For providing us with meaningful basketball games to watch as opposed to boring NBA ball with 3 or 4 super teams and the rest of the league either in NBA Hell or tanking to escape NBA Hell.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

This has been a fun tournament so far.

I'll starting watching the NBA when the playoffs start

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Sherman remarked, "Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day, haven't we?" Grant looked up. "Yes," he replied, followed by a puff. "Yes. Lick 'em tomorrow, though."

There have been some fun games, but the quality of the basketball has felt even lower than usual. I'd have been blackout for the last 4 days if I took a drink every time a guard fell on his ass charging recklessly into the lane or a team chucked up a contested shot after doing absolutely nothing to break down a zone.

Why does it have to be compared to the NBA?

Apples and oranges.

I enjoy both for what they are. No need to try comparing them.

Just enjoy the greatness of March Madness and leave it at that.

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

The craziness and bad play makes the tournament better IMO. Gives us crazy finishes and big upsets.

Bernsie?

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People say this every year and have for at least a decade. Selection bias.

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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!

These will be considered the halcyon days when amateurism is gone. so

agreed

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Well, the one and done nature of it makes it more exciting. Plus being that the players are so young it's entirely possible for the players to miss free throws.

When it comes to the NBA playoffs how many upsets from a series can you remember in the last 5 or 10 years. LeBron winning two years with the Cavs after being down 3-1 was an upset, but most of the time the higher seed always wins.

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God is the uncaused cause of the universe. He had no beginning and has no end. He is not bound by the laws of the universe he created.

Great observation. In professional sports, the higher seed- which is generally the better team- wins more often than not.

Fascinating.

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I agree with You Zeph. Watched a little of the MSU- Cuse game and they sat on 50-48 for about five minutes. Game came down to the last play but I don't know how anyone thinks that is supposed to be exciting. It is boring as hell.

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The novelty of the upset has worn off also. There isn't a great deal of disparity in play between higher and lower seeds these days. One and Done has bridged the gap significantly. If you are a team stocked with decent older players you're going to win your fair share of games. Villanova and Virginia among others have been pulling this off for awhile now.

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The problem with the NBA isn't that the higher seed always wins. The problem is you have 3-4 super-teams who can contend and the rest of the league is either actively tanking, or in a position where they will neither win nor be in a position to improve due to their status of being in NBA Hell.

What excitement is there in a league when you have more teams trying to lose than you have teams trying to win?

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

The NBA, besides last year, is also pretty great in the playoffs. Last year was terrible.

Nothing compares to the first two weekends of the NCAAT but the NBA isn't trying to recreate that as it is a uniquely awesome event.

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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!

The team with the best record does not always win the championship in baseball, hockey or football. The NBA is different. Typically the team that wins the championship is a one seed. In a best-of-seven usually the better team will prevail. Home court is perhaps a bigger advantage in basketball than other sports.

What the NBA has been putting out there is a joke of an Eastern Conference playoffs with LeBron not playing any good teams for 7 years in a row. Because LeBron only has to play the Western Conference champ the Cavs don't have to play any teams that are on par with seeds 2, 3 or 4 in the West. It really has made for bad basketball. Not only that but the amount of three-point shooting has fundamentally altered the league.

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God is the uncaused cause of the universe. He had no beginning and has no end. He is not bound by the laws of the universe he created.

Once you get past the first weekend of upsets you're left with some rather shitty games. Cinderellas often shoot their wads to knock off the favorites and then they have nothing left in the tank afterwards.

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