I just provided the stats. The Julius Randles and Collin Sextons of the world were not dropping 24 per game in 1987. They are today however.

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The two biggest changes.

The money went up enough that eventually even the worst NBA player didn't have to have a second job and could play basketball all the time. The average player in a pro sport isn't going to be nearly as good if he has to spend the offseason selling insurance. The stars made enough to practice year round with no other job which actually made the disparity even greater. Imagine an NBA where LeBron could spend all year practicing but Jimmy Butler had to sell used cars as soon as the season ended and had to find time to train after.
The second, and probably most important, is that with basketball establishing itself as a national sport the teaching and amount of time spent playing as kids for it went way up and just like with anything the more people you have doing something the more talent you'll see for not only the average person but also for the elite talent. Ultimately, just like anything, natural ability is constant and the amount of hours spent doing something is going to make the big difference.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

It also illustrates that today's game is only offensively minded and no defense. Remember the scores in the 90s? Finals were like 92-86. You never see that anymore. Defense isn't interesting or glorified... big scoring and 3s are.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

A lot of people find all of the 3 point shooting in today's game to be rather boring and predictable actually.

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Agreed. NBA is bad.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I'm going to push back a little. More players look like Karl Malone and can handle the ball better than Pistol Pete, Kenny Anderson, or Tim Hardaway, but they aren't exactly better at basketball. Many have spent their entire life playing basketball too. Is the average NBA player today working out during the offseason or on an island somewhere in the world? I think the amount of money they're making now has caused them to be lazier. The advances in training haven't changed that.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

The "knack" of the game got lost with all the chucking. Bird and Magic were really skilled. But it was the knack that made them even better.

I'd say the "knack" for playing basketball has gotten lost due to all of the "training" that kids do in order to play basketball as opposed to actually playing basketball.

Today most everything that a child does with a basketball (if he has any inkling of talent) will usually be conducted under the watchful eye of a professional trainer, as opposed to just simply playing basketball. There are no "pickup" games in the park anymore. There are only scheduled workouts usually lasting 1-2 hrs a day every day or so if you are lucky and that's about it. Kids never work on their game in their off hrs anymore and they damn sure aren't just meeting up in the park or gym unless a coach is prodding them to do so.

Guys like Bird would spend hrs upon hrs working on his game. Kids today really aren't doing that. The NBA isn't actually demanding that they do it either. As long as you have a certain amount of "length" and "athleticism" then they will draft you these days. Doesn't matter if you can actually play or not just as long as you have a certain look about you will be fine in most cases.

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Completely agree Link. The lack of kids just going to a park or playing in their driveway has had a huge impact on things. It is sad really.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I think you could say the same thing about baseball. I'm 100% certain my dad fielded many, many more groundballs at short in his life than Tim Anderson ever will. Look at a guy like Eloy Jimenez. How many flyballs do you think he's fielded in his life? Probably not nearly as many as just the average kid in the 40s or 50s or 60s.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Sports aren't played for fun like they were 25+ years ago. It becomes a chore if you are good.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Will there be some sport (perhaps not even invented yet ) that becomes popular and returns to a kind of "i just love to play this game " thing, that is unadulterated from the poisons of pro sports ?
or is that just people playing professional video games now idk

I think adults have ruined things. Given enough time, they'll monetize video games until kids hate them.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Are you telling me the talented kids aren't on the blacktop anymore?

Nope they aren't. There are some legendary "alley ball" courts in this city that are barren these days. You drive by them and you'd never know that some of this city's all time greats used to play on them.

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The top scorer in today’s league isn’t averaging more than MJ was when he was leading the league.. so I’ll stick with MJ averaging around 35 per.. which is a couple points better than all the recent scoring leaders outside of the 1 season Harden had averaging 36.


And team scoring in general is up meaning there are more guys on the floor toady that can get a bucket than in years past. The ‘defensive’ specialist days are mostly gone outside of a few anomalies like Green.


I just think that 40ppg or higher would be exhausting regardless of era, and MJ is too smart for that

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If the rule you followed lead you to this, of what use was the rule?

That's fucking depressing. Welp, looks like cookie cutter basketball from here on out.

a lot of former pro players say this, especially football. theres so much money that after the first good contract you could retire, so whats the real motivation? there will always be naturally competitive players that stay great but most just want to get paid and get out.

look at UFC. its exciting as shit because those guys NEED the money and nothing is ever guaranteed. and thats also a sport that if you dont give 110% you could die. the NFL used to be like that, but now you cant even tackle the qb without fear of fines.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

Totally disagree that today's players are more adept at getting buckets than guys in "years past". What years? 2000s? 1990s? What today's guys bring in terms of long range prowess is undermined by a lack of low post and midrange skills. Scoring is up because as others mentioned defense is not a priority plus people are attempting more three pointers than ever.

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

This plays into my point tho -it’s a more offensive minded game now. So, the talent pool is leaning that way as well =more scoring.


Either way, Jordan isn’t averaging 40 plus points per game in this era, or any other era. Unless it’s on a really shitty team that he has to kill himself for every night just to get W’s.

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If the rule you followed lead you to this, of what use was the rule?

It actually isn't however. The Highest Scoring Team in 1987 avg 118 ppg The Highest Scoring Team this season avg. 116 ppg.

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Teams play defense now too. It’s an easy narrative, but it’s a different game defending a spread floor where everybody can shoot vs. teams running half court sets with teams trying to pound it or look for iso mid range jumpers.

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Good point but also at a one on one level guys get away with laziness. James Harden for example would have been executed by his peers had he played in a different era.

_________________
Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

They do but they don't. They switch far too often. no one ever fights through picks anymore. In many games you see guys switching without a pick ever being set. Not to mention all of the ducking of covers that guys are allowed to do in today's game.

The reason scoring was up 25 years ago is due mostly to having more scoring options per team. Particularly if you were to compare the better teams. Some squads had 7-8 guys avg double figures on them as I remember. You'd never see that today.

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Every playoff game I watched, I was amazed at the skill and moxie of the players. How do he take that shot? And yet these guys hit ridiculous contested, tough shots all the time. Today’s basketball is definitely better than the bruising 90’s style.

The problem remains that the regular season is a worthless joke. Too many games with every .500 team making the playoffs anyway.

I have come to appreciate the skill of today’s players.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I think all regular seasons are like that though except for football maybe. For me the worst is teams having to play 120 more games of baseball even though they're basically eliminated already after the first month or two.

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

.90's basketball isn't really a good measuring stick however. I'm a huge NBA fan but it is tough to watch with all of the 3 point jacking that occurs today.
Watching guys run from 3 point line to 3 pt line is a tough sell for me. Not to mention watching too many "bigs" that can't seem to score unless it's a dunk.

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I think switching is more a function of versatility than anything else. Most teams have at least a couple guys who can defend the entire floor.

It’s also an easier way to defend a pick & roll if you have the personnel.

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Too often you end up with a center guarding point guards. Most teams don't really have the personnel to defend it either.

And you can really see the offensive limitations of today's players come playoff time too. You see guys starting on Finals teams that would have been benchwarmers 25 years ago. That's when you know that the league is really watered down these days. And I say this as a huge fan. But there is a huge gsp in the talent level of today's player as opposed to yesteryear.

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I truly believe that there is something to this. I really wonder how many respect the grind that kids are trying to do to feel their talent. And the respect they deserve.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.