Rick Barry on today's NBA

Fryowa said:
James is just one example of dozens. It wrecks the contemporary game, but so do 10 other things. The game nowadays sucks, period. For a ton of reasons.

MLB is my favorite sports league by far and always will be, and I feel the same way about modern pitch count limitations.
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MLB is better because of the pitch count, but they dithered for so long making changes due to "traditionlists" that they lost a generation plus of fans. Its not high on my priority list, but I keep tabs on the Cubs and Royals.

College Football and NFL are hands down the best sports for me. Then MBB and WBB. The majors in golf are big for me.

I wish I were more into hockey. Loved Olympics and NHL playoff hockey. And that is a sport were terms like load management, flopping, half-assing or playing a friendly exhibition match do not exist in their lexicon.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
MLB is better because of the pitch count, but they dithered for so long making changes due to "traditionlists" that they lost a generation plus of fans. Its not high on my priority list, but I keep tabs on the Cubs and Royals.
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I think you might be talking about the pitch clock, which I'm wholeheartedly in favor of.

What I was talking about was having pitchers on an individual pitch count during starts, it's typically 90-95 now and they get pulled even if they're throwing a great game. Tons of guys have been pulled the last few years in the middle of no-hitters. Complete games are not even a stat anymore. It's extremely rare that you see anyone going more than 6 innings but the injury data doesn't support it from a statistical standpoint.
 
Fryowa said:
Why the NBA sucks now? Let's see...

1) Flopping

2) Travelling is allowed now, just change the rule

3) Lebron breaks his fingernail and needs 3 weeks rest, MJ plays with the flu

4) Flopping

5) Flopping

6) Zero personalities now. Growing up I had the following to watch and all associated storylines...I was spoiled I suppose...

Jordan
Magic
Bird
Malone
Shaq
Barkley
Stockton
Hakeem
McHale
Worthy
Dominique
Isaiah Thomas
Drexler
Rodman
Laimbeer
Manute Bol and Mugsy Bouges playing at the same time
90s Bulls
80s Celtics
80s Lakers

Now the NBA is nothing but a drama queen primadonna-fest where guys have to sit twice a week because when they flop, they fall down and get sand in their lady bits. Anyone who says Lebron is better than MJ needs to be drug out in the street and shot.
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^^THIS^^

That was the golden era and was a special time to be an NBA fan.

As for Lebron, he is one of the most amazing athletes I've ever observed. It's especially eye-opening when you consider that he's basically the same height and weight as Karl Malone was during his playing years. Combining that size and athleticism with that inside-out skillset is exceedingly rare.

That said, for whatever reason, Lebron inexplicably has been propped up and placed on a throne by the league and its players for years. Somehow, simply being a transcendent athlete and social warrior has qualified him to not only be the voice of the league, but also to usurp the league's power and influence.

Personally, I find his morose defensive personality and lack of objectivity and careful consideration of issues to not only be disqualifying, but actually harmful to the league and sports in general. Everyone is allowed to have their own opinions of him, which is perfectly fine and appropriate, but no one will convince me otherwise.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
MLB is better because of the pitch count, but they dithered for so long making changes due to "traditionlists" that they lost a generation plus of fans. Its not high on my priority list, but I keep tabs on the Cubs and Royals.

College Football and NFL are hands down the best sports for me. Then MBB and WBB. The majors in golf are big for me.

I wish I were more into hockey. Loved Olympics and NHL playoff hockey. And that is a sport were terms like load management, flopping, half-assing or playing a friendly exhibition match do not exist in their lexicon.
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The traditionalists really hurt the MLB because they remember a past that didn’t really exist. Games got way too long. They are helping with the pitch clock but things got way out of control.

Quite frankly college and pro sports are losing me a bit.

Football games are way too long and the injuries are out of control.

Wrestling the injuries are out of control.

Baseball way too long and boring. The massive imbalances in payroll are staggering.

The two sports I watch the most by far now are soccer and basketball. Both generally done in a reasonable timeframe and aren’t plagued by massive amounts of injuries.
 
BryceC said:
Baseball way too long and boring. The massive imbalances in payroll are staggering.

The two sports I watch the most by far now are soccer and basketball. Both generally done in a reasonable timeframe and aren’t plagued by massive amounts of injuries.
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Baseball and soccer are niche sports that 50% of people find so boring they're unwatchable.

I can watch 3 baseball games in a row and often do on summer weekends if I'm hanging out in the garage or smoking food, but soccer (to me) is the most boring sport on the face of the planet. I've tried to watch it and give it a chance multiple times over the years, even with a legit attempt at learning the intricacies and deeper rules. I simply cannot bear watching it...I'd rather sit through a root canal. At least with a root canal there's something letting me know I'm alive. There are lots of people who feel the same way about baseball.
 
BryceC said:
The traditionalists really hurt the MLB because they remember a past that didn’t really exist. Games got way too long. They are helping with the pitch clock but things got way out of control.

Quite frankly college and pro sports are losing me a bit.

Football games are way too long and the injuries are out of control.

Wrestling the injuries are out of control.

Baseball way too long and boring. The massive imbalances in payroll are staggering.

The two sports I watch the most by far now are soccer and basketball. Both generally done in a reasonable timeframe and aren’t plagued by massive amounts of injuries.
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I'd add that replay and reviews are getting in the way of the game flow.
 
“They don’t play defense.”
“They don’t play defense until the last 2:00 minutes.”
“ The majority of the league is made up of a bunch of thugs.”

I’m a 50-something year old, and these critcisms among a myriad of others have always been their my entire life. To me the NBA can’t win no matter what they do. I’m not a NBA diehard…just think that some people will always find something to be critical of the league.

The league is far from perfect, and some of the criticisms are fair…IMO, some people will not like the NBA no matter what…just wish people would say it, instead of always finding something to nitpick on.
 
Fryowa said:
Baseball and soccer are niche sports that 50% of people find so boring they're unwatchable.

I can watch 3 baseball games in a row and often do on summer weekends if I'm hanging out in the garage or smoking food, but soccer (to me) is the most boring sport on the face of the planet. I've tried to watch it and give it a chance multiple times over the years, even with a legit attempt at learning the intricacies and deeper rules. I simply cannot bear watching it...I'd rather sit through a root canal. At least with a root canal there's something letting me know I'm alive. There are lots of people who feel the same way about baseball.
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I flipped. I used to watch baseball every day and I probably haven’t watched a full MLB game for 10 years.

Still love the game. All three of my sons play and I’m coaching again this year just the MLB product.
 
trj said:
“They don’t play defense.”
“They don’t play defense until the last 2:00 minutes.”
“ The majority of the league is made up of a bunch of thugs.”

I’m a 50-something year old, and these critcisms among a myriad of others have always been their my entire life. To me the NBA can’t win no matter what they do. I’m not a NBA diehard…just think that some people will always find something to be critical of the league.

The league is far from perfect, and some of the criticisms are fair…IMO, some people will not like the NBA no matter what…just wish people would say it, instead of always finding something to nitpick on.
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Yeah, that's kind of the point I was making earlier.

It's not exclusive to the NBA, but negative stereotypes often take on a life of their own. Once that lens is in place, you are going to see what you expect to see.

In order for the NBA to be uber-popular like it was 30 years ago, it would have to revert back to a more restricted environment, conceptually emphasizing teams and coaches, not the players. You still market the stars, absolutely, but without retracting from the core team concept. Fans generally invest themselves into the team, school, etc., not individual players.

I don't see that transition every happening, though. The players maneuvered to usurp that power and control, and now it is what it is. You can't put the genie back into the bottle.
 
Fryowa said:
I think you might be talking about the pitch clock, which I'm wholeheartedly in favor of.

What I was talking about was having pitchers on an individual pitch count during starts, it's typically 90-95 now and they get pulled even if they're throwing a great game. Tons of guys have been pulled the last few years in the middle of no-hitters. Complete games are not even a stat anymore. It's extremely rare that you see anyone going more than 6 innings but the injury data doesn't support it from a statistical standpoint.
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Pitch clock is what I meant. I don't like pitch counts much, but I get why they are there. I watched the Cubs blow out Woods and Prior's arms.
 
trj said:
“They don’t play defense.”
“They don’t play defense until the last 2:00 minutes.”
“ The majority of the league is made up of a bunch of thugs.”

I’m a 50-something year old, and these critcisms among a myriad of others have always been their my entire life. To me the NBA can’t win no matter what they do. I’m not a NBA diehard…just think that some people will always find something to be critical of the league.

The league is far from perfect, and some of the criticisms are fair…IMO, some people will not like the NBA no matter what…just wish people would say it, instead of always finding something to nitpick on.
Click to expand...
This clip was from 1980! Classic movie. One of the best. Airplane!

So yes, this criticism has been around for generations.

 
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