Rick Carlisle says NBA should make rim bigger....

Anyone remember the SI article I think written in the early 90's called "what happened to the fast break?"

NBA defenses have surpassed offense.

 

Well maybe we should just go back to this:



Nah, screw it. I say they put in the smaller rims you see at the carnivals, where if by chance you happen to squeeze the ball through the hoop, sans Crisco, you get an 18" stuffed Scooby Doo doll.

As Devil mentioned, maybe someone ought to check with the Suns about this.....

 

Goon ball happened. One-on-one dribbling happened. Hand checking happened.

The fastest way to advance the ball up the court is to pass it. In the perfect fastbreak, the ball is never dribbled. Many players do not want to pass the ball. They want to hold it and dribble.

 

If recall correctly, the article cited that teams made defensive adjustments against the fastbreak.

 

True, and there really is not too much the league can do to stop that.

I always though pro basketball would be interesting if teams played until one scored 100 points without a clock instead of playing to a score at the end of a set period of time.

Hey, Mr. Cuban, first team to 30 points wins the game in your new NFL. I think it would be a little different to say the least.

 

Actually, I'm quoting the old Pirate outfielder's son. He plays for Toronto FC in MLS.

 

Much of this problem actually goes back to a fundamental philosophical change in how the NBA drafts players that began about 20 years ago and has gotten out of hand, where a prospect's physical "upside" has become more important than his actual skills.

The college players with the most refined shooting, passing, ballhandling skills often never even get a shot at the NBA now simply becuase they're deemed to lack the requisite height, wingspan, quickness, vertical leap, etc. type stuff that gets scouts all hot and bothered in workouts. Instead we now see the top picks going to guys like Kwame Brown, Olowakandi, Darko, Bender, Blount etc. who have all the physical "upside" traits, but don't yet have much in the way of actual offensive skills. The NBA used to look for the best college PLAYERS first, now they look for the best BODIES based on an upside assessment of what they might potentially become in a few years if they ever get the skills. The result is a league full of players with the requisite size, speed, and wingspan to play kick-ass defense, but who lack the skills to do much with the ball on the offensive end.

For example, think of some of the guys who were once considered All-Star calibur forwards in the 70s and 80s like Adrian Dantley, Bill Bradley, Jamaal Wilkes, Lou Hudson, Havlicek, Aguirre, Wedman, Tripucka, Alex English, Mullin etc. All had much better shooting, passing and offensive skills with the ball than nearly any of today's forwards. BUT all were also only in the 6'5" to 6'7" range, did not have much in the way of leaping/athletic ability compared to today's guys, and wouldn't be able to defend like today's guys do. For that reason, most probably would be considered too physically deficient to play forward in the NBA if they were coming out today.

 

Raise the rim and widen the court. The average NBA player is probably 6 inches taller today than 40 years ago. It's no longer a game of basketball skills, it's a game of getting close enough to dunk the ball.

 

My theory is that allowing zone defense has hurt NBA game. Teams can pack it in and offenses are not set up to run against zone defense- moving ball around and getting to open man for shot.

Also think in man to man situations the NBA players of today do not do a very good job of moving without the ball. Players who do a good job getting open are not rewarded with a good pass because guy with ball has back to basket in iso situation.

More scoring is not all it's cracked up to be.

I would like to see teams develop better offenses around pure shooters like JJ Redick who would be dominant if he played in an offense like the Suns.

 

The NBA needs to steal a page from Rock N' Jock. Dean Cain for 25? Flava Flav for 50?

That's as about as ridiculous as making the rim bigger.

 

You could never raise the rim, widen the court or change the size of the ball, as this would cause a systemic change at every court in the world.

My idea is as likely as the NFL returning to two-way football (which would immediately rid the game of all the fraudulent PED 300 pounders, which I would also like to see), but I'd like to see the the NBA force teams to use height regulations, i.e., no more than 3 guys per team on the court over 6'6" at one time, or at least two guys 6'4" or under, something like that. There would be more space, more difference in the way people play. I used to love basketball, when players at different positions had demonstrably and obviously different skill sets. They don't now, except at the fringes, and the game, to me, is unwatchable, and when I don't watch, I don't read about it either.

 

the same thing could be said about the NHL........the average NHL player looks like a linebacker.