If a game is on and whatever else I’m watching is on a break I’ll watch a few minutes.
I’ll go to a few Wizards games every now and then just to go. I’ll buy some nosebleed seats then drop a ten spot on an usher and get moved up. Easy when there are so many empty seats.
I used to. After not paying attention to it for about a decade. I tried to watch the finals last year because the Mavericks where in it and I live in Dallas. I was bored within ten minutes. Then a coworker told me that it had been the best series in a long time and I knew that whatever enjoyment I once got out of watching basketball, died when Michael Jordan retired the first time.
I like it, but don’t pay much attention until after the Super Bowl. I really like the playoffs, more so now that they’ve sort of done away with the lonnnnnngggg breaks between games and series. My interest dropped a bit when Jordan retired in '98, and again after the T’wolves traded Garnett for some grocery bags in '07. But there are a lot of exciting teams right now (in theory…as stated, haven’t watched much yet), and Wolves are at least playing some fun ball with Love, Rubio, and company. I went to a couple Bucks games last year and had a great time, and with tickets practically being given away, I’ll probably go to a couple more this season.
My interest in college ball used to be really high, probably my second favorite sport after college football, until I got to college in '97. I do blame the NBA for that, because I liked following cbb recruiting (as much as a kid could in the early-mid 90s), but once high schoolers and 1-and-dones became the norm, I couldn’t dedicate much interest. I like it when, every now and then, a team gets a good nucleus to stay together for a few seasons, like Arizona in '01, Illinois in '05, and Michigan State in '09.
Yes because of things like this…
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7522167
It has a big following here in Atlanta… and a huge following among African-Americans. IMO the best athletes hands down and playing in the NBA…when you combine size speed and stamina… esxceptional conditioning… Could things be better? Sure… I would kill two teams… Iwould impose a two year difference between your high school graduating class and playing in the NBA… (If you want to skip college and play either overseas or in the NBADL then fine…)
I would also limit the number of guaranteed contracts a team can offer… and some other minor changes… but night to night… (also 70 game season…) some of the most amazing stuff happens… I would also steal from the NHL all star… that choosing up sides shit is really cool…
The only time I watch the NBA is during the playoffs and even then its not a consistent thing. The regular season does not interest me at all. However, I will watch regular season games at the bar if nothing else is on.
Nope, no pro sports at all.
I used to watch NBA games. Then I realized you just needed to watch the last 2 minutes of the game because the score would be nearly tied at that point, and then all the good action began. Eventually I realized you only needed to watch the last 2 minutes of the last 2 games of the season. Then they changed to the current playoff system where they spend the whole regular season eliminating a couple of teams so I started watching the last 2 minutes of the last 2 playoff games, before I realized that was a waste of 4 minutes.
I followed it briefly while Kerry Kittles and Jason Lawson were playing (I went to Villanova), but I think Kittles is in management now, and I’ve no clue what became of Lawson.
Man, Kittles was great fun to watch, though. Especially live, from about 10 feet behind the basket.
I rarely, if ever, pay attention to the professional basketball before the playoffs. And even during the playoffs, I’m intermittent at best.
But I do really tire of the canard that NBA basketball has done away with teamwork and fundamentals, let alone artistry. The basketball being played in the NBA right now (well, maybe not all the teams, but by a good majority) is likely the best ever, in terms of teamwork, fundamentals, and “artistry”. It’s not simply the athletes are more athletic, it’s that the game is no longer dominated by a few really good players like Wilt or Kareem who simply beat up on lesser athletes. Everybody is a damn good athlete, and the level of play as a team is so much better than “lets lob it into the big guy and let him score.”
If you have the time and want to determine for yourself, watch the games from the 70’s and early 80’s and compare them to what the Bulls or the Heat or the Lakers or the Thunder are doing now and it’s no comparison at all. The defense is so much better, the offense runs a system rather than “get it to our big scorer”, and the highlights are so much more spectacular.
I like the NBA but I LOVE the Lakers. My interest ebbs and flows according to how well they are doing
Love college and don’t even attempt to watch the pros until after March Madness. I keep up with the NBA watching assorted ESPN shows. The last team that caught my eye was the Pistons when they won the championship; that was a real team full of roll players with different personalities and strengths.
Unfortunately, I think this is subconscious racism at work. Fewer white players = “less fundamentally sound” (or, alternately, “athletes who don’t know how to play the game”). Never mind that shooting percentages (including free throws) have been creeping up for the last 30 years or so, and the percentage of assisted baskets are near an all-time high as well.
It’s still a spell check though because I don’t know who that guy is. Since I don’t follow NBA basketball anymore, I don’t care how to spell the players’ names.
But when I actually go and watch a game, many teams will simply park a guard at the three point line and play catch with a big man who has established himself next to the paint, back and forth until one of them takes a shot. Seems to me that players don’t move as much without the ball, looking (for example) for backdoor layups. And don’t get me started on the abysmal fast break skills; seems nobody runs them like Magic did during Showtime’s heyday. Instead they’ll push the ball at half-speed up the court, rarely trying to out-transition the defense, and when a pass is attempted it leads nowhere.
I haven’t see that kind of play at all in the last 5 years. Granted I haven’t watched a ton of games, but a vast majority of games I have seen rely on much more ball movement, more assisted looks, and more planned actions than any game I saw growing up.
One major reason you don’t see many backdoor passes anymore is that NBA teams are actually playing good defense, so the opportunities simply aren’t there. Sure Blake Griffin can exploit that backdoor pass, but, by and large, the defense is so much better now than 20 or 30 years ago, those kinds of plays don’t come around. It’s not because the offense isn’t moving, it’s because the defense is so much better.
It depends on the team. Teams like the Nuggets, the Heat, and the Thunder put up about 18 points a game off fast break. I’m not sure what the numbers were for Magic’s teams, but I can’t imagine they are much more than that. More teams have better game plans, both defensively and offensively, that fast break points aren’t usually a way to expose a defense anymore.
I was a big Seattle Supersonics fan. When the team left, the NBA became dead to me. I hope something very large and very heavy falls on David Stern and Clay Bennett. If it wipes out the rest of the league too, so be it.
Sorry dude… Ok City is crushin right now… The “Durantchala” and Westbrook… They’re packing their arena… with crazy local fan support… I think Nick Collison is the last remaining Supersonic…
Do you watch old Shawn Kemp dunks and tear up… The real person you should blame is Howard Schultz… he knew what Clay’s intentions were…
I like attending games in markets with nice small intimate arenas. The in-person athleticism is amazing to watch.
I used to follow teams in the 70s/80s when franchise rosters translated into local heroes. Bird/Parrish/McHale, that was awesome. It was a comfortable story you could follow. Various contracts and union changes have spelled the death of franchise players, and I have no compelling reason to follow a team or a league in constant flux and shuffle. The 90s Bulls and Blazers were the last teams that had any sort of interesting franchise personality.
It’s hard to get a more “interesting franchise personality” than the Miami Heat, with Wade, Bosch, and some other guy I don’t remember. The Championship Series last year had the long-time scoring stud finally getting his championship (Dirk Nowitzki) vs. the Dream Team in Miami. Add in guys like Derrick Rose in Chicago, Durant in Oklahoma City, the end of the line older guys giving it one last chance (Spurs, Celtics), Nash in Phoneix, Bryant in LA, the rebirth of the Clippers, and there are some very interesting franchise personalities". Granted there will always be some movement by Free Agents, but remember Michael Jordan ended his career with the Wizards, Moses Malone played on at least 5 different teams, Clyde Drexler moved to Houston, and Gervin ended in Chicago. And if these franchises wanted to hold onto players like Dwight Howard or Lebron James, they need to get the talent around them to make them want to stay.
Kareem started in Milwaukee; Wilt bounced around all over the place.
It’s hard to think of a team with a steadier core than the San Antonio Spurs, who have been competing with the same Big 3 since 2002 or so.