Discussion: NBA vs European Style Basketball (2 Viewers)

[TruthIsOutThere]

USA is still the team to beat even though it has lost to European and South American teams in both the Olympics and World Championships.

Does TEAM USA represent the best of that NBA has to offer?
Are there deficiencies in the NBA type of game?
How did the Europeans catch up so fast?
What is the future of basketball? who will be the powerhouse?

I am a basketball fan and would like your opinions.

 

[Orange Juice]

nah team usa is based too much on making money... the team they chose werent the best (and yeh sure some people had other commitments) but they were able to sell merchandise... i mean, me personally im finding that alot of sports are revolving around money... which leads to them having to prove themselves therefore not playing much of a team role...

i dont really follow nba anymore, so i could be wrong but this is just from my perspective... there isnt much difference between euro/nba is there? i think theyve got a 30 secs shot clock right? what else?

 

[dirty dave]

the 3-point line is further in the nba, but instead of making them better shooters it actually disencourages making those shots. Nba used to make zone-defense lat year illgeal as well, not sure if they changed that or not. the refs also allow more body contact as well, allowing for shaq-styled plays

as for team usa its like what OJ says...too much emphasis on style. Thats why people like Leborne and Carmelo got picked instead of some proper shoters like brent barry

 

[TruthIsOutThere]

Yup, I agree with OJ that the NBA revolves around selling jerseys, merchandise and increasing global viewers. Its coz of that they sent a bunch of young stars to the tournaments. These players arent bad but the way they have been brought up is not right. They focus of physical play and entertaining the crowd, which comes in the sacrifice of team-work and basketball basics like shooting and passing. Them losing a few times showed them the marketing play is not working.

 

[TruthIsOutThere]

the 3-point line is further in the nba, but instead of making them better shooters it actually disencourages making those shots. Nba used to make zone-defense lat year illgeal as well, not sure if they changed that or not. the refs also allow more body contact as well, allowing for shaq-styled plays

as for team usa its like what OJ says...too much emphasis on style. Thats why people like Leborne and Carmelo got picked instead of some proper shoters like brent barry

The NBA used to have the 3-point line as close as Euro rules but that made everyone clog up the lane and the game became low scoring. So they moved it out to give it more room for slashers to drive and throw it down = more entertainment. Yeh, zone defence was illegal in the NBA to let players drive the lane, the Americans like superstars and there's no better way to create one then making everybody go one-on-one.

I dont think the 3-point line has anything to do with players driving, the Americans were brought up watching dunks and lay-ups, and seriously, shooting 3's is quite boring. The problem they have is because everybody plays like that, they cant defend 3-point shooters anymore, even with their athleticism.

They have become so accustomed to the one-on-one game that they cant get around screens on defence or play as a team on the offensive end. The most frustrating thing is they are so not flexible with their game plan, all they can do is drive, when the other team plays zone, they dont know how to play anymore, they get put off and cant even shoot free throws.

There is a problem in the team selection process for sure, they picked all the stars but forgot about balancing the team. Then Larry Brown is a stubborn dumb ass coach who wont let the players play their own game.

 

[Orange Juice]

yeh i noticed that the refs were much more lenient when they ref'ed nba games... allowing for smaller fouls etc to get through... as well as driving in... which is kinda good in its own way that the game doesnt need to be stopped too often...
and i recall iverson getting called foul real often during the olympics cuz of the way he drove in...

 

[dirty dave]

I dont think the standerd of refering in Athens was the same as the ones in the big European league tho, cos I remeber one of the commentators ( Gaze?) saying that because of some kind of contract disagreement they ended up getting referees from those of not the major leagues

ps brent barry is probably not the best example but yea...you noe you are in trouble when your first chioce preimeter shooter is iverson

 

[bobbie212]

wats so funny bout that iverson is fourth in scoring this season, he's a good shooter

 

[Orange Juice]

i like that croatian? guy... his last name starts with s (stojavic) or something like that... but he probably played for croatia... and that german guy is decent...

and gaze was an shit commentator during the olympics... people think his awesome cuz he played for the spurs and was their waterboy...
he may be the best aussie player (i still think he isnt) but hes so lost

 

[felix_js]

wats so funny bout that iverson is fourth in scoring this season, he's a good shooter

well thats what happens when you take 100 shots per game.
just because you can score lots doesnt mean youre a good shooter

 

[dirty dave]

yea thats what i meant..iverson is a really good player but his strength is in driving, not shooting

 

[Orange Juice]

iverson draws like a billion fouls a game... his so damn quick... whats his height though?

 

[bobbie212]

well thats what happens when you take 100 shots per game.
just because you can score lots doesnt mean youre a good shooter

ur a fool, iverson is one of the best players in the league, and as such is a good shooter, driver, passer etc. he is ranked 7th in field goal attempts, and is beating the other six in pts per game except kobe and dirk, who are shooting much more than him. so go figure.

by the way in answer to the question on his height, he is under 6ft.

 

[felix_js]

and as such is a good shooter

28% from the 3...

he is ranked 7th in field goal attempts,

actually he's 3rd, but he jacks up a lot of shots, like i said

you should notice the games where philly win are the games iverson has a truckload of assists. when he gets his team involved, they win. you'd think he would want to do that every game instead of shooting 5/30 and getting belted

 

[bobbie212]

ur exaguratin it dude all the top players hav a similar total of shot attempts. tru though he needs to start playin more of a point guard role consistantly. but i would still like him to be shootin at least 20 shots a game. and where did u get that stat from? it said 7th on nba.com.

he's a champ man he plays so damm hard.

 

[TruthIsOutThere]

It is not fair to judge how good a player is simply by the amount of points he scores or rebounds he gets. Stats are stats, they tell part of the story.

Iverson is a pretty good player but not the best player in the league (definitely not statistically). He scores alot of points but he does not have good shot selection. His low shooting % is a result of his size, though ultra quick, no matter how far he leaves his defender behind, there will always be a wall of hands in his face when he shoots. His assists has gone up this year because he is back to his natural position of point guard this year with the departure of Eric Snow. What makes Iverson a good player is the way he leads the team, his attitude towards the game, his defensive intensity. His shooting woes is also a result of the lack of scoring options on his team, making the opponents double or triple team the guy. But the whole team is built around him throwing up 25-30 shots a night, they all know who is gonna shoot, so there's no problem with chemistry. At the olympics this year, he shot quite well with better scoring options around him, his ability to change a game's tempo and knock down buzzer beaters made him a great player.

 

[bobbie212]

if big dawg was ther it would open up the court so much more for him

 

[TruthIsOutThere]

Glenn Robinson is losing his touch... he aint as quick as he used to be but can still shoot.. he was struggling at the start of the season. The young guys are playing well, the only surprise comes from the poor play of Aaron McKie.

 

[notnownotever]

Glenn Robinson is losing his touch... he aint as quick as he used to be but can still shoot.. he was struggling at the start of the season. The young guys are playing well, the only surprise comes from the poor play of Aaron McKie.

the nba is more one on one and driving in to the lane... think back to lithuinia playing america in the group stages... the euro game contrast to the low post game of the nba... the uleb leagues are based on role players such as jakasinices SP the little lithuaninan point guard who plays for maccabi but use to play for barcelona... he is a role player a typicall point guard who plays at a 1 man....

so in all honestly nba is different to the euro league.. the nba is based on post skills of garnett.... but with the infux of americans in the uleb leauges it would opf no surprise that the uleb would turn to an american game

 

[bobbie212]

iverson wit 54 pts. YEAH!

I was more suprised and happy from looking at that stat then when i looked at my uai, which was pretty good!