Why do you watch the NBA?

[Natebishop3]

FYI, since stern took over as commissioner; only higher market teams win the title. Good news though... That little fucking cock sucking midget is retiring. Hopefully the new commish makes drastic changes that will equal the playing field.

I doubt it. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. They've got a system in place and I doubt they'll mess with it.

 

[Denny Crane]

Just because he won a finals MVP doesn't make him a superstar. Tony parker has one and he isn't a superstar. The team that wins the finals is the team that gets the finals MVP too, just works that way no matter how good the other teams players were.
To compare them to the 07 Celtics or any of the big 3 teams and say they were better is something I just can't see. 07 the celtics won 66 games and 08 they started out 27-2 (best starting record ever) and would likely have won it all again if KG hadn't been injured and then shelved. The worst of the big 3 (Ray allen imo) is better then whatever play you want to say was the best player on the 04 pistons. Wallace is a great defender but KG is a better defender and probably the best or second best PF defender of all time.

Billups had 20+ PER 5 times and 18+ PER another 5 times in his career. I don't penalize the guy for turning it up a notch in the playoffs, which is what superstars do, no?

The Pistons went to the Finals or ECF six straight seasons, and played back to back finals with the guys I say are superstars. Something the KG/Pierce/Allen celtics didn't come close to equalling.

 

[drexlersdad]

I'm not going to attempt to argue with Denny, because I spent a good hour trying to argue his definition of a "pass first point guard", so trying to argue his definition of a "superstar" will prove equally fruitless.

superstars are made in the media

if anyone on the pistons was one, it was ben wallace

and he wasnt

 

[HailBlazers]

FYI, since stern took over as commissioner; only higher market teams win the title. Good news though... That little fucking cock sucking midget is retiring. Hopefully the new commish makes drastic changes that will equal the playing field.

Before he goes Sterno should be forced to take the stand and defend himself for the crimes he's committed against the game, answer to the fans who have made the NBA what it is today.

 

[BlayZa]

i only watch blazers and key games on intl leaguepass. for me, it's definitely lessened. the late 80's and 90's were just such a great time for the NBA. i miss the love i had for it then and i just cant seem to get the buzz back. although in saying that, my blazer interest is still strong and getting dame has certainly boosted it again.

 

[RW#30]

Before he goes Sterno should be forced to take the stand and defend himself for the crimes he's committed against the game, answer to the fans who have made the NBA what it is today.

[/QUOTE] superstars are made in the media [/QUOTE]

[/QUOTE] I doubt it. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. They've got a system in place and I doubt they'll mess with it. [/QUOTE]

I 100% agree but that won't happen. After 20 years of season tickets I am finally out after this year. My rep calls me 2-3 a week for the past two weeks. I don't even return her calls.Stern grew this game from $100 million to $5 BILLION annual sales over the past 30 years. The next commissioner will follow the same path and teams like Portland Utah Indian will be a good story or runner up but that will be the end of this show. Think about it LBJ couldn't win in Cleveland. How far are we from that team.... Keep on dreaming.

 

[THE HCP]

Because I grew up playing the game everyday of my life and watching my faves on TV! Hung there posters on my walls and wore their shoes......... I LOVE the NBA no matter what. And no, I don't think my Blazers will ever win another title in my lifetime. Just not the type of market to attract or keep superstars.

I love the game so much that tonight was our kids school auction. While I was there I recorded 4 games tonight that I'm going to watch. Utah v LAC/ATL v Milw/ Hou v Wash/ Clev v Orl!

I LOVE THIS GAME!

 

[NOVoodoo]

Because I grew up playing the game everyday of my life and watching my faves on TV! Hung there posters on my walls and wore their shoes......... I LOVE the NBA no matter what. And no, I don't think my Blazers will ever win another title in my lifetime. Just not the type of market to attract or keep superstars.

I love the game so much that tonight was our kids school auction. While I was there I recorded 4 games tonight that I'm going to watch. Utah v LAC/ATL v Milw/ Hou v Wash/ Clev v Orl!

I LOVE THIS GAME!

Finally a voice of reason. I don't get this thread...

Why do I watch the NBA? The same reason I post here - I love basketball.

If you want to start a thread about conspiracy theories, go for it, but don't give it the title "Why do you watch the NBA?"

 

[Natebishop3]

Finally a voice of reason. I don't get this thread...

Why do I watch the NBA? The same reason I post here - I love basketball.

If you want to start a thread about conspiracy theories, go for it, but don't give it the title "Why do you watch the NBA?"

Conspiracy theories?

FACT: the NBA favors superstars more than any other league.

FACT: superstars favor playing in major cities such as NY, LA, etc

Why do I watch the NBA? Because it's the only game in town and I've been watching since I was a little kid. But do I think the Blazers will ever win another championship? Probably not. Like HCP said, not in our lifetime. How fucked up is that? In the NFL there is always a chance that any team could catch fire and shock the world. In MLB it's the same way. The freakin Florida Marlins won TWO World Series. I would love to get an NHL team here, simply because I'm ready for an alternative.

Loving basketball and loving the NBA are two different things. They are not necessarily linked.

 

[Boise Blazer]

I see bits and pieces of my answer spread throughout the others answers. It's all I've known since I was a kid and there was always the Blazers and never a close second. There was a time when I loved the NBA but I can't say that so much any more. Finally getting on board with league pass has grown my love of the Blazers and Lillard is amazing and sometimes all I watch some games. I want so so bad to believe that we can win a championship but so so many things beyond our control have to go right so I just don't see it. But somehow even believing that I can't give up hope that maybe just maybe the stars will align someday and will have the same specialness of a child being born. Go Blazers until I die.

 

[julius]

I think the Blazers could win a title, I just think they need to be a lot smarter than they've been the last 15 years.

 

[Denny Crane]

Why am I a fan?

I grew up in Chicago and remember when the Bulls were an expansion franchise. I really liked all sports, and saw guys like Wilt on TV and in the news.

Over the years, I saw the Bulls become contenders with guys like Norm Van Lier, Jerry Sloan, Tom Boerwinkle, Bob Love, and Chet Walker. I remember falling asleep with the radio on, listening to Jim Durham calling the Bulls games. That was most nights during the season.

After making it to the Western Conference Finals (Chicago was a western conference team in those days), they were favored to make the Finals and even win it the next season. The Bulls faced the Warriors in the WCF that season. The Warriors came to town to play at the Chicago Stadium. The Bulls practiced at the Angel Guardian gym when in Chicago. The Warriors needed a place to practice. My school had a nice enough gym (I played at Angel Guardian and it was WAY nicer than my school's...) and the Warriors chose to practice there. All day long, the news spread through the school. When classes were over, the gym was packed with students waiting to see the Warriors practice.

The Warriors came out and ran layup drills, 3-man weave drills, and some full-court 3-on-3. Rick Barry was wearing a full length mink coat over his practice gear. He went over to one of the side baskets and shot free throws the whole time. I remember Clifford Ray could not dunk. He got over the rim, but always hit back iron or something and the ball never went in. He wasn't much of an offensive player anyhow, but his teams won a lot of games anyhow.

I remember listening to the series on the radio. Jim Durham kept saying, "Rick Barry from the twilight zone!" as he killed us with long range shooting. Cliff Ray was on the Bulls the year before, but was traded to the Warriors for Nate Thurmond. I remember when the trade went down the sports section of the newspapers were filled with articles about how we finally had a real center and he'd get us over the hump to win a championship. Dick Motta, the Bulls coach, hardly played him in the WCF series because he never really got comfortable with the Bulls scheme of things and had a pretty sucky regular season. The Bulls were up 2-1 and then 3-2 and ended up losing. It was a real heartbreaking loss.

I played 12 years of baseball. It was my favorite sport. In the offseason, Basketball was something to do to keep in shape, but I gradually came to love it as much as baseball. In school, when I had an hour between classes, lunch, etc., I was always in the gym playing pickup games (yeah, in street clothes). I played on the varsity baseball team for 4 years, and on the basketball team my junior and senior seasons. The assistant coach of the team was Jeff Bzdelik, who later went on to coach the Nuggets and is now head coach at Wake Forest.

But I remember playing a LOT of basketball. I used to ride my bike over to DePaul University and played a lot of school yard games with college guys. We'd sometimes get into the gym and on rare occasion, we'd get to play with guys from the team or even the NBA. One time I was playing at one of the outdoor courts and Revie Sorey (a guard who blocked for Walter Payton on the Bears) showed up with a bunch of kids from the United Way. The kids sat on the sidelines while he played with us. The guy was HUGE - like 6'2" and 300 lbs. He could dunk, too. And when he did, nobody tried to take the charge.

When I wanted a change of pace, I'd ride over to the Mayor Daley's Youth Foundation and Fire Department Gym on Navy Pier to play. The gym was super long and narrow, as you'd expect since it was on an actual pier. It was huge. There were maybe 20 full court basketball courts and a boxing ring in the back and maybe some other stuff I didn't pay attention to. It was a good place to play in the winter when it was too cold to play outside

I think playing on organized teams helps me appreciate the game more. I recognize plays the teams run and what they're doing on defense to a level of understanding that is beyond being a casual fan. The NBA is where the best (mostly) players play.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Trail Blazers, period. The NBA is garbage and unwatchable.

 

[BigGameDamian]

I bet the Lakers go on a winning streak and will get into the playoffs and more conspiracy theories start.

 

[Ed O]

I had the wind knocked out of me by Oden being an absolute bust. The GM nonsense with Cho being let go hurt. I like where the team is headed, but I've had a REAL tough time watching every game like I used to.

Part of that reason is that the broadcast quality here in Seattle is ab-so-lutely terrible. Easily the worst-looking channel on Comcast, and watching it pisses me off knowing that I can watch thirteen cooking shows in HD at that very moment. It seems like a minor thing, but... it aggravates me to no end and it's dramatically.

As for non-Blazers NBA: don't care much about it beyond boxscores for fantasy, and I haven't for several years.

Ed O.

 

[tlongII]

The league is rigged, but I still love NBA basketball. They are the greatest athletes in the world IMO.

 

[julius]

I had the wind knocked out of me by Oden being an absolute bust. The GM nonsense with Cho being let go hurt. I like where the team is headed, but I've had a REAL tough time watching every game like I used to.

Part of that reason is that the broadcast quality here in Seattle is ab-so-lutely terrible. Easily the worst-looking channel on Comcast, and watching it pisses me off knowing that I can watch thirteen cooking shows in HD at that very moment. It seems like a minor thing, but... it aggravates me to no end and it's dramatically.

As for non-Blazers NBA: don't care much about it beyond boxscores for fantasy, and I haven't for several years.

Ed O.

I feel the same, but at least you have a chance to watch the games. Imagine all that crap and being unable to watch the games?

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Conspiracy theories?

FACT: the NBA favors superstars more than any other league.

FACT: superstars favor playing in major cities such as NY, LA, etc

Why do I watch the NBA? Because it's the only game in town and I've been watching since I was a little kid. But do I think the Blazers will ever win another championship? Probably not. Like HCP said, not in our lifetime. How fucked up is that? In the NFL there is always a chance that any team could catch fire and shock the world. In MLB it's the same way. The freakin Florida Marlins won TWO World Series. I would love to get an NHL team here, simply because I'm ready for an alternative.

Loving basketball and loving the NBA are two different things. They are not necessarily linked.

The Spurs have won THREE championships in the last 15 years and are threating for another one.. Portland's market is larger than San Antonio's. Why do you mention the Marlins?

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

I think there are too many teams in the NBA.

The talent is stretched so thin!

 

[BBert]

The Spurs have won THREE championships in the last 15 years and are threating for another one.. Portland's market is larger than San Antonio's. Why do you mention the Marlins?

The Spurs are in TEXAS. I don't care what the size of their city is. They are in TEXAS. That's a big state.

 

[Elton]

I think of the NBA like the gambling industry. What are they really selling you?

Hope and speculation.

The illusion that you might really be the lucky one over all those other sad sacks. They do occasionally let the blind squirrel find a nut (lottery luck i.e. Spurs) but in the long run, the rigged system dictates that the house always wins.

The casino is the league and it's star franchises and star players that always gravitate to the same places.

Unfortunately I grew up in the proverbial one-horse town and my little brother was born the night the Blazers won the championship, so I'm hooked for life. But really I'm hooked in the sense that I play the cheap slot machines for the distraction value. I enjoy the entertainment and even admire the money making machine that the NBA has become, but in no way do I suffer under the delusion that the league is anything but big business.

 

[Ed O]

I feel the same, but at least you have a chance to watch the games. Imagine all that crap and being unable to watch the games?

Yeah, that'd be tough... but if I couldn't watch them, I might follow more closely for some perverse reason. Trying to watch concurrently fuzzy and pixelated standard def basketball games was OK in the 1990s but it just pisses me off to no end now.

Ed O.

 

[Elton]

Funny but I bet the League Pass streaming is far better than the cable channel. Are you stuck with Comcast in Seattle or can you stream Blazer games as an alternative?

 

[VanillaGorilla]

The Spurs are in TEXAS. I don't care what the size of their city is. They are in TEXAS. That's a big state.

I don't really get your point.. Why does it matter how big Texas is? There are two other teams in Texas as well, and both are bigger markets. San Antonio does not have a larger market than Portland.

 

[Denny Crane]

I don't really get your point.. Why does it matter how big Texas is? There are two other teams in Texas as well, and both are bigger markets. San Antonio does not have a larger market than Portland.

I'd think the leagues wouldn't care as much about population as they would about which population has the more disposable income to buy merchandise and tickets.

 

[Further]

I don't take wins and losses hard at all anymore. I still love it, watch almost every Blazer game and quite a few others, but my highs are not quite as high, and my lows are very far from the lows I had when I was younger. In fact, I'm in a good mood most of the time even right after a Blazer loss. Refs piss me off, but I expect it, so I'm never surprised.

 

[MickZagger]

I just really like the concept of the sport of basketball. I don't think there is much that can defer me from being a fan.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

I'd think the leagues wouldn't care as much about population as they would about which population has the more disposable income to buy merchandise and tickets.

All I'm trying to say is that we're pretty comparable to the Spurs market wise, especially when you take fan loyalty into account too. I think the people here saying we'll never win another championship in their lifetime are just being cynical to avoid later disappointment.

I just really like the concept of the sport of basketball. I don't think there is much that can defer me from being a fan.

Same here. The great Carl Sagan put it into words better than I could.

It's a game of finesse...a coordination of intellect and athleticism, a harmony of mind and body...
Basketball has become -- at its best -- the paramount synthesis in sport of intelligence, precision,
courage, audacity, anticipation, artifice, teamwork, elegance, and grace." - Carl Sagan

 

[Ed O]

Funny but I bet the League Pass streaming is far better than the cable channel. Are you stuck with Comcast in Seattle or can you stream Blazer games as an alternative?

Stuck, since it's in the "Portland" NBA market here in Seattle. Which blows. I don't think that legal online streaming would be allowed here...

Ed O.

 

[PapaG]

...define "superstar"

MVP-level player would be how I define it, and the Pistons had no one at that level, unless you consider Ben Wallace for his rebounding and defense.