I agree... for me, the glory era of the NBA was 90s / early 2000s. These days, I struggle to watch a whole live NBA game, I find it boring if I'm honest. I prefer watching a good nbl game.

The game is so ISO driven - and I actually hate watching GSW play. Give me a 2000s LAL vs Sac Kings game or a 90s bulls v knicks any day over the shit that's on display today

what if, todays game the offenses are soooo much better that it would be impossible for teams to have a defensive rating below 1?

2 for 1s have actually been found to be hugely ineffective the average points gain on a team who has a 2 for 1 is only +.74 points which means if you had the 2 for 1 every Q you only gain 3 points
2 for 1s also dont factor in heightened pressure that the defense knows a shot is going to be taken early, predictability comes into place lowering Points Per Possession rating

and your quick shot clock/ running and gunning points are simple. if you are a team trying to slow the ball down, you will lose simple equation for the NBA, More shots = More points, teams run and gun cause it is harder to defend and produces more points thats why there is a huge increase

NBA is kind of like the AFL for me. Love watching two great teams go at it, but 7 games out of 10 aren't worth taking 2 hours of my day. The sheer number of games compounds the issue as it's just an "oh well, on to the next one..." feel after a loss, at least until the last month of the season.

Not every NBL game is amazing, but I'll watch Cairns-Hawks over, say, Atlanta-Phoenix in a heartbeat.

NBA regular season games can lack intensity

Playoffs are awesome, but they often don't bring 100% effort during the long regular season.

Was watching a Clippers game the other day, couldn't believe how lazy Griffin was being on D.

The demise of the Centre as an offensive post post player is also sad.

.... is the 427 blatant travels in a game that just seem to get "missed". Then they ping one on a pivoting post up player who slides his foot 1mm. Absurd.

Oh and the CONSTANT bitching at refs after EVERY single bloody whistle. Not a unique thing to the NBA though, it's every sport now. Just shut up and get on with it.

I agree with Snooch, its cyclical and will change over time. Like any era, some teams are trash, but there are plenty that are good to watch. Try watching the Celtics, Spurs or even 76ers some time. The Warriors sometimes coast, but they are brilliant to watch on both ends when they are dialled in. They move the ball, play defence and play the clock.

There's starting to be some more post play as well now with the return of outstanding centres like Embiid and Towns and there'll be more of that with several quality big men in next years draft.

I actually don't like too much post play though. I'd rather see more dynamic offences with lots of cuts and ball movement and quick post ups when the opportunity presents.

Personally I hated the walk it up style many teams had in the late 90s and early 2000s. It gets really tedious watching Alonzo Mourning or an ancient Ewing pounding the ball 30 times while they bump into each other and then throw up a brick!

My gripes would probably be:
1) that ball-handlers are allowed to carry the ball a little too much at the moment, making it almost impossible to defend guys like Curry, Irving, Lillard, Harden, etc.
2) the determination to protect players from concussion, etc has led to a situation where big men aren't able to use their size and strength around the basket anymore, because they will invariably get called for a charge or swinging their arms too close to some guards nose. Not sure what you do about it, because protecting the health of players is important, but I just get tired of little guys getting right up under a big man then drawing a foul when the big man even dares to pivot!

So yeah, I get that some teams are not playing to their strengths by copying the Warriors and it would be good to have some more diversity of styles, but I still think there is lots of good basketball being played at the moment.

A lot of these gripes kind of explain themselves. Every team is playing the same way because, according to analytics, it is more efficient. Even for the teams not at the top, it is more efficienct to shoot loads of threes if you can't get to the rack.

Teams are taking quick shots because they're open. A quick 3 isnt a bad shot if you're open.

Nobody appears to be playing D because of all of the above teams are better offensively.

I'm not at all upset that teams have largely abandoned post up heavy offenses. Pace and space all the way!

"Teams aren't playing to their strengths"

"Teams are scoring too much compared to past years"

This hasn't been mentioned yet but my biggest gripe is that teams get the ball to the star player, he shoots it and the other four players on the team turn away from the ball and run down the other end... they don't know if the ball went in or if it was going to ricochet in their direction and it seems like every team plays this way.

Any wonder why teams hate playing against Delly because he actually fights for the ball.

FACT : NBA is the pinnacle of basketball and so many good basketballers are sitting at the end of benches not getting a chance whilst others are apathetic about being on the court... I want maniacal to the point where you get a silly foul and pull your head in but you show you want court time.

I remember watching a Lakers vs Clippers game this season and DeAndre Jordan and Griffin had 40 odd rebounds between them (I think Jordan had like 26 and Griffin like 17) and the Lakers players were basically playing like 'well those boys are too big and too athletic so of course they will grab the rebound' rather than trying to crash the boards or even do something that would upset Jordan of whom we know has a short fuse.

I honestly believe one day an NBL team will beat an NBA team, not because they are better or better coached but because NBA players are programmed to preserve energy due to the tough schedule that they will be surprised by how determined our players in our league are and some NBA teams are just awful.

The above is SO spot on. I'd also like to add that the Boomers WILL beat team USA in next 5 - 10 years and Aussie players succeed in the USA because of attitude, work ethic and hunger for the ball.

get any US coach in Australia for a clinic and they are astounded at the hunger for the ball, the pressure D and 3 - 4 players each team crashing the boards no matter what age level.