Wait---do Dopers hate the NBA?

Millions,

I’ve been absent from the Dope for long enough that the “Game Room” section didn’t exist last time I was here. First off, whoever put that into motion should have several hats tipped in their direction; it always seemed odd that posting games and baseball were discussed alongside Grey’s Anatomy and Boticelli.

That said: I see no basketball threads here, merely an hour before game one of the NBA playoffs. Patently ridiculous, really. Is the Dope a basketball-free zone? Is there any hope for us lovers of roundball? Who wins tonight?

(Answers, respectively: I hope not, I pray yes, and the Celtics, begrudgingly, if only because I hate the Lakers more than Boston)

Standard response:

What, they’re still playing basketball? It’s June, already!

:wink:

Well hockey just finished up yesterday.

I was a big pro hoops fan in the 80’s. [oldfogey]All the artistry, grace, and creativity exemplified in that decade (by the likes of Bird, Magic, and Dr. J., my idol) seem absent in today’s NBA.[/oldfogey] Haven’t watched more than a few minutes of any game in years, tho I may make an exception this time just because of the teams involved.

Basket - ball?

¿Què? :confused:

It’s not that I hate pro-basketball, it’s that I hate pro-basketball players God, just try to find the most obnoxious, self-fellating assholes in pro-sports. I think it stems from the fact that in the past decade or two basketball went from very team-oriented to very individual-oriented. Rather than a play being something like “pass to center, he’ll go to the hole but toss it over to the guard” it’s become “get the ball to Kobe/Shaq/Iverson and they’ll shoot it.”

bouv: I think that’s unfair. I’d make the case that baseball (Bonds, Clemens, Ty Cobb, so on, so forth) and football (Ray Lewis, Pacman Jones, Michael Vick, for example) boast far more unsavory characters.

The nature of the game, I think, does lend itself towards a more individual-oriented style that the other two major American sports, but I always felt that the impossible athleticism of basketball overshadowed the generally slothful atmosphere at a baseball game (in the field, dugout, and stands) and the plain brutality that football has become. That, I’m aware, is mostly opinion. But you’re definitely oversimplifying on both your critiques.

Basketball was saved by Jordan. The league wants another Michael and will do anything to get one. I prefer a team game like the one the Pistons play . Reffing and rules discourage that kind of play though.
I predict the Celtics will win game one. Probably by 10 or so.

Eh, I’ll watch the finals.

Pretty entertaining Game 1 what with the Pierce injury/return. Good solid win for the Celtics - something they pretty much had to do if they want to win the series. Strong rebounding margin (their one big advantage over the Lakers), solid play from Rondo, held Kobe down. Not much more they could ask for.

Oh, and if you want to know why I don’t watch more than the Finals I have one word - officiating. It’s completely atrocious, consistently. The game is just too damn fast and the players too damn big and quick for the refs to have a chance.

Basketball…is that the one with the tall guys?

I have never been passionate about the NBA. Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for a number of years, I always like seeing the Golden State Warriors do well. I would rather see the Celtics win the title than the Lakers. This is partially because I went to the University of Kentucky, and the Celtics have a former Wildcat, Rajon Rondo, starting at the point. And it’s partially because I’m worried that if Kobe Bryant achieves his dream – winning a title without Shaq – his ego will grow so large that it engulfs the planet.

As a long time Piston fan, there are no two teams I hate more than Boston and LA. so yeah, I’m not watching the finals.

I’ve lived in Boston and rooted for my home teams all my life. But with the exception of the Red Sox (I’m a baseball fan more than a team fan) my attention to the teams definately ebs and flows proportionally with how well they are doing. So before this season started going so well the last time I watched a Celtic’s game was when they were in the playoffs with New Jersey a couple of years ago.

Now I’m back into Green again, and I’m actually enjoying the game of basketball more. I watched a couple games where the Lakers took apart their opponent, and I thought the New Orleans/San Diego series was very entertaining. Needless to say though, I’m very excited about the Boston/LA finals.

Good game tonight, I listened to it on the radio and you could hear everyone in The Garden going nuts for most of the night, especially when Paul Pierce came back out of the locker room. I don’t think the Celtics will win by 10 points every game though, especially when they have to go back to LA. In every series so far leading up to the finals the Celtics have had at least one or two bad games, games that make you think that this team shouldn’t have made it to the finals. Luckily tonight was a night where the team clicked and they did look like the deserved Eastern Conference Champions.

And for those one or two bad games I talked about, Kobe will also have a couple monster games. Not that he didn’t play well tonight but he’ll really explode in some games. Still picking Boston though, won’t be easy, it’ll be in seven.

I only follow the Wildcats in the NBA. College hoops is it for me, I can’t stand the NBA.

I watch NBA when football isn’t being played. I have been watching the playoffs pretty closely. I’m pulling for the Celtics so KG can get a ring. He has been one of my favorite players for a awhile.

Got any stock tips?

Can’t speak for anyone else, but yeah, I hate it. As I’ve said before, I’ll start watching pro basketball again as soon as they legalize playing defense, which is scheduled for about the 5th of never.

Any game in which it’s not unusual for both teams to end up with 100+ points when the primary scoring increment is two, clearly has some issues that need to be addressed. It’s like the anti-soccer, and equally uninteresting in its own right.

Hi Birdmonster,

If you wanted a serious discussion on the NBA finals, you would be better off just starting a thread about them, then this one which is wide open to those that don’t like the NBA.

I am sure people will chime in as even Hockey and Football (soccer type) get plenty of responses on this board.

So start a finals thread and see what happens. I wouldn’t have minded some playoff threads, but I am not interested enough to start one.

For what it is worth, I am rooting for the Celtics, though I don’t really like either team much. I really dislike the Lakers.

There is an NBA Finals thread.

I’m a basketball fan, but I don’t watch as much as I used to (as a Knicks fan, it’s just too painful).

That said, I’m not really watching the Finals, simply because I fricking hate both the Celtics and the Lakers. I agree with Madd Maxx though…Garnett deserves a ring.

Thanks, I never saw the thread and apparently neither did the Op. :wink: