Catphish
Member
I'm a Chicago kid, and the late 80s and the 90s were my NBA jam. Jordan, Bird, Magic, Barkley, Miller, etc. That was a great time for basketball, and I loved it. But, after Jordan retired and the Bulls started to suck consistently, I dipped out and started to focus more on other winter sports, like hockey & soccer, for most of the early 2000s.
Then my kid was born and I stopped following almost all of it. Too time consuming, and too expensive, even just to watch on TV, as a cable package was necessary (no more over-the-air broadcasts), although I did jump back in for a bit after we picked up Derrick Rose. Since then, I've only had a distant, passive interest in the NBA. I'd heard a bit about how the game has changed; about the reliance on the 3-pointer, the end of physical contact, and the death of the mid-range jumper, and that was honestly enough to keep me away.
Well, my kid's much older now, and Chicago winter sports have seemingly decoupled from cable and are now broadcasting OTA again. That, combined with me picking up NBA 2K25 for PC (which is fucking awesome), has started to rekindle a bit of NBA interest. However, I'm stuck in the past. When I play NBA 2K25, I tend to stay in the 90's/Jordan era, if for no other reason, because of my familiarity with the players. And I've been watching the old 90s NBA Finals on the NBA website, just kinda getting lost in the nostalgia of it, as I wait for the new season to kick off. I've watched a few videos about modern teams, modern ball, and I really wasn't too keen on it, to be honest, but wanted to keep an open mind. Well, last night, I watched the Bulls play their first pre-season game against the Cavs, and I gotta tell you: The difference between the Bulls (and the NBA in general) of the 90s, and the NBA of this time, is fucking stark, and so very disappointing.
Defense is almost unrecognizable to me. In the 90s, it was all man-to-man. Now it's this zone, or zone-hybrid shit. Dudes are camped out in the post and just release their mark when the move so far away from them. On offense, there's very little commitment to drive to the inside. At the first sign of resistance, these guys dish out for a 3 that usually bricks. And that's another thing: so many 3-point attempts, often from players that have no business taking them. You got 7' Cs and PFs clanging 3s on every other possession. Where's the patience to set up an offense? To muscle into the low post? To dish for a mid-range jumper when you draw a double-team? Not in this NBA. 3 after 3 after 3, and scores that are ridiculously higher than what they used to be. In the 90s, scores tended to be near 100. What's the average now? 120? 130? The fuck?
Further, since no one drives the inside, there are fewer fouls, and much lower chance of being in late-game foul trouble. That takes a huge part of the strategy out of the game. And don't even get me started on "load management". Player sitting out when they're perfectly healthy, because they want to save themselves for a more important game, or other bullshit excuse? Fucking guys in the 90s strived to play EVERY game, often with mild injuries. The fuck is this shit?
I dunno. I'm done ranting. Just wanted to vent. I don't think this interest of mine in modern basketball will last very long. In fact, it's probably already dead. But at least I have NBA 2K25 to revel in the golden era of what used to be my favorite sport.
Then my kid was born and I stopped following almost all of it. Too time consuming, and too expensive, even just to watch on TV, as a cable package was necessary (no more over-the-air broadcasts), although I did jump back in for a bit after we picked up Derrick Rose. Since then, I've only had a distant, passive interest in the NBA. I'd heard a bit about how the game has changed; about the reliance on the 3-pointer, the end of physical contact, and the death of the mid-range jumper, and that was honestly enough to keep me away.
Well, my kid's much older now, and Chicago winter sports have seemingly decoupled from cable and are now broadcasting OTA again. That, combined with me picking up NBA 2K25 for PC (which is fucking awesome), has started to rekindle a bit of NBA interest. However, I'm stuck in the past. When I play NBA 2K25, I tend to stay in the 90's/Jordan era, if for no other reason, because of my familiarity with the players. And I've been watching the old 90s NBA Finals on the NBA website, just kinda getting lost in the nostalgia of it, as I wait for the new season to kick off. I've watched a few videos about modern teams, modern ball, and I really wasn't too keen on it, to be honest, but wanted to keep an open mind. Well, last night, I watched the Bulls play their first pre-season game against the Cavs, and I gotta tell you: The difference between the Bulls (and the NBA in general) of the 90s, and the NBA of this time, is fucking stark, and so very disappointing.
Defense is almost unrecognizable to me. In the 90s, it was all man-to-man. Now it's this zone, or zone-hybrid shit. Dudes are camped out in the post and just release their mark when the move so far away from them. On offense, there's very little commitment to drive to the inside. At the first sign of resistance, these guys dish out for a 3 that usually bricks. And that's another thing: so many 3-point attempts, often from players that have no business taking them. You got 7' Cs and PFs clanging 3s on every other possession. Where's the patience to set up an offense? To muscle into the low post? To dish for a mid-range jumper when you draw a double-team? Not in this NBA. 3 after 3 after 3, and scores that are ridiculously higher than what they used to be. In the 90s, scores tended to be near 100. What's the average now? 120? 130? The fuck?
Further, since no one drives the inside, there are fewer fouls, and much lower chance of being in late-game foul trouble. That takes a huge part of the strategy out of the game. And don't even get me started on "load management". Player sitting out when they're perfectly healthy, because they want to save themselves for a more important game, or other bullshit excuse? Fucking guys in the 90s strived to play EVERY game, often with mild injuries. The fuck is this shit?
I dunno. I'm done ranting. Just wanted to vent. I don't think this interest of mine in modern basketball will last very long. In fact, it's probably already dead. But at least I have NBA 2K25 to revel in the golden era of what used to be my favorite sport.
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