just turned on the tv and decided to flip to ESPN Classic and check out Game 4 of the '84 Finals... anyway, watching this game for about five minutes, i realized why i rarely watch the NBA anymore... i dont think the NBA has become better on any levels since the days of old... and once MJ hung 'em up it has really gone to shit... Sixers, Lakers, Celtics, Pistons, Bulls... so many great teams... and today all we get are a bunch of money-hungry, overpaid, talent-filled-fundamentally-deficient dumbasses... i wish the NBA could get to the days of old, but i dont think it will ever be the way it used to be... the right way

i havent had a team to root for since Barkley retired, pretty much followed him wherever he got traded to... now i have my Heels heading to Charlotte and decided that i would get back into the NBA regular season and become a Bobcats fan... talk about a tough road ahead... oh well, chances are raymond and sean wont both last more than 3 years in Charlotte anyway (arent all rookie contracts 3 years, or no?... not too sure)

I agreed with you for around 5 years or so, until the Pistons shellacked the Lakers in the Finals 2 seasons ago. It was then solidified last season with the outstanding Finals matchup of the Pistons and Spurs, two team-oriented clubs. I also like what's going on in Phoenix, Seattle, and Miami on a similar level. I just might get more interested in the NBA again this season, we'll see.

then > now

basketball was a better game then than now, although the players have much more talent now.

i just think players of the past had better fundamentals... therefore they are not as appealing to the eye

yes the game is different than it was back then, but i still watch bball as much as possible, with a steady job now, i will actually be able to enjoy league pass this coming season, rather than relying on nbc/espn/tnt to show me the "popular" matchups. id like to watch some gasol every now and then

I personally believe the NBA is fairly interesting to watch right now. The Spurs have some incredible team players.

As a Suns fan, I'm a little upset with Joe Johnson, though. Doesn't like being the fourth wheel, huh? The one thing I hate most in any NBA player is the desire to put personal success before the team. Too bad.

two team oriented clubs who score about 80 pts a game and let up about 70 pts a game

wow, exciting

they also used to enforce travelling back in the 80s...and before Jordan came along, they used to enforce palming the ball too

I'm sorry, but it's not even funny what the 86 Celtics or Lakers would do to any one of the top teams today

i completely agree

So, scoring points is the only exciting thing about basketball?

I think we have much better athletes today, but the whole mindset is wrong. I don't care so much about money whores, as long as they play. The problem is that half the league doesn't. Congrats to whoever lands Michael Finley, you have a class act there. If you had 5 players with his skill and his dedication you would win. Look at the recent US olympic team. Probably half of the best twenty players in the world played for the US, the other ten were sitting out in Miami, and they still got spanked. Basketball rocks because it is such a team game. I am hoping that the Europeans take the game over. If between shoe ads, these guys could start playing some ball, the NBA is my favorite sport.

i will agree with you that it seems like most of the players today only care about the money. but don't forget that there are still players out there who just love to play. my main example would be tim duncan. stand up guy, just goes out and plays and leaves everything on the court.

no, but watching teams struggle to score 80 is just boring

the European/South American guys won't take over...for every Manu Ginobli, there's 10 other highly touted prospects who fail

the game has been changed for the worse...the art of the 12-16 ft jump shot has been lost, guys can't hit free throws, you have guys like Allen Iverson being called "great players" because they score 30 pts a game but take 30 shots to do it etc etc etc

is this the RM retirement home? "things were so much better back in my day...".

Part of what made the 80's Celtics and Lakers so good was that they had some of the best NBA players who ever lived playing together on the same teams. Magic/Kareem/Worthy/McHale/Chief/Bird were outstanding players, but you can't overlook that those teams were pretty "lucky" in that they were all on the same team together.

KG gets knocked because his teams haven't done much in the playoffs, but who's the best player he's ever played with? Same with McGrady, or even Lebron so far. But put some of those guys on the same team, and watch out.

Also, I love the 80's NBA as much as the next guy, but some of the "stars" of that era would foul out in 5 mins if they had to guard some of today's players. The game has changed significantly - whether or not it has changed for the better or worse is a matter of personal preference IMO.

I completely agree. Not to take anything away from AI athletically...the guy is an amazing athlete. But yeah, I think he's a bit overrated as a scorer considering the amount of shots that he takes.

It's called defense.

exactly. i'll take a badass block or a sweet steal anyday over a dunk.

you'd have to compare matchups to even come close to selling me on this one. as time goes by athletes continue to get bigger, stronger, and faster. talent-wise, some of our teams of yore are certainly in a class by themselves, but i think speed and size trumps talent 7 times out of 10.


anyway, on a whim i watched several bulls games last year before the all-star break, and ended up watching almost all of their games after the break. that team was like an explosion of lunacy on defense - not necessarially always in the right place at the right time or even knowing what the hell was going on, but good lord were they fun to watch.