I was longing for some warmer weather, or at least warmer thoughts. This is a long way off from the frozen tundra outside now. But one can wish.

What’s wrong with the NBA

The NBA has more talent in it each year.

My first thought is what about the game of the past did I like? That isn’t part of it now. The amount of mobility of all players including stars. And the movement is so frequent getting attached to a team and people you like is only a one-year deal between the fan and team. That is not sustainable.

Another thing that came to mind is the intensity. Regular season games had meaning at one time. Either players were having fun competing to show who was best or they were almost at blows. But both were intensity driven. I don’t see that intensity, almost like they are going through the motions during the regular season.

Go to a college game and then a pro game. People sit on their asses at a pro game. In college you’re standing a lot. That is a tough one. There could be just too many regular season games but that wasn’t a problem decades ago.

Connections between fans and players don’t exist. I’ll speak on that one personally. Neither my son or I who both love basketball are not following players and teams anywhere like we used to. The connection between player and team isn’t there anymore so how can it be between a fan and a team or player. What incentive do I have to buy a jersey when the player is wearing different colors the next season.

Or the team you followed for decades is just a collection of miscellaneous pieces that change several times even during the same season. It’s impossible to develop a relationship with those factors.

Oh, and the two factors that keep me from attending any game from the pros. The ticket price and on top of that you aren’t guaranteed to see the players you’re paying TOP DOLLAR to see play. At one time I could accept that due to injuries. Now players rest during the season. And if you live in a area with a mediocre team, the chance of seeing the best play isn’t good.

And the elephant in the room. The 3-point shot. I know it’s a copycat league, but jeez, could someone just try big men again. Actually, two or 3 big men would be a nice try by a GM. Think about it, if you find a Shaq and two other big guys and just pound the ball in the paint to those three and let them dunk or get fouled and foul out the other big guys.

Figuring you score like 75% of the time to offset the other team shooting 35% from 3. Teams average about 90 shots per game. Taking all 2 points and hitting 75% would equal 136 points per game. Teams average about 14 3-point shots made per game. That’s 42 points a game. A team shooting 36% from the field has taken 40 attempts. So that leave 50 shots and lets say you average 60% from the field that is only another 60 points. Which is 102 per game.

I’ll give the fact that the small team will get some fast break points and I’d give them a few more points a game for that but the big team should own the boards. I’ll even give the 3-point shooting team a 50% average from 3 because they won’t be defended as well. So instead of 42 a game off 3’s it would be 19 made and 57 points but you add that to 60 and maybe another 10 for fast breaks, that’s still only 127 a game.

• This years 3-point attempts per game. 37.6
• 10 years ago it was 22.4 a game
• 20 years ago it was 15.8 a game
• 40 years ago it was 3.1 a game

Just a thought for an up and coming GM. Then again I was never a math major so there could be mistakes above. And I’m sure they have run so many statistical models that this isn’t possible. But the fact that nobody it trying it and therefore nobody has come up with a defensive model for it might be worth a shot.

Or maybe they came to the same conclusion I have. The Refs would never call it fair, guys can hang on big men all day but just lay a finger on a 3-point shooter and you have a 3 free throws and maybe the occasional technical for flagerent finger touch.

Anyway, note to NBA – you had better come up with something because the game is getting away from both of us. Plus I hate the influence its having on the college game.

Random Thoughts of the Day

• I have to go outside today. Therefore I will curse the cold out loud. My apologies in advance for the language.
• Time for a third political party. One right down the middle. Who’s with me.
• I didn’t turn on the tv for a long period yesterday and I think I’ll shut it off for a large portion of today.
• Crypto and Trump. Not that one isn’t scary enough, why not combine them.