Many People Are Saying The NBA Is Unwatchable Right Now With Shaq Claiming It's "Fucking Terrible" Because "Everybody Is Soft" And "Golden State And Steph Curry Messed It All Up"
When I started watching basketball as a kid back in the 90s, it was exciting. Every game had real grit- and I’m not talking about just guys talking tough on the court. I’m talking about actual defense. I’m talking about big men like Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, Alonzo Mourning, hell, even Rik Smits.
Guys who actually banged down low in the post. You know, the kind of players who would post up, back each other down, create opportunities, and draw double teams. That’s how basketball worked back then- big men had to do the dirty work, and it opened up shots for the outside guys. It was basketball with tactics and strategy. Today? It’s just a three-point shooting contest where defense is an afterthought.
And sadly, the three-point shooting isn't even that good.
It might seem like it is, but that's just because offenses are based completely on them, and guys are chucking up an obscene amount of them.
Take, for example, this past Friday night's suck-fest between the Bulls and Hornets.
Disgracefully, history was made.
Fadeaway World - History was made when the Charlotte Hornets took on the Chicago Bulls on Friday at United Center, but not the kind that either team would have wanted. The Hornets and Bulls missed 75 threes combined in that contest in Chicago and according to NBA analyst Nate Duncan, that set a new record for most misses in a regulation game.
The Hornets were the ones on the losing end on this historic night, having been beaten 109-95, and are a bit more to blame than the Bulls for this unwanted record being set. They missed 38 threes (8-46) while the home team missed 37 (14-51).
There were signs early on that we might get to witness history. The Hornets went 2-11 from three in the first quarter and then 0-6 in the second. The Bulls, meanwhile, went 5-18 and 3-12 respectively. That meant we saw 37 missed threes in the first half and the teams decided to do one better in the second by missing 38.
Now, defense has essentially disappeared from the NBA, and that’s not by accident- it’s by design. In fact, the league has all but forbidden it. Forget about hard fouls or playing tough.
You do that, and you’re suspended, fined, or worse.
God forbid you actually bother someone in the paint. There was a time when basketball was about being tough. You’d get an elbow in the ribs, and everyone would move on with their lives.
But today? A hard foul gets you thrown out of the game, and if you’re unlucky enough to be caught on tape, you’ll be getting suspended for multiple games. It’s a joke.
So nobody, outside of maybe Jrue Holiday, even bothers trying.
Want to say I'm wrong?
Watch a Lakers game this season for me one time.
It's seriously fuckin laughable.
The only people I feel more embarassed for than the players who couldn't give two shits about playing hard, are the fans who paid out the ass to go and watch this in person.
Shaq is absolutely disgusted. And rightfully so.
Fadeaway World - In a recent segment on the 'BIG' podcast, former NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal gave his take on why NBA viewership numbers have been trending down recently. According to Shaq, it all has to do with the modernized playstyle which revolves heavily around three-point shooting.
“It’s down because we’re looking at the same thing. Everybody’s running the same plays. At the damn top of the key dribble handoff," said Shaq. "I was talking to a coach yesterday and he said 'They want to shoot 50 threes'. Because they were trying to contemplate if I could play in this era. They said 'Shaq if you would just shoot 50 threes' and I'm like 'Well how much you wanna make?' We wanna make 10 or 15 of them.' I was like 'Well that's not gonna help you win but I think everybody's looking at the same thing and Steph Curry and those guys messed it up. I don't mind Golden State back in the day shooting threes but every team got a three-point shooter, so why everybody has the same strategy? I think viewership will continue to go down unless we switch things up."
And disagree all you want, but just know that you're wrong.
In truth, the NBA had been trending up for years but something changed recently where the numbers are going down. This season, after a promising opening night, viewership has taken a sharp decline with ESPN reporting a 42% drop since their opening night audience.
Back in Shaq's day and prior, big men were dominant. They’d stand their ground, throw their weight around in the paint, and make teams pay if they didn’t respect the inside game. But today, those skills are almost useless. Today they hang out on the perimeter and bomb three’s like the other 4 guys out on the floor.
The game’s become so one-dimensional it’s like they’ve taken all the strategy out of it.
The game back then had its challenges, sure, but it also had real excitement. It wasn’t just about who could make the most deep shots; it was about strategy, tough defense, and real basketball IQ. Nowadays, we’re watching teams jack up threes from anywhere on the court, and if they miss? Oh well. The analytics nerds remind us that you're better off missing from 3 and continuing the shoot them in the long run, than going to the basket for just 2 because math. Similar to striking out while trying to go yard, vs. simply hitting for contact in baseball.
What's crazy is that when the league adopted the three-point line, in Larry Bird and Magic Johnson's rookie season, Bird famously said it would hurt, not help, the game in the long run. Something he's repeated and been adamant about ever since.
And he doesn’t think it’s going to end there either. He thinks the league will inevitably have to move to a 4-point line down the road.
What's crazy is I actually love playoff basketball. It's similar to baseball in that when the overly long, drawn out, regular season comes to a close, it feels like the guys still playing actually give a shit, and decide to turn it up a notch. The result is real hustle and competition between freak athletes that is hard to beat. The last few years of playoffs, not including The Finals, have been incredibly entertaining.
The regular season though? Buzz, your girlfiend-
I don't know how people with season tickets do it. It’s gotta be so hard to keep watching the same boring show over and over again.
p.s. - watch this thing of beauty and get nostalgic with me
P.p.s.-