NBA and All Star game - when did demise start

[fourthandshort]

No, I don't watch any all star games any more. Though I get why players don't go 100% for all 4 qtrs. Certainly, it is just an exhibition, and you certainly don't want to get injured. But I don't get playing like it doesn't matter at all, and then watching the debacle unfold, and how it gets worse every year. Saw "highlights" from this years "game" ... so pathetically disgraceful from start to finish. They shoot great horses that are dying to spare them the pain. This is different .. the dying horse is the NBA all star game ... it needs to be shot to spare the public the pain.

So my sports stream picked up this SI article from yesterday. As a Bull fan, I always loved watching Rose and that team play. That was certainly their 2nd best group of players/teams with Rose, Heinrich, Deng, Noah, Gibson, Gordon, etc ... they played at a very high level under Thibideau, but never got past Lebron, etc. I also love how Rose hangs onto playing in the NBA even with greatly diminished physical skills from injuries. But his fundamental and teamsmanship continue to improve as he ages and can't explode to the basket like he used to. I find that fun to watch too .. he's remade himself as a good role player.

Back to my first point ... link below. Kudos to Rose for refusing the "dance to his introduction" at the 2012 all star game. Not sure if this was the first time this was done, but I believe so. Regardless ... whoever thought of this is a complete idiot - likely some players thought of it maybe. More importantly, whoever approved/allowed it is the biggest idiot .... and that was not Adam Silver. he inherited that stupidity form David Stern. So while Stern saved the NBA in the 1980's with a lot of help from Magic, Bird, and Jordan, he started the slow death of the NBA in 2012 for sake of commercialism and selling more shoes, by caving to players in this way. I know times change, but sometimes the answer is a hard no. People are ripping Adam Silver, and it's probably deserved ... but he inherited dancing introductions at the all star games, and other crap like this ... slippery slope nonsense. And now we have Lebron ruining the league with his antics and demands, while he simply tries to pad his stats and wallet.

When Derrick Rose caught flak for not dancing in the intros of the 2012 All-Star Game

Rose faced criticism for not partaking in the dancing during the introductions to the 2012 All-Star Game

www.si.com

Spare us all the pain and shoot this horse already.

 

[Birgs]

No, I don't watch any all star games any more. Though I get why players don't go 100% for all 4 qtrs. Certainly, it is just an exhibition, and you certainly don't want to get injured. But I don't get playing like it doesn't matter at all, and then watching the debacle unfold, and how it gets worse every year. Saw "highlights" from this years "game" ... so pathetically disgraceful from start to finish. They shoot great horses that are dying to spare them the pain. This is different .. the dying horse is the NBA all star game ... it needs to be shot to spare the public the pain.

So my sports stream picked up this SI article from yesterday. As a Bull fan, I always loved watching Rose and that team play. That was certainly their 2nd best group of players/teams with Rose, Heinrich, Deng, Noah, Gibson, Gordon, etc ... they played at a very high level under Thibideau, but never got past Lebron, etc. I also love how Rose hangs onto playing in the NBA even with greatly diminished physical skills from injuries. But his fundamental and teamsmanship continue to improve as he ages and can't explode to the basket like he used to. I find that fun to watch too .. he's remade himself as a good role player.

Back to my first point ... link below. Kudos to Rose for refusing the "dance to his introduction" at the 2012 all star game. Not sure if this was the first time this was done, but I believe so. Regardless ... whoever thought of this is a complete idiot - likely some players thought of it maybe. More importantly, whoever approved/allowed it is the biggest idiot .... and that was not Adam Silver. he inherited that stupidity form David Stern. So while Stern saved the NBA in the 1980's with a lot of help from Magic, Bird, and Jordan, he started the slow death of the NBA in 2012 for sake of commercialism and selling more shoes, by caving to players in this way. I know times change, but sometimes the answer is a hard no. People are ripping Adam Silver, and it's probably deserved ... but he inherited dancing introductions at the all star games, and other crap like this ... slippery slope nonsense. And now we have Lebron ruining the league with his antics and demands, while he simply tries to pad his stats and wallet.

When Derrick Rose caught flak for not dancing in the intros of the 2012 All-Star Game

Rose faced criticism for not partaking in the dancing during the introductions to the 2012 All-Star Game

www.si.com

Spare us all the pain and shoot this horse already.

Loved those teams, not sure of the overlap but Nocioni was one of my favorite Bulls ofthat "tweener" era. Kinda Caruso with much more offense. Real feisty baller.

 

[MadBird]

No, I don't watch any all star games any more. Though I get why players don't go 100% for all 4 qtrs. Certainly, it is just an exhibition, and you certainly don't want to get injured. But I don't get playing like it doesn't matter at all, and then watching the debacle unfold, and how it gets worse every year. Saw "highlights" from this years "game" ... so pathetically disgraceful from start to finish. They shoot great horses that are dying to spare them the pain. This is different .. the dying horse is the NBA all star game ... it needs to be shot to spare the public the pain.

So my sports stream picked up this SI article from yesterday. As a Bull fan, I always loved watching Rose and that team play. That was certainly their 2nd best group of players/teams with Rose, Heinrich, Deng, Noah, Gibson, Gordon, etc ... they played at a very high level under Thibideau, but never got past Lebron, etc. I also love how Rose hangs onto playing in the NBA even with greatly diminished physical skills from injuries. But his fundamental and teamsmanship continue to improve as he ages and can't explode to the basket like he used to. I find that fun to watch too .. he's remade himself as a good role player.

Back to my first point ... link below. Kudos to Rose for refusing the "dance to his introduction" at the 2012 all star game. Not sure if this was the first time this was done, but I believe so. Regardless ... whoever thought of this is a complete idiot - likely some players thought of it maybe. More importantly, whoever approved/allowed it is the biggest idiot .... and that was not Adam Silver. he inherited that stupidity form David Stern. So while Stern saved the NBA in the 1980's with a lot of help from Magic, Bird, and Jordan, he started the slow death of the NBA in 2012 for sake of commercialism and selling more shoes, by caving to players in this way. I know times change, but sometimes the answer is a hard no. People are ripping Adam Silver, and it's probably deserved ... but he inherited dancing introductions at the all star games, and other crap like this ... slippery slope nonsense. And now we have Lebron ruining the league with his antics and demands, while he simply tries to pad his stats and wallet.

When Derrick Rose caught flak for not dancing in the intros of the 2012 All-Star Game

Rose faced criticism for not partaking in the dancing during the introductions to the 2012 All-Star Game

www.si.com

Spare us all the pain and shoot this horse already.

I have a lot of thoughts, but I'm not sure I can stitch them all together for a clear response.

Let me put out there the overall concept of "fan experience", or "game experience".

Once upon a time, players earned a few thousand dollars a year. You played an all-star game - NFL, NBA, MLB, what have you - and gave the winning team a few thousand dollars extra, and it was a motivator. And of course, pride was involved, in most cases if not all. And fans wanted to see the best play the best, hard core, down and dirty.

Then, players started making more dough, the amounts offered for the all star games wasn't that much relatively speaking, and so they became really "exhibition" games. Guys played, some bailed out - notably the NFL, but all of them - and it wasn't a meaningful competition. The exhibition put on by the NBA, based on what I've seen on the news, was just the latest, worst example of where it ended up. Players standing around, not even pretending to play D, guys tossing up half court shots just for grins, etc. A week of pre-game BS on TV. I think the slam dunk contest is a bunch of BS anyway, and now they can't even get "real" players to compete.

I long ago stopped paying attention to the NBA. I'll look some when the Bulls are on, but you know, why tune in to watch a bunch of 19 and 20 year olds play a poor imitation of the game (obviously my humble opinion). Who are they? Where'd they come from?

Same thing happened to auto racing - I used to be a "season ticket holder" for NASCAR at Michiganand Indy and CART/Indy car at Milwaukee and Indy, but now for the most part it's all about kids without much experience buying a ride and crashing, etc.

How much does it cost to go to a pro game anymore, whatever your sport of choice? Out of control.

And so, back to my beginning, somehow "they" feel like they've gotta do more for the fan experience, playing the game isn't enough, there has to be music and dancing and an obnoxious announcer saying "THREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" when someone tosses in a long one. At Wisconsin and Iowa (that I've seen, I'm sure there are others) they shoot up some kind of flames at player introduction along with the crappy music and loud announcer. Etc.

Crazy.

 

[fourthandshort]

I have a lot of thoughts, but I'm not sure I can stitch them all together for a clear response.

Let me put out there the overall concept of "fan experience", or "game experience".

Once upon a time, players earned a few thousand dollars a year. You played an all-star game - NFL, NBA, MLB, what have you - and gave the winning team a few thousand dollars extra, and it was a motivator. And of course, pride was involved, in most cases if not all. And fans wanted to see the best play the best, hard core, down and dirty.

Then, players started making more dough, the amounts offered for the all star games wasn't that much relatively speaking, and so they became really "exhibition" games. Guys played, some bailed out - notably the NFL, but all of them - and it wasn't a meaningful competition. The exhibition put on by the NBA, based on what I've seen on the news, was just the latest, worst example of where it ended up. Players standing around, not even pretending to play D, guys tossing up half court shots just for grins, etc. A week of pre-game BS on TV. I think the slam dunk contest is a bunch of BS anyway, and now they can't even get "real" players to compete.

I long ago stopped paying attention to the NBA. I'll look some when the Bulls are on, but you know, why tune in to watch a bunch of 19 and 20 year olds play a poor imitation of the game (obviously my humble opinion). Who are they? Where'd they come from?

Same thing happened to auto racing - I used to be a "season ticket holder" for NASCAR at Michiganand Indy and CART/Indy car at Milwaukee and Indy, but now for the most part it's all about kids without much experience buying a ride and crashing, etc.

How much does it cost to go to a pro game anymore, whatever your sport of choice? Out of control.

And so, back to my beginning, somehow "they" feel like they've gotta do more for the fan experience, playing the game isn't enough, there has to be music and dancing and an obnoxious announcer saying "THREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" when someone tosses in a long one. At Wisconsin and Iowa (that I've seen, I'm sure there are others) they shoot up some kind of flames at player introduction along with the crappy music and loud announcer. Etc.

Crazy.

Good post/perspective ... though I give football pro bowl a full hall pass for 2 simple reasons: 1) threat of injury, 2) the product on the field is still great and not been compromised like the NBA.

As for NBA overall, there are still some great teams with great coaches. And contrary to many, I still think there is great defense in the NBA. The new style makes it look different than the 80's into 90's ... space and pace with a lot of 3's is very hard to defend effectively. So it my look like less defense, but having played a lot myself ... the shooting now is way better, and the physical ability is also way better. The game is just different, and it allows players to phone it in on defense more easily .. not most,, but too many ... case in point Lebron and Harden, and some notable others.

But yes, much of the product on the court is deteriorating .. lot of that having to do with AAU taking over the player development. So while the players are better athletes, better shooters, and better finisher .... I dont think it is better overall .. the worst of it on court is disgraceful, but all the commercialism gets nauseating/compromising.

edit: meant to add, the whole notion of players pulling rank on GMs and coaches, and secretly forming alliances with other super stars, then demanding these things. Jordan tried to influence on some occasions, but he was NEVER in charge .. he would just say I need more help. He once tried to get David Thompson early in his career, but Krause said no, Reinsdorf said it's Krause's call ... and Krause was right. And I'm not a Krause fan.

 

[Bird Friend]

Still trying to figure out why this is on the Football board?

 

[fourthandshort]

Still trying to figure out why this is on the Football board?

fair point ... I just don't post on basketball forum. So viewed it as an "all sports" topic that does affect all pro leagues and even all levels .. having to do with today's athletes, so much money, and the related commercialism. Possibly a bit of a stretch .. maybe bordering on full tear. But that's my story and I'm sticking with it

 

[isuquinndog]

Still trying to figure out why this is on the Football board?

Slow time of year. I would have moved it had we been in football season.

 

[fourthandshort]

Slow time of year. I would have moved it had we been in football season.

speaking of offseason .. that always means boredom, and more gif and memes from fourth !

 

[Chi-bird]

The NBA’s slow death began with calling ticky tack fouls and letting players take an extra step, gather, whatever the hell hou want to call it. The euro step made things worse. Now, It’s a track meet on hardwood with fast breaks, corner threes, and no defense, post play, or mud-range game. Sure, there’s a lot more movement, but it’s boring.