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It is my favorite thing of all time whats your favorite team? I am a big bobcats fan and hope to play for them someday.
Posts: 7 | Registered: Nov 2006
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I like the NBA--I'm one of the (apparently) few people who likes NBA basketball and doesn't much care for NCAA basketball. I grew up a Laker fan, but I've been a Heat fan ever since they brought Pat Riley down.
So how'd you end up at Hatrack? Do you have a friend who introduced you to it, or are you a big Orson Scott Card fan?
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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I watch everything before I watch sports. The only sport you'll find me watching *maybe* is figure skating, gymnastics and The All-Powerful Fifa World Cup.
I started an NBA thread a while back. It didn't really go anywhere. I'm a central Florida boy so my loyalty goes to the Magic. I hope they can keep up the start they've had this year. That reminds me, they're playing Memphis (1-8) right now. I should listen.
What's the deal with Phoenix and Dallas? Dallas has won 5 straight, but losing the first 4 ... that's rough.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Huh. Sports are just about the only TV I watch.
The Heat, like Shaq's Lakers before, have intensity issues. They start slowly, but they'll get hot later in the season.
I'm an NBA fan third, though. First is NFL (Dolphins) and second is MLB (Yankees).
I never seem to be able to develop any hockey loyalty. I wish the Tampa Bay Devil Rays well, but I just don't care enough to follow it closely.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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I want to actually go to one of the world cup games. I'd be the craziest woman in the whole stadium. With like, that siren thing and paint all over my face, heck I might even flash the camera once or twice. (another reason to stay tuned )
Posts: 3389 | Registered: Apr 2004
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" First is NFL (Dolphins) and second is MLB (Yankees)."
How does that work? I've never heard of someone being a fan of two Miami teams and then the Yankees.
Soccer is the best sport in the world, but unless it's two good teams playing I don't watch much of it on TV. The only games televised around here are Mexican league games and those teams suck. I wish they televised the Premiership. Go Arsenal!
Basketball is my second favorite sport, but I don't really have a favorite team anymore. I just watch any game I find. I used to be a huge Heat fan in the Tim Hardaway/Alonzo Mourning days, but I don't like them anymore. Favorite player is Andrei Kirilenko though.
Posts: 2054 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Yeah, the Magic lost to Memphis. Memphis!!. Humiliating. Though Dwight Howard had 23 rebounds 21 points or something like that. Pretty impressive. He's averaging over 14 rebounds a game.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Huge NBA fan in the 90's. Shifted to the Jazz when they started going places. I am still convinced they were robbed of their championship. Then NBA just went down the tubes as far as I am concerned.
I support college ball now, it just feels more team oriented. When Europe spanked us in the Olympics I was VERY glad. I just want it to go back to being team chemistry oriented and not how many self absorbed talents we can pack onto one team. The Pistons 2 years ago were fun to watch. I am waiting for the NBA to be fun to watch again.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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It's getting there. More teams are starting to build teams of complete players, not supplementary players to one great one. Such as the Jazz this year. Phoenix also, though they do have some great players. The Clippers and Hornets also come to mind, just to name a few. The Magic are that way to an extent, though they are trying to build around Dwight Howard. But who can blame them? The kid is a monster.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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The NBA is baskeball's equivalent of Arena Football. I mean, it has trappings of the sport, but it's more about running up the score for the fans than it is about about playing the game of basketball.
On the continuum from NCAA basketball to Barnum and Bailey's Circus, NBA is about one season away from having teams drive out onto the court in a clown car.
But aside from all that... welcome to hatrack! Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Oh please. When was the last time you watched it? For a while it was getting that way, but there has been a definite trend towards more serious ball.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:but it's more about running up the score for the fans than it is about about playing the game of basketball.
Huh. I suppose that explains how the Pistons and Spurs have been so successful, ya know, cuz they just run up the score and ignore things like defense and stuff like that.
Posts: 1256 | Registered: May 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Dr Strangelove: It's getting there. More teams are starting to build teams of complete players, not supplementary players to one great one. Such as the Jazz this year. Phoenix also, though they do have some great players. The Clippers and Hornets also come to mind, just to name a few. The Magic are that way to an extent, though they are trying to build around Dwight Howard. But who can blame them? The kid is a monster.
I still have a soft spot for the Jazz, but they've got chemistry to build with the last few years of players leaving.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Dr Strangelove: They're 10-1. Chemistry seems to be fine, at least for now.
Serious? Time to brush up on whats going on with the Jazz, I haven't heard anyone talking about them lately.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Best start in franchise history. Last night Jerry Sloan became the only coach to win 900 games with one team.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Huh. I suppose that explains how the Pistons and Spurs have been so successful, ya know, cuz they just run up the score and ignore things like defense and stuff like that.
When an NBA team starts playing mediocre defense, it's big news. Because no one else plays *any* defense, that does not mean that those who play *some* defense automatically are playing *good* defense.
They're just playing good defense relative to everyone else.
The Pistons this year have had 12 games where one team has scored over 100 points - out of 18. A full two thirds of their games, one team or another has capped the century mark. And that's with one of the "defensive" teams.
quote:When was the last time you watched it? For a while it was getting that way, but there has been a definite trend towards more serious ball.
The couple games I've seen this year seemed like a cross between a laser light show and a house party, with lights flashing all over the court every time action stopped and rock music blasting with the DJ, er announcer, shouting constantly over the din.
Then I watch as eight players clear out to the side leaving a one-on-one iso... and then I change the channel.
I think I'd rather watch I-AA basketball than the NBA.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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The Pisons are 6-5, how do they have 12 games with those stats? Are you including the preseason games? Not really fair considering the starting five play less than guys who barely even sit on the bench now during the preseason games. How does that same statistic play out in the 11 games of the regular season?
Pistons stopped focusing on defense when Larry Brown left. Not that I want him to come back, but Flip Saunders hasn't exactly been preaching what used to be the mainstay of our team, being a defensive powerhouse.
quote:I like the NBA--I'm one of the (apparently) few people who likes NBA basketball and doesn't much care for NCAA basketball. I grew up a Laker fan, but I've been a Heat fan ever since they brought Pat Riley down
I'm in the same boat. Couldn't give two shakes about NCAA Bball, and I like the NBA. Liked it more when the Pistons weren't struggling, but I still like it. Mostly I stick to hockey.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Okay, Lyrhawn, I just checked espn.com for the regular season only.
(I'm not used to this "preseason" concept, as college teams have at most one exhibition game to start their season. I don't really see the need for eight "just practicing" games.)
Of their 11 regular season games, 7 of 11 have gone to triple digits, which is still just about two thirds (64%). In those 11 games, their opponents have averaged 95 points per game.
That's defense?
quote:Mostly I stick to hockey.
Between this and George Lucas, I think our brains are wired to never agree on anything. When people told me the hockey strike was over, I hadn't even known it had started.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Ouch. It's only through the magic of Hatrack that we should be able to speak civilly to each other.
Pre-season games are good to give the guys who aren't the starting a five a chance to show the coach what they've got. Sometimes they make the team when they wouldn't have, if they hadn't of had the chance to prove that they have what it takes. Amir Johnson, though a top prospect, is getting more playing time than I would've thought likely for someone his age and with his lack of experience. Pre-season also gives them some experience playing other NBA players while not in an important game.
quote:That's defense?
See my above comment about post-Larry Brown Pistons. Defense went out the window with Brown, and the window was broken all together when Wallace left. Ironically, Nazr Mohammad really should have helped the team quite a bit. Ben's rebounds have been replaced by the rest of the team, Rasheed, and Nazr have picked up the slack, and Nazr can actually hit free throws and make more offensive plays, which takes away a deficiency we actually had.
And our bench is much stronger than it was when Ben was here. What's lacking I think, is drive and energy. I think we lack both entirely.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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The Spurs' opponents average 93 points a game, by comparison. Also not a defensive powerhouse, it seems.
I'm curious, though, if an NBA team would make any money if it consistently had games that scored in the 60s and 70s instead of the 90s or 100s. Would people go to games that were defensively dominated? Would a 68-64 victory fill seats? Would a ball-control team that chewed every second off the clock every possession be watched in primetime?
The NBA plays the game of entertainment and money more than it plays basketball, it seems. But it has to, or it can't pay its multi-million dollar salaries. It's the nature of the beast.
By the way, this Onion article cracked me up and hit the nail right on the head. Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Dude, you seem bitter. Has you or someone you loved been hurt by the NBA? Defense is half of the game. Offense is half of the game. If, in your opinion, a game where they meet in the middle is 68-64, then you have a very different opinion of "the middle". It's possible to have a triple digit score and a game of hard fought defense. You say that a high-scoring NBA game is indicative of the NBA catering to the crowd and money, I say a low scoring NCAA game is indicative of immature basketball players who can't make a basket to save their life. Who's right? . I don't have anything against NCAA ball. But I think to say that the NBA plays basketball "wrong" is ludicrous.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by GaalDornick: " First is NFL (Dolphins) and second is MLB (Yankees)."
How does that work? I've never heard of someone being a fan of two Miami teams and then the Yankees.
I bet it's very common, actually. When I was a kid--and most people form their loyalties as kids, right?--Miami had no baseball or basketball team. They had the Dolphins, who had won back to back superbowls when I was a toddler, were perrenially in the playoffs, and had the best record in the NFL of any team in my lifetime (and still does, btw). So being a Dolphin fan is logical enough, as far as those things go. Now, when you think of the population of Miami, you think of two things: New Yorkers and Cubans. New Yorkers bring down their New York loyalties, and most latinos (at least those who are not Mexican) are far more aware of New York than of anything else North American. So everybody in Miami back then was a Yankees fan. Even if you weren't in Miami, though, that was back before cable and fifty channels dedicated just to sports. So if you lived outside of a market, your only baseball was nationally televised games, and about half of those, I would say, involved the Yankees. And they had Billy Martin as their manager (on and off) which provided years worth of drama all by itself. By the same token, without a local basketball team, I became a fan of the L. A. Lakers, because they had those super teams with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy, and they were coached by Pat Riley, who I thought was just amazing. And they were the chief rivals of the Boston Celtics, and I have always loathed all teams Boston. (Think about it: I like the Yankees and Boston has the Red Sox. I like the Dolphins and Boston has the Patriots. Every professional team I liked had as its chief rival a team from Boston.And then there was Hail Flutie. )
When Miami got the Heat, I didn't switch my loyalty. But then they brought in Pat Riley as their coach, and over the years I came to respect their committment to winning, and, equally as important, their committment to Miami--contrast that with, say, the Dolphins, Marlins, or Panthers. Eventually, they won me over.
I did not become a Marlins fan for a variety of reasons. First, Wayne Huizenga. Second, Florida Marlins. Third, Joe Ro--Pro Pla--Dolphin Stadium. Fourth, Wayne Huizenga. And also because my loyalty to the Yankees was just too deep-rooted in me. I mean, come on: Pin Stripes, a hundred World Series championships, Yankee Stadium, Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield, Bucky Dent, Yogi Berra and his idiot son Dale, and then there's Mantle, DiMaggio, Ford, Gehrig . . . I mean, how can any team hope to compare to that history?! They can't!
(And yeah, I know Huizenga owns the Dolphins these days. But it's too late. I can't help being a Dolphin fan. But if I ever do get into hockey, you can bet I will never be a Panthers fan.)
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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(psst . . . Dr Strangelove . . . the NBA killed FlyingCow's mom . . . you may want to take it easy . . . )
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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I didn't say the NBA plays basketball wrong. They just play a brand of basketball that has no interest for me.
Similarly, Arena Football isn't wrong, but it's not anything that holds any interest for me.
You say defense and offense are each half the game. I disagree. Consistently having scores over 100 is indicative of a far greater emphasis on offense than defense. I'd probably put the NBA at a 75/25 split for emphasis on offense and defense.
I also didn't say 68-64 was meeting in the middle. I asked if games with scores in that range (for example, a team that focused more on defense than offense) would fill seats. I don't think they would, personally.
NBA fans want 100+ scores and feel like you seem to, that lower scores must mean worse players. The emphasis is again on the offense. It's not good defense, but immature offense.
(This is part of the reason why soccer has a harder time catching on in the States - US fans want scoring, not 1-0 defensive contests where teams will pass the ball around to chew up clock.)
I'm not trying to talk anyone out of watching the NBA, but I prefer games that have less emphasis on the spectacle.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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FC, Try watching an NBA playoff game versus the All-Star game and perhaps that will give you a better perspective of the NBA. Sure, some teams focus on offense more than they probably should, and yes, watching teams like the Suns is entertaining, but the teams that excel in the playoffs are the ones that are strong defensively. Yes, the Pistons the last two years have not been that great defensively, and that's much of why they aren't doing as well overall, but when they made their championship runs, it was their defense that got them there.
To try to measure the amount of emphasis placed on either offense or defense by merely looking at average scores of games is overly simplistic. For example, just because someone's shooting percentage increases, that does not necessarily mean opponents' defense is getting worse. And I would hardly consider running down the shot clock to be proper basketball either.
And keep in mind too that the way the media portrays the NBA is often times very different than the way the players and coaches view the NBA.
Posts: 1256 | Registered: May 2005
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I'm just judging based on the parts of games I've watched during the regular season. It just seems like a bunch of flash and spectacle - piped in music, lighting effects, and over-the-top announcers. Where are the lions jumping through flaming hoops?
I've seen playoff games, and they have been slightly better in terms of play quality. Though I also remember the days of Patrick Ewing carrying the ball every time he touched it in the post, or Karl Malone traveling like it was his job and the refs turning a blind eye... or Michael Jordan getting away with every no-call in the book.
Maybe the best example of how different the NBA is comes from our performance in international competition. The US has significantly better athletes and talent - they just aren't used to playing team basketball the way the rest of the world does.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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. I don't have anything against NCAA ball. But I think to say that the NBA plays basketball "wrong" is ludicrous.
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