Basketball is a contact sport. An element of physicality has to exist to counterbalance the insanely high skill level of players. They finally figured this out after ~5 years in the wilderness. Hope it sticks, and I suspect it will because these playoffs are going to be awesome.
Nice piece, Ethan. You nail it with these sentences:
"Now that contact is back, so too is tension, suspense and that feeling of having witnessed a wonderful war."
"A ton of three point shooting in a high possession game feels decadent, but a ton of three point shooting in a nail-biting low possession one is compelling."
The rules should be set so that skill is maximally on display. You can't grab a guy 25 feet from the hoop (well, unless you're on the 90s Knicks) because basketball is partly about the ability to beat a guy off the dribble, or work your way open enough to get a clean look at the basket. If it's not, then you've taken away part of the game, and for what? So the home team can win? So the team with the biggest stars can win? So we can go to a Game seven? Oh, I forgot. David Stern isn't in charge any longer. Kidding. Not really. Similarly, near the basket, power comes into play as much as finesse. The defender ALWAYS needs to be granted the ground beneath his feet, but beyond that, basketball is partly about strength and challenging shots/beating a challenge. So the refs have to allow some physicality. As you get nearer the basket, more physicality has to be allowed. Now, that's hard to modulate perfectly all the time. But what fans must see is consistency, and most importantly an understanding of why the rules are there.
Occasionally in the NFL, refs will swallow their whistles and every OL and DB will hold like a m*f*. And the result of this is that good pass-rushing ability and route-running get taken out of the game, while bad OL and DB play becomes irrelevant, inevitably favoring one team or another. And why? Because refs lose sight of WHY THEY ARE THERE. There is no excuse for that. In MLB, for a long time, starting with the Atlanta Braves, pitchers started to try to nibble on the outside, eventually gaining several inches of territory that umpires were happy to call strikes. Again, here the officials lost sight of what they were doing. The strike zone has to be defined as a place where hitters want the ball. If strikes are granted to pitches that hitters basically can't hit hard, the game stops making sense, and we sacrifice hitting skill for some silly target-hitting contest.
The rules have to make sense, and have to showcase the game and its skills as much as possible. That's it. High or low scores, your team winning, the game being close, that's all bullshit that you wouldn't care about if you actually love the game.
Generally agree with the premise here, and with the idea that LeBron can be pretty annoying, but he was right about the call he's referencing. Russell got smacked in the head as he shot, and that's been a foul since the beginning of time; the fact that it was reviewed and overturned is pretty bizarre. The fact that a ticky-tack shooting foul was called on LeBron in the final minute (which Ham didn't challenge, lolz) is also kind of strange given the way the game was reffed.
I generally agree, and the game is certainly better this way than the Trae Young feel slight contact barf up a shot 2 free throws, but there's a happy medium. Zach Lowe mentioned a while ago the suggestion that you should be able to put a hand/forearm on a guy when he starts to drive, but only momentarily and then you have to remove it. That should not be a foul, but if you keep the hand/forearm on, it should be. There is definitely some perimeter grabbing going on that's a little overboard (Jaden McDaniels). But overall, it's better than what we were seeing before. Ultimately, it shouldn't be that hard to calibrate.
I'm looking forward to LeBron retiring. I don't even dislike him, I just can't take him being the main character of this tv show anymore. I wouldn't have watched the Sopranos for 20 years either.
I like the rule changes. But refs completely swallowing the whistle late in games has gone a bit overboard. What happened in the NY/Philly game was egregious at best.
To be fair to LeBron, the Lakers have NEVER benefitted from the Play-in. In 21, 23, and 24 they would have made the playoffs without it, but with it they have to play an extra game. 22 in both settings they don’t make the playoffs regardless.
You nailed it Ethan. NBA has made a mockery of the way it pretended nothing had changed 2 months ago, even going to the length of sending 2 referee honchos onto Lowe's podcast to speak corpo-nonsense about "refinement". But the change has definitely been for the better. Defences now have a chance again. Thank the Universe for that!
1. There is nothing prettier than Lebron crying after blowing a 20 point lead and losing a 101-99 game. 🐐! (Shout out to Robin Davis for giving up the last two baskets, and awkwardly stumbling to punctuate his failure after the game winner, after whining that he wasn’t DPOY because of “hating”)
2. “When it all comes together, there’s nothing better in sports” — naw, a back and forth mma/boxing title fight at 145 (155?) and above (lower for woman) hits different.
I have to laugh at that, and how easy they control the game. If you'd mentioned in October that halfway through the season they'd lower scoring as a league, you'd be called - at best - a conspiracy theorist.
That Blazer team and those Kings teams that got reffed out of the finals 25 years ago have been vindicated.
As a neutral, this version of Prison Ball is likely a compelling watch. However, if you're a fan of either a team that's playing in this or one that is more skilled than its opponent, it's pretty terrible TBH.
Or maybe some people just don't like today's NBA and want to go back to the NBA of the '90's or the early aughts because it's pure nostalgia for them.
Lot of great comments here. Yes Lebron has a complaint that that the replay center botched the call and yes the Lakers get the friendliest whistle in the league. Austin Reaves flopping all over and getting calls is irritating. Let’s not forget in the Playoffs- players way more dialed in,rotations shrink, schemes more important( Philly neutralizing Brunson is a good watch). One way to beat physicality-run like hell like the Pacers. Importance of having shooting on the floor is paramount in these games as selling out on the best scorers leaves others open. So far really good games.
It was the MPJ foul on D'Lo that LeBron highlighted post game, but he was just as angry about a missed and-1 call of his own in the clutch. I'd imagine Silver got a phone call from Team LeBron.
It’s interesting the power these leagues have over their sports. While I don’t think leagues are “rigged” for an explicit result, I do think they stack the deck for a desired result, and officials/refs/umpires are an easy lever to pull via “points of emphasis” or lack thereof. At the end of the day, never forget these are businesses and entertainment products above all else.
Basketball is a contact sport. An element of physicality has to exist to counterbalance the insanely high skill level of players. They finally figured this out after ~5 years in the wilderness. Hope it sticks, and I suspect it will because these playoffs are going to be awesome.
Nice piece, Ethan. You nail it with these sentences:
"Now that contact is back, so too is tension, suspense and that feeling of having witnessed a wonderful war."
"A ton of three point shooting in a high possession game feels decadent, but a ton of three point shooting in a nail-biting low possession one is compelling."
The rules should be set so that skill is maximally on display. You can't grab a guy 25 feet from the hoop (well, unless you're on the 90s Knicks) because basketball is partly about the ability to beat a guy off the dribble, or work your way open enough to get a clean look at the basket. If it's not, then you've taken away part of the game, and for what? So the home team can win? So the team with the biggest stars can win? So we can go to a Game seven? Oh, I forgot. David Stern isn't in charge any longer. Kidding. Not really. Similarly, near the basket, power comes into play as much as finesse. The defender ALWAYS needs to be granted the ground beneath his feet, but beyond that, basketball is partly about strength and challenging shots/beating a challenge. So the refs have to allow some physicality. As you get nearer the basket, more physicality has to be allowed. Now, that's hard to modulate perfectly all the time. But what fans must see is consistency, and most importantly an understanding of why the rules are there.
Occasionally in the NFL, refs will swallow their whistles and every OL and DB will hold like a m*f*. And the result of this is that good pass-rushing ability and route-running get taken out of the game, while bad OL and DB play becomes irrelevant, inevitably favoring one team or another. And why? Because refs lose sight of WHY THEY ARE THERE. There is no excuse for that. In MLB, for a long time, starting with the Atlanta Braves, pitchers started to try to nibble on the outside, eventually gaining several inches of territory that umpires were happy to call strikes. Again, here the officials lost sight of what they were doing. The strike zone has to be defined as a place where hitters want the ball. If strikes are granted to pitches that hitters basically can't hit hard, the game stops making sense, and we sacrifice hitting skill for some silly target-hitting contest.
The rules have to make sense, and have to showcase the game and its skills as much as possible. That's it. High or low scores, your team winning, the game being close, that's all bullshit that you wouldn't care about if you actually love the game.
Such classic Lebron to complain about not getting calls when the Lakers have by far the biggest free throw advantage in the league.
Generally agree with the premise here, and with the idea that LeBron can be pretty annoying, but he was right about the call he's referencing. Russell got smacked in the head as he shot, and that's been a foul since the beginning of time; the fact that it was reviewed and overturned is pretty bizarre. The fact that a ticky-tack shooting foul was called on LeBron in the final minute (which Ham didn't challenge, lolz) is also kind of strange given the way the game was reffed.
I generally agree, and the game is certainly better this way than the Trae Young feel slight contact barf up a shot 2 free throws, but there's a happy medium. Zach Lowe mentioned a while ago the suggestion that you should be able to put a hand/forearm on a guy when he starts to drive, but only momentarily and then you have to remove it. That should not be a foul, but if you keep the hand/forearm on, it should be. There is definitely some perimeter grabbing going on that's a little overboard (Jaden McDaniels). But overall, it's better than what we were seeing before. Ultimately, it shouldn't be that hard to calibrate.
I'm looking forward to LeBron retiring. I don't even dislike him, I just can't take him being the main character of this tv show anymore. I wouldn't have watched the Sopranos for 20 years either.
I like the rule changes. But refs completely swallowing the whistle late in games has gone a bit overboard. What happened in the NY/Philly game was egregious at best.
To be fair to LeBron, the Lakers have NEVER benefitted from the Play-in. In 21, 23, and 24 they would have made the playoffs without it, but with it they have to play an extra game. 22 in both settings they don’t make the playoffs regardless.
You nailed it Ethan. NBA has made a mockery of the way it pretended nothing had changed 2 months ago, even going to the length of sending 2 referee honchos onto Lowe's podcast to speak corpo-nonsense about "refinement". But the change has definitely been for the better. Defences now have a chance again. Thank the Universe for that!
Two disagreements:
1. There is nothing prettier than Lebron crying after blowing a 20 point lead and losing a 101-99 game. 🐐! (Shout out to Robin Davis for giving up the last two baskets, and awkwardly stumbling to punctuate his failure after the game winner, after whining that he wasn’t DPOY because of “hating”)
2. “When it all comes together, there’s nothing better in sports” — naw, a back and forth mma/boxing title fight at 145 (155?) and above (lower for woman) hits different.
"Reform".
I have to laugh at that, and how easy they control the game. If you'd mentioned in October that halfway through the season they'd lower scoring as a league, you'd be called - at best - a conspiracy theorist.
That Blazer team and those Kings teams that got reffed out of the finals 25 years ago have been vindicated.
As a neutral, this version of Prison Ball is likely a compelling watch. However, if you're a fan of either a team that's playing in this or one that is more skilled than its opponent, it's pretty terrible TBH.
Or maybe some people just don't like today's NBA and want to go back to the NBA of the '90's or the early aughts because it's pure nostalgia for them.
Lot of great comments here. Yes Lebron has a complaint that that the replay center botched the call and yes the Lakers get the friendliest whistle in the league. Austin Reaves flopping all over and getting calls is irritating. Let’s not forget in the Playoffs- players way more dialed in,rotations shrink, schemes more important( Philly neutralizing Brunson is a good watch). One way to beat physicality-run like hell like the Pacers. Importance of having shooting on the floor is paramount in these games as selling out on the best scorers leaves others open. So far really good games.
And CLE-ORL was fairly ghastly. I think we like close finishes more than anything else.
It was the MPJ foul on D'Lo that LeBron highlighted post game, but he was just as angry about a missed and-1 call of his own in the clutch. I'd imagine Silver got a phone call from Team LeBron.
It’s interesting the power these leagues have over their sports. While I don’t think leagues are “rigged” for an explicit result, I do think they stack the deck for a desired result, and officials/refs/umpires are an easy lever to pull via “points of emphasis” or lack thereof. At the end of the day, never forget these are businesses and entertainment products above all else.