'd eat up Porter like a Thanksgiving turkey too. And defensively, they'd just pack in the paint and dare those teams to trade long twos for threes.

Today's Portland team-- even as mediocre as it is-- would beat the Drexler NBA elite teams by 30.

[texasdave]

I reject the idea that they play no defense. There's just not much a defense can do when Lillard shoots from the logo. Or VanVleet get incendiary, as he did last night.

This generation of scorers are the greatest ever, simply put. You cannot stop Kevin Durant, short of fouling him. You can't block his shot-- it has too high and too quick a release, even as a jumper. You make him shoot over you and hope he misses.

I love when they run like hell up the court too, largely because I remember the Bataan Death March that was 1990's NBA basketball. Every shot, a defender clipped an elbow or hit your hand or punched you in the gut. Teams walked the ball up the court, set up iso plays, and took long twos which, for the most part, clanked harmlessly off the rim. Any team that showed promise or fun-- Seattle's Sean Kemp/ Gary Payton team, for example, or Phoenix's KJ/ Thunder Dan/ Barkley squads-- were bounced by squads of goons whose soul job was to make the game a slog.

Give me games with actual offensive plays. Give me transcendent offensive stars like Curry and Trae Young, who almost assuredly wouldn't have played more than token minutes in the Jon Konkak/ Joe Kleine/ Bill Wennington era.

Also, I'm unsure of the location of your YMCA, but the competition there must be a lot better than the one where I play. We look a heck of a lot more like Pat Riley's Knicks than anything you describe.

Whatever. You run your mouth, just to run your mouth.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Whatever. You run your mouth, just to run your mouth.

Or I have an opinion just as valid as your own.

Y'know, take your pick.

[Kingspoint]

From Rotoworld with Rotoworld comments:

The NBA reports zero new COVID-19 cases over the last week. This is incredible news and it looks like the NBA has officially weathered the storm after a stressful January. Over the last four weeks, the amount of positives have gone down from 16, 11, 1 and now to zero.

SOURCE: Shams Charania

[Kingspoint]

The Blazers' squad with Walton wouldn't even know how to guard him. He'd eat up Porter like a Thanksgiving turkey too. And defensively, they'd just pack in the paint and dare those teams to trade long twos for threes.

Today's Portland team-- even as mediocre as it is-- would beat the Drexler NBA elite teams by 30.

Sounds like a take from a 5-year old.

[Kingspoint]

Possible POR concedes tomorrow to the Sixers and might sit Dame as he could barely walk when he got out of bed yesterday. Try to win in NY on Sat and go 3-3 on the 6-game road trip, go home and regroup with more bodies available.

Little out for his 2nd straight game tomorrow because of a not-called Flagrant-2 at the end of his 30 point game Monday. Melo and Hood's Offense returned yesterday, so that was good to see, even if it was against the WIZ.

[Revering4Blue]

I dig it. The newfound up tempo style is what brought me back to the league. The decades where it turned into Greco-Roman wrestling drove me away, though everyone's entitled to their own style preference. My observation is that I don't think this style is going away. The genie's out of the bottle on shooting. You literally can't defend it when all five opposing players can drill it from 25 feet. It's too much space to cover.

You hit the nail on the head about the difficulty in covering the space in today's game. The thing is, given that virtually every player can hit from virtually everywhere today, that would still be an issue today for defenses even with no 3 point shot in effect, and all teams would be scoring well over 100 points a game. It's the ball movement that's improved exponentially since the elimination of the illegal defense rule - you cannot clear out one side anymore for the ISOs, which slowed the game down to a crawl - that's directly led to better offensive production.

Somewhere, both Don Nelson and Doug Moe are smiling.

[Revering4Blue]

NBA trade season: Lonzo Ball, P.J. Tucker among eight players who could help a contender

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/n...p-a-contender/

[M2]

Sounds like a take from a 5-year old.

These kids today apparently know their hoops.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Given more time lately, Anthony Edwards is showing signs of improvement.

He has a long way to go.

Defensively, the kid is a sieve.

Offensively, he's looking like a volume scorer.

It'll be interesting to see how he develops.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Milwaukee eviscerated Indiana today. Sabonis was awesome. (He also took 25 shots.) Everyone else? Meh.

Is Myles Turner the most frustrating player in the NBA? He tantalizes one game, under-delivers the next.

Were I a Pacer fan, he'd be exhausting. (Similar, now that I think of it, to post-injury Oladipo.)

My All-Exhausting Team:

Myles Turner
John Wall
Russell Westbrook
Otto Porter
Zach LaVine

Boogie Cousins would maybe captain this team, but he's not good enough this season to garner enough votes. Could AD get some votes? How about the entirety of the Miami Heat team?