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The NBA's Problem Is Economics, Not Basketball

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22 points paulpauper | 1 comments | 21 Dec 24 15:28 UTC | HN request time: 0.216s | source
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PaulHoule ◴[21 Dec 24 16:41 UTC] No.42480603[source]▶
I played pickup basketball a lot as a youth and the people who were better than me were better at fouling and getting away with it. I think that's every bit as much true of the pro game which has been dogged with refereeing scandals. It is better than professional wrestling but for many reasons I don't completely believe it such as: the "star" player grandstanding to the point where you think the other side isn't really making them work, the suppression of the full court press, etc.

(Not like my dad and I didn't love the epic rivalry the Celtics had with the Lakers in the late 1980s)

On the other hand I love going to men's or women's basketball games at my Uni where you can usually buy a general admission ticket and sit in the front row.

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1. shockeychap ◴[21 Dec 24 16:53 UTC] No.42480690[source]▶
While I don’t disagree about the grandstanding and theatrics ruining the NBA, I take issue with those who complain that better players are just getting away with fouls and cheating. Basketball, despite the rules around fouls and illegal contact, is a very physical and tough game. Being tough enough to work through some of the contact (both legal and illegal) is very important to being a high level player. I think it’s reductive and petty to effectively say that they’re just better because they hit more and harder. Even Michael Jordan had to work hard at toughening up to get past Detroit in the late 80s and early 90s.