The NBA

[PaulRigdon]

Why do they play 4 quarters in the NBA. It seems to me that everything other than the last 2-3 minutes of the game are completely worthless. It always seems that a team has a 15+ point lead in the 3rd quarter, yet it always comes down to the last seconds. Ad this to the lack of consistent calls, marquee players getting calls/not getting calls, the refs gambling on games, the fixed draft lotteries, etc...I just don't get the enjoyment of watching this league.

[T B0NE 10]

same with me.... i feel the same exact way

[ryne100]

I don't watch any NBA games until the conference finals. Players seem to try much harder and teams are more evenly matched. Even then I usually can't usually watch it as my only form of entertainment. I have two TVs in my living room so I'll have it on with no sound and do something else with the other TV.

[bullox]

One with an open mind could say the same about baseball...why play any more than just the 9th inning?

[Chio151]

One with an open mind could say the same about baseball...why play any more than just the 9th inning?

 

I think the key thing is that it feels like every time you score in baseball - it matters. In professional basketball it's almost as if the first 3 quarters are just sparring and then you actually play in the 4th. And ultimately it comes down to foul shots, which stinks. Imagine if every NFL playoff game came down to holding penalties... bleh.

 

The whole game should matter, not some sad Kabuki theater with large men clearly traveling into the lane and bumping into each other for technicality points. The NBA stinks.

[sbrylski]

The NBA should do three 18 minute periods. Best two out of three periods. So the score starts over for the second period, and again for the third. If a team wins the first two periods, they win the game. I would roughly estimate the probability of a team winning the first two periods as 40% at the most, which would give the average game a length of 46.8 minutes, 72 seconds less than games are now.

 

And if its tied at the end of the period, there is no buzzer - the shot clock keeps going and the teams keep playing - sudden death first basket wins.

[PaulRigdon]

You should also be able to punch your opponent and pull down their pants...

 

boy i wish they made arch rivals for wii or ps3

[GAME05]

i'm blocked by filter to do the research, but i do wonder about the varying win probabilities throughout football, baseball and basketball as far as verifying the theory that only the last few minutes of an NBA game matters.

 

i haven't watched even the nba playoffs this year, though i will keep up with the Bucks offseason, just because i enjoy that aspect of sports.

[bbrauch2000]

different strokes I guess....if you want every time someone scores to be the most important thing in the world, watch soccer

 

The one thing I don't understand is that people rip the NBA for lacking fundamentals, team defense and passing, when woman's basketball offers all of these things and is a total pariah. If that style is what you are looking for, I think the WNBA is still being televised by some cable channel you dont think you get

[lukevan]

When basketball teams are so evenly matched (as professional sports teams usually are), the score at any point in the game has a definite psychological impact. Teams up 10 typically will not be playing as hard as the team that is 10 down. All it takes is for one very talented player (which every NBA team has) to take over the game for a stretch.

 

And there are still blowouts all the time. I saw the Bucks on the wrong end of many of them this season. Games 3 and 4 in the ECF were decided by 16 and 19 points and the WCF games 3 and 4 were decided by 30 and 19.

[OglivieHomePerm]

I really wish they would do away with the front-court inbound after every time-out in the last two minutes of a game. That really turns me off to the end of an NBA game.