re: Are NBA Players Getting Too Good? (YT Video)

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I said it was,

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No you said

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And the data on free throws is going to be skewed because post players are getting less touches (and shaq probably brought down the league average himself lol).

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what's your point?

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Is shooting a skill?

If shooting is getting better, that shows the league is getting more skilled, yes?

My primary point is that players are more skilled than ever before and systems are more efficient than ever before, which has cause offensive efficiency to go up. It's a simple point.

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. Why wasn't it this offense killers prior to the Dead Ball Era?

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Because the 80s were another era where no one played defense probably.

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Like in football, it's both true you aren't allowed to defend like you could 15 years ago,

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It would be like if the NFL had banned zone D for decades, but then made illegal contact a foul while legalizing zone D in exchange (and creating a shorter permitted huddle time).

Would you say NFL Ds would be at more or less of a disadvantage by that exchange?

Man only + more contact prior to releasing the ball on a pass and the full 24 seconds to huddle as you please

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Man + Zone without illegal contact and forcing teams out of the huddle with, say, 12 seconds to go on the clock.

That's more comparable to what the NBA did.

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I would say comparing the scale of those changes in basketball and football is ridiculous.

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You're slipping

Typically when you digress the topic and I respond, instead of that avoidance mechanism you say I'm all over the place.

You're the one who brought up comparing this to football and in one reply argue comparing this to football is "ridiculous"

Finally you channel your efforts into a Lebron > MJ thread

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This is more like "is Tyrese Haliburton > Lebron?", son.

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The entire dead-ball era was meant to slow him down.

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I thought the so called dead ball era was a result of expansion and the first lockout, before Kobe was even in his prime

It also coincided with a shorter 3 point line

I’d say it lasted from the Rockets-Knicks finals in 1994 until Steve Nash joined the Suns in 2004

The NBA is unappealing because the players are unappealing.


They're all former AAU circuit players, and all they care about flexing on social media and banging insta-models.


There are no compelling storylines like the 90s or even 2000s.

Like a quarter of the NBA is children or kin of former NBA players.

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Take your top 10 centers from the Dead Ball Era or the high-flying, no defense 80s preceding it. Look at what comparable 3point rate is necessary to compete with their FG%. When you go to total eFG (considering the likely FT% drop), it gets even worse.

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Tim Duncan - Shot 69% for his career inside 3', 55% TS%
Shaq - Shot 75% from inside 3', 59% TS%
Malone - 66% from inside 3', 58% TS%
Ewing - 60% (age 34-39 only) from inside 3', 55% TS%
Robinson - 66% inside 3', 58% TS%
Olajuwon - 66% (age 34-39 only) from inside 3', 55% TS%
Rik Smits - 68% from inside 3', 55% TS%
Sabonis - 61% from inside 3', 57% TS%
Mutombo - 65% from inside 3', 57% TS%
Garnett - 69% from inside 3', 55% TS%
Mourning - 72% from inside 3', 58% TS%
Yao Ming - 68% from inside 3', 60% TS%
Staudamire - 67% from inside 3', 60% TS%
Pau Gasol - 66% from inside 3', 57% TS%

the unskilled Dwight Howard who can't make FT's - 72% from inside 3', 60% TS%


What you see here is if anything, the dead ball error centers were actually more efficient than the great centers of the 90's.


The great effecient Klay Thompson 57% TS%
Jayson Tatum 58% TS%
Doncic 58%
Lebron 59%
Mitchell 57%
Booker 58%
Lillard 59%
No 3 Giannis 61%

Steph Curry 63% a true effecient player unlike any other.
Kevin Durant 62%, another truely efficient player unlike any other.




Jokic 63% TS%
Embiid 61% TS%


Last year of the top 16 players in TS%, only 4 of them weren't big men. Austin Reaves, Durant, Kispert, Curry.
Jimmy Butler, the guy that rarely takes 3's, was at 65% TS% last year, 59% from his career.

Centers who don't shoot 3's can be just as efficient if not more than the 3 point shooting guards of today launching 10 3's a game.



There's a lot more to playing basketball than not playing defense and running to the three point line once your team gets the ball so you can shoot a three.
Of course NBA players are getting more skilled. There's this belief that everyone has to be able to shoot 3's or your worthless in the NBA. Guys who shoot 3's are becoming more efficient, and guys who don't shoot 3's are getting more efficient, but the most efficient players are still the dominant centers, like it's always been. The issue is no one is teaching centers how to be skilled in the low post anymore, and instead try to teach them to shoot 3's and when they can't they just say well go catch this ally oop and hustle for put backs. No need to teach you how to get into a good position with your man on your back and learn how to drop step into an easy bucket opportunity, b/c that's boring basketball, just like hitting singles in baseball is boring.

Everyone shoot 3's, everyone hit homeruns. That's basketball and baseball today.


and i'll make this Pels related and bring up that Jonas Valaniunas has a career 62% TS%. The Pelicans look better when playing through him. That doesn't mean he has to take 20 shots a game, but when the ball goes through him, we typically get a high percentange shot, either from JV himself or b/c of the defensive rotations that are forced after he passes out of the double team.