OT: “I don’t watch the NBA” thread. (I’m an equal-opportunity poster.)
- Thread starter LionJim
- Start date
Worst professional sport by a mile. Sue me.
Worst professional sport by a mile. Sue me.
Even when it’s good, it’s bad. Give me hawkey.
Hey - thanks for the inclusivity. Love that there is a space for folks who dislike watching tall traveling buffoons.
Yes, exactly, it’s June. When the appropriate time (soon) arrives I’ll start a Soccer Sucks thread.It’s June. We’re all belonged, at least for this month.
I don't think I've ever watched an entire BB game- pro or college.
I’m enjoying watching my Knicks make a run for the title
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This made me think about if there is a single sport that I've never watched a full game of...only thing I can come up with is Cricket. I've seen bits and pieces, but never watched a full game/match. That's it.
I haven’t watch the NBA since the mid to late 80’s. It became boring to me.
Yeah, Tgar Is A NO when it comes to NBA as well. He does enjoy watching the Olympic tournament every four years.
Wembeyama is a beast.
He is a tall praying mantis who gets exhausted. Towns is taking BTA on him in this series.
If I’m WEMBY.
‘s mother/father/guardian, I’m telling him to consider a different profession. Basketball isn’t for him. He’s just 22. He has his whole life in front of him. Maybe he should go back to school.
I watch very close to zero NBA. If there is a game I have an interest in, (Thunder) I tune in and try to catch the last five minutes. Saves a couple of hours and you don't miss a thing.
I still watch the NBA ... and college hoops ... not as much as when I was young, but that's fairly typical for just about any sport.
I can "back in my day" why that's the case, but it really just is ...
That said, NYC fans are the worst. They're obnoxious, even when their team is mediocre to bad. When they're actually good, it's like dealing with a comic-book-evil-villain level of ego. Times hundreds of thousands/millions. It ruins the sport for everyone else.
I can "back in my day" why that's the case, but it really just is ...
That said, NYC fans are the worst. They're obnoxious, even when their team is mediocre to bad. When they're actually good, it's like dealing with a comic-book-evil-villain level of ego. Times hundreds of thousands/millions. It ruins the sport for everyone else.
It’s not just NYC. It’s the entire NE corridor…Boston, NY, Philly. These are cities where sports are woven into the DNA of the community. The fans are incredibly passionate.
The Knicks are NY’s team. Yes, the Yankees are North America’s most successful franchise, but they’ve had competition in NY the entire time, first from the Dodgers and Giants, and then the Mets. The Giants are very popular, but many people in the area root for the Jets. NY is a basketball town, and the entire city gets behind the Knicks. The Nets have no identity; first Long Island, then NJ, now Brooklyn. When the Knicks play in Brooklyn, 75% of the building is cheering for them.
Knicks fans have suffered a long time, and if they can finish the deal, the city is going to lose its mind.
I've lived my entire life in the "NE Corridor" in various places, and wasn't a fan of any of those teams for most of those years. Over the years, I've become a tentative/mild Boston fan, simply because it's easier for my kids, and because I've lived in close proximity to stadiums, and gotten to know management/players from a number of the squads, but I'm not a diehard by any measure. For a long period of time, living up here, I was anti-New England sports squads, so I'll never be a rah rah guy on their behalf. All those fan bases have their own peculiarities and annoyances, but there's nothing close to the level of an NYC fan. Even the most devoted townie Pats fan at the height of Pats/Tom Brady league dominance ... as unbearable as they got (and they got unbearable, especially with that townie accent) ... isn't close to the level of ego that exudes from a run of the mill NYC team fan ... when they're slightly above .500.
Pretty sure there's a federal law on the books now that makes it legal to preemptively throat punch anyone walking around wearing an unbuttoned Yankees jersey, or a Knicks jersey ... to prevent them from saying anything.
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Watched the lakers Celtics 30 for 30. NBA was second rate sport on the verge of collapse and then in the 80’s the greats played and it leaked into the 90’s and made it an awesome sport. Now, a watered down version of over paid over hyped players that can’t play defense and cry when bumped.
I always wonder if the "the NBA players don't play defense" guys actually watch any NBA games. The level of talent and athleticism is incredible. What do the "the 80s/90s were great and everyone played defense" guys think would happen if Robert Parish/Bill Cartwright/etc had to match up with Karl-Anthony Towns or Wenbanyama and run around the perimeter and guard them 28 feet from the basket as they pick and pop, put the ball on the floor and drive, or pull up for a deep 3.
It's a different game today, and the level of play has never been higher.
It's a different game today, and the level of play has never been higher.
I suspect that much of the “no defense” claims come from old clips of James Harden, a seventies player if there ever was one. But watch ten minutes of this year’s conference finals or the finals and you’ll see astounding defense.
There are a lot of sports I can’t be bothered with watching but I’m satisfied with simply saying, “It’s not my bag.” I need no further justification.
Yeah, but level of play doesn't necessarily equate to enjoyable to watch. It's the same phenomenon with baseball ... where hitters are so much more skilled than they used to be, and pitchers even more so ... but for a lot of people, that doesn't translate into a more enjoyable product. Some get more excited by more balls in play, more stolen bases, more strategy and small ball. That's their choice. So they lament for the baseball of yesteryear.
Guys in the NBA are bigger, stronger, faster and more skilled ... but it doesn't necessarily translate into a more enjoyable product for many.
I agree that this is a very fair point (across both baseball and basketball) and could impact someone's enjoyment of watching the sport. But none of that has anything to do with guys not playing defense (which is a common criticism from people that don't watch).
"A watered down version of over paid over hyped players that can’t play defense ", "Except that they don’t play defense", and all of the other comments in any thread on the NBA are completely inaccurate. Guys being much better shooters, better at handling the ball, rules interpretations that give more benefits to offensive players, etc make playing defense tougher than ever. These guys at this level are mostly all incredible defenders, but how do you stop these 7 footers that handle the ball like a guard, knocks down 3s better than most guards in the 80s/90s, and can score at will inside against a smaller guy?
I don’t watch basketball because it’s unwatchable. Because I don’t watch it, I know it’s unwatchable.
It’s intertwined … because guys can shoot from longer distances more consistently … because bigger guys are better shooters and more skilled/athletic … because everything is more spread out … because of the “gather rule” and other ball-handling/allowable footwork drills ... it does look like guys aren't playing defense.
The way the game used to be played lent itself to looking like a more defensive battle.
That Robert Parish (or whoever) couldn’t handle the modern day guys isn’t relevant.
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They travel every other step. It’s boring AF. Raise the rim five feet and I’ll tune in.