Thus far to me anyway. Basketball has always been a part of my life. I've watched NBA, College basketball and played ball from the age of five up to when I finished high school. Although this is appearing to be a record breaking season for Steph Curry individually, his team and the "retirement tour" of Kobe Bryant, which should have been two seasons ago, I am just unphased.
The problem isn't the players: it's the rules and the refs. Ever since the game evolved into this perimeter-oriented, no-hand-checking chuckfest, players have learned a new way to produce points: get to the line.
I know that is no new concept to basketball players, but it is one that is stressed by guards now more than ever. Players know that if they dribble into the lane and create contact, they are going to draw a whistle, even if they aren't looking to actually make the shot. That has led to the player's crusade to the charity stripe, with recent masters such as Kobe Bryant, Manu Ginóbili, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, and James Harden. Hell, some of these players have made such an art of getting fouled that it has pushed them into the upper echelon. Take away James Harden or Kevin Durant's free throws, and they suddenly start looking a lot more like the everyday jump-shooters in the league.
You can't blame the players for taking advantage of the system, though. They are doing their job and finding ways to produce by whatever means possible, just like using the "Hack-a" strategy is a legitimate way to take advantage of an opponent's weakness. Until they change the rules or start enforcing them differently, players are going to continue to put this onus on the refs to draw the whistle, and it's only going to get worse as more and more developing players realize this is a way to add 5 PPG to their average.
Just my opinion I feel the league has weakened the game of basketball.
The problem isn't the players: it's the rules and the refs. Ever since the game evolved into this perimeter-oriented, no-hand-checking chuckfest, players have learned a new way to produce points: get to the line.
I know that is no new concept to basketball players, but it is one that is stressed by guards now more than ever. Players know that if they dribble into the lane and create contact, they are going to draw a whistle, even if they aren't looking to actually make the shot. That has led to the player's crusade to the charity stripe, with recent masters such as Kobe Bryant, Manu Ginóbili, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, and James Harden. Hell, some of these players have made such an art of getting fouled that it has pushed them into the upper echelon. Take away James Harden or Kevin Durant's free throws, and they suddenly start looking a lot more like the everyday jump-shooters in the league.
You can't blame the players for taking advantage of the system, though. They are doing their job and finding ways to produce by whatever means possible, just like using the "Hack-a" strategy is a legitimate way to take advantage of an opponent's weakness. Until they change the rules or start enforcing them differently, players are going to continue to put this onus on the refs to draw the whistle, and it's only going to get worse as more and more developing players realize this is a way to add 5 PPG to their average.
Just my opinion I feel the league has weakened the game of basketball.
