This Isn't Basketball

you are SOOOO right. it's scary.

"the long, dull, summer when nothing worthwhile happens, sports-wise."

Spoken like a man who hasn't discovered boxing...

So you're not going to give Orlando's defense any credit for locking down the Cavs' other options and putting all kinds of pressure on LeBron?
Orlando has been playing D at an elite level during the second half of most of these games. For whatever reason, it hasn't been as good to start out, and the Cavs' ball movement has been great.

I think the number one thing that fans who prefer college ball fail to appreciate is just how much better a good NBA defense is than a good college defense. If you haven't been watching the Cavs all season (or even in the first two rounds of these Playoffs), then you probably don't know just how good their offense has been this year against defenses that weren't as good. They've rarely fallen into the "stand around and watch LeBron mode that plagued them in the past.

You might not like watching a good defense shut down what has been a good offense. And you might not like watching one of the world's best players go into hero mode in spite of it. It's a matter of preference. But saying it isn't basketball is going too far.

the long, dull, summer when nothing worthwhile happens, sports-wise.

The horse latitudes of the sporting year, as it were.

I try to watch the NBA at this time of year -- I really try. And I want it to be basketball. God, do I want it to be basketball. But you know what? It doesn't even look like basketball. No one drafts the basketball players any more, they just pick up the most explosive athlete. I know there are exceptions, but it seems like half the league was drafted on the basis of "elite athletic ability". So pre-game warmups look awesome, and the fast breaks are cool, too, but the rest of the time you're watching a bunch of guys who didn't spend enough time with a college coach to learn how the game is played.

I watch for about 10 minutes, and then I lose it because some guy actually moves without the ball and the announcers start talking about his "basketball IQ".

And don't even get me started on the free throws. Out of 432 players in the league, only 54 of them shot above 70% from the line this year. From the free throw line! Free throws! Blarg.

Also, this.

So you're not going to give Orlando's defense any credit for locking down the Cavs' other options and putting all kinds of pressure on LeBron?

Actually, the way things look, I'd turn that around slightly. They look to me like they're succeeding not because they cracked down on the other guys, but because they can play James almost straight up. The other players aren't getting open for easy shots because their defenders aren't needing to cheat off them to help, and that's exposing the weakness of Cleveland's offense, which is always based on the threat of James doing something spectacular.

I don't find this all that enthralling, because it's really boring to watch four guys stand around while a fifth dribbles. If they were moving, or cutting, or doing something to make Orlando work, I might be more impressed with the defensive effort, but most of what I've seen is inept offense running against competent defense. I get plenty of that in lunchtime pick-up games.

They look to me like they're succeeding not because they cracked down on the other guys, but because they can play James almost straight up. The other players aren't getting open for easy shots because their defenders aren't needing to cheat off them to help...

That's actually what I meant. The Magic defenders are denying the pass to the other Cavs.

I'm not going to defend the Cavs' offense in the second half last night, because it was bad. But unlike the college game, you don't gain an advantage on offense just swinging the ball around or moving players around looking for a breakdown in the defense. In fact, you want to limit unnecessary passes to limit turnovers.

To create an advantage on offense, you must be able to make or exploit a mismatch, either by breaking down an individual defender off the dribble, or by running a pick and roll, which doesn't work well against the Magic because of their big and agile defenders who can successfully shut down all options in a pick and roll.

My philosophy is to watch only the last few minutes of the game, but I've had trouble finding the games this year as they jump from network to network.

Last night I got really lucky. Local news mentioned that the game was tied in overtime and also said which network it was on, so I got to see the second half of overtime. Granted, it felt like I watched the entire second half! They had 5 timeouts left between the two teams halfway into overtime? Absurd. IMHO a pro should be able to figure out what to do, so all timeouts should revert to 10 seconds - serving only to advance the ball to the forecourt - in the last minute of any period. And no free extensions for TV.

Also, IMHO, "playing D at an elite level" does not result in 100+ point games, even in the NBA. Usually the playoffs have a serious drop off in scoring when they start playing defense. (No one can play serious D for 80+ regular season games.) I agree with Excited State that some strong D is there, and is limiting what the Cavs can do on offense. What is missing is any adjustment in the Cav offense or additional defense from players like LeBron who have the quickness to be devastating defenders.

But I really can't complain. I actually saw traveling called in an NBA game, and on a star at that! I think it must have been the fifth step by LeBron that got their attention. Nonethelless, last night the refs completely missed a switch of the pivot foot when T-whateverhisnameis was caught by a press, and that is when they should see it.

well NBA is different than college for sure, I'd say different instead of better. The college game was pretty rough this year. The Cavs are limited, as are the other 3 teams. Parity has struck. I like watching the NBA for the athleticism, they are truly better players than the college guys. Now I'm not nuts about the NBA regular season, but playoffs are truly special.

To create an advantage on offense, you must be able to make or exploit a mismatch, either by breaking down an individual defender off the dribble, or by running a pick and roll, which doesn't work well against the Magic because of their big and agile defenders who can successfully shut down all options in a pick and roll.

This notion that the whole game consists of nothing but "breaking down" individual defenders and occasionally setting screens for the guy with the ball is probably to blame for the shitty quality of pick-up games in a lot of places. On the other hand, it's probably going to prolong my playing career by five years or so, as I can play old-guy ball and get cheap baskets against guys who are fifteen years younger than I am and vastly more athletic than I ever was...

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this style of basketball should be brought to every gym and playground. I get just as frustrated as you when I play with the "hot shots" who think they can take anyone one-on-one.

A pick up game is exactly the venue where ball and player movement will lead to open shots, because the individual defense is bad, and team defense is all but nonexistent.

And you can't judge a defense based on points allowed per game, pace and rebounding has a lot to do with it. More telling are opponent FG% and pace.