One part of me can boldly state, “I like, no, I adore the NBA,” a passionate sport with incredible dunks from players like Lebron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and even Ja Morant. Incredible shooters like James Harden, Stephen Curry, and DeMar DeRozan. However, as Bill Parcells famously put it “There are two sides to a pancake. One is brown and fluffy; the other is burnt.” That was my fluffy side, and now I can say, “Oh the NBA is eh,” in contrast to my scorched side. I make this claim in light of a variety of factors, including player relationships, officiating and refereeing, trash players, fouls, and most importantly, shooting tendencies. Let me explain.
Player Relationships
The NBA used to be relatively calm, except for a few fights here and there, but now it’s different, it’s like a warzone with people beefing left and right, including right now currently Paolo Banchero, the first pick of this year’s draft, who hasn’t even appeared in a single NBA game, is beefing with Dejounte Murray, the 26th pick of the 2016 draft. This is just one of the many beefs in the NBA, which I think shows that players have grown a little distant from one another from then to now.
Officiating and Refereeing
Now, this is just a theory, one that I firmly believe, but in this case, I’m referring to Scott Foster and how, in some way, he’s connected to Chris Paul and the playoffs. They claim that Foster deliberately causes Chris Paul to lose since in the 17 games he has played in the playoffs with the game being officiated
Scott, Paul has suffered more than 10th consecutive losses in, the NBA playoffs. Paul has even admitted as much, saying after a game, “If I was a betting man, 11 games in a row,” Paul said after a game. “Eleven games in a row.”
Trash Players
There isn’t much to this; most of the guys in the league are trash, after all. I know this is top tier, best of the best, but there are some people putting up 0.3 points per game, seriously. In reality, what that actually means is that player gets a point every 3 games. If that is not trash, I don’t know what is. In the NBA, there are over 450 players who average less than 15 points per game that is wild! If the NBA would grant me a one-day contract, I could promise to put up a better stat line than 100 players currently playing in the league.
Fouls
Halloween is a day when candy is just handed out to anyone. Let’s replace Halloween with the NBA and candy with fouls. Dwight Howard, a currently active player, has over 3,900 fouls, which is wrong in my opinion, and this goes both ways because Dwight Howard also holds the world record for the freest throw attempts (39). I don’t know about you, but that is something that needs to change, maybe even better regulated.
Shooting Tendencies
This really irritates me because back then, you could turn on the television and watch some classic basketball, with Kobe making two-pointers and Dwight wrecking the rim with his dunks, among other things. Stephen Curry is the one commonly credited with changing everything. Before Curry entered the league, shooting locations were distributed, but as of 2020, the top 200 shots are all 3-pointers or shots made in the paint, which is unfortunate. The game needs to evolve and change for the best.
Final Statement
“Anytime You Change Or Disrupt The Way A Game Is Played Or The Way Something’s Been Done For Years, For Decades, There’s Always Going To Be People That Love It And People That Hate It.” – Stephen Curry
Written By Dylan Santoyo
Edited by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
LA MAG: Did Steph Curry Ruin the NBA? He Finally Weighs In
BASKET NEWS: Scott Foster is the referee Chris Paul doesn’t want to meet again
ESPN: NBA Player scoring-per-game Stats 2021-22
ESPN: Scott Foster, nemesis of Phoenix Suns’ Chris Paul, referees Game 6 of NBA Finals
SI: Chris Paul Has Lost 14 Straight Playoff Games With Scott Foster
STATMUSE: Foul Information
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Chad Cooper’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Erik Drost’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
