Official Detroit Pistons thread

[froot loops]

Basketball is lopsided. The open secret of the NBA is it much more successful when there are superteams.

[Kstat]

This is where I am. NBA is not competitive. Most teams have no real shot. Maybe 6 teams have something of a chance but it will be the Warriors. The NBA superteams kill the sport for me. I'll watch some Pistons games but no like I used to or like I do other sports.

[froot loops]

There is a chance we are closer to the end of the Warriors than the beginning. The probability of the Warriors was very small to begin with, as far as superteams go the serendipity of how they were put together cannot be duplicated. Most of the time, it is a few big names put together and they win because they have talent but it is short term and they generally aren't great fits. Think Miami, they won 2 titles and went to 4 straight finals, but Bosh had to play a sidekick role and there was always the tension between Wade and Lebron on who was the alpha dog.

[Forsh]

Adding Durant just made the Warriors seem invulnerable. Of course Houston almost proved that isn't true.

[Kstat]

Adding Durant just made the Warriors seem invulnerable. Of course Houston almost proved that isn't true.

[kreton]

My point is that there are maybe 6 teams that are able to compete for an NBA title. You have GS, Houston, Toronto, Boston - then LA and OKC. That is really it. No one else is going to have a real shot at contending. For me that fact makes me lose interest in watching the sport.

[Kstat]

My point is that there are maybe 6 teams that are able to compete for an NBA title. You have GS, Houston, Toronto, Boston - then LA and OKC. That is really it. No one else is going to have a real shot at contending. For me that fact makes me lose interest in watching the sport.

[chemiclord]

My point is that there are maybe 6 teams that are able to compete for an NBA title. You have GS ... That is really it. No one else is going to have a real shot at contending. For me that fact makes me lose interest in watching the sport.

Fixed that for you.

And that's kinda the problem. Froot loves to talk about how fans secretly LOVE the superteams, and he's not wrong, but the league hasn't had this level of poor competition in a very long time, and the last time it happened (during the Bulls dominance of the league in the 90's), by the end the league's ratings were cratering. Turns out fans kinda get tired of seeing the same team win it after a while.

But, where he is right is that this is a league that's never been one of parity. He's also correct that Golden State is an aberration. It took a lot of blind luck for the current Warriors to happen and a whole lot of being in the right place at the right time that probably won't ever happen again. Think of all the decisions and gambles and pure happenstance that all had to go right for Golden State to get to this point.

The question is what does the league do in the meantime? Can they do anything? Because yeah... no matter what Froot wants to believe, fans are starting to turn away because they're not interested in a predetermined outcome yet again.

[Kstat]

[froot loops]

Fixed that for you.

And that's kinda the problem. Froot loves to talk about how fans secretly LOVE the superteams, and he's not wrong, but the league hasn't had this level of poor competition in a very long time, and the last time it happened (during the Bulls dominance of the league in the 90's), by the end the league's ratings were cratering. Turns out fans kinda get tired of seeing the same team win it after a while.

But, where he is right is that this is a league that's never been one of parity. He's also correct that Golden State is an aberration. It took a lot of blind luck for the current Warriors to happen and a whole lot of being in the right place at the right time that probably won't ever happen again. Think of all the decisions and gambles and pure happenstance that all had to go right for Golden State to get to this point.

The question is what does the league do in the meantime? Can they do anything? Because yeah... no matter what Froot wants to believe, fans are starting to turn away because they're not interested in a predetermined outcome yet again.

Yes it's definitely showing up in the ratings! It's similar to the Yogism, "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."

[froot loops]

My point is that there are maybe 6 teams that are able to compete for an NBA title. You have GS, Houston, Toronto, Boston - then LA and OKC. That is really it. No one else is going to have a real shot at contending. For me that fact makes me lose interest in watching the sport.

If there is 6 that is an improvement over the average year. Do you know what league has the most parity? MLB, the fans aren't flocking to the games because of that parity.

[Futureshock]

If I coulda-woulda-shoulda. As much as I love football, my first love of any sport was basketball. But. I'm more a purist. We lived and breathed basketball first where I come from. From Trent Tucker, Andre Rison, Glen Rice, Mo Pete, we all grew up playing the game. Pierson park. Berston center. All day, everyday, bump and grind. You want to know why Rice was such a good 3 point shooter? Because we (mostly me) would get the assignment to check him because I was the tallest. And I wasn't gonna let this skinny (but tall) kid 3 years younger just dunk on me every time he had the ball. So after taking quite a few 'bows down low he just started shooting jumpers further out.

Part of the game was defense and toughness. That's lost in the ballerina ball of today. The game looks like an allstar game from years ago.

To your point. Yeah, at some point the Warriors will fall off. Then there will be the next "thing." It may seem as though this is how it's always been, but you could see teams putting it together and they were rewarded by having a chance to compete for that ring. Nowadays, the window is so short that by time you try to add that final peice you're losing another and fall back down.

The NBA will never reach the level of the NFL's worst year because the majority of people aren't buying the narrative and want their team to win because the play and foul calling (akin to the catch rule in football) just doesn't jive with casual fans.

The numbers are up, but, it would be astronomical and be a true rival to the NFL if there were true parody in the association.

[Futureshock]

If there is 6 that is an improvement over the average year. Do you know what league has the most parity? MLB, the fans aren't flocking to the games because of that parity.

The sport is antiquated and slow. Parody can't fix something you fall asleep watching.

[Kstat]

If I coulda-woulda-shoulda. As much as I love football, my first love of any sport was basketball. But. I'm more a purist. We lived and breathed basketball first where I come from. From Trent Tucker, Andre Rison, Glen Rice, Mo Pete, we all grew up playing the game. Pierson park. Berston center. All day, everyday, bump and grind. You want to know why Rice was such a good 3 point shooter? Because we (mostly me) would get the assignment to check him because I was the tallest. And I wasn't gonna let this skinny (but tall) kid 3 years younger just dunk on me every time he had the ball. So after taking quite a few 'bows down low he just started shooting jumpers further out.

Part of the game was defense and toughness. That's lost in the ballerina ball of today. The game looks like an allstar game from years ago.

To your point. Yeah, at some point the Warriors will fall off. Then there will be the next "thing." It may seem as though this is how it's always been, but you could see teams putting it together and they were rewarded by having a chance to compete for that ring. Nowadays, the window is so short that by time you try to add that final peice you're losing another and fall back down.

The NBA will never reach the level of the NFL's worst year because the majority of people aren't buying the narrative and want their team to win because the play and foul calling (akin to the catch rule in football) just doesn't jive with casual fans.

The numbers are up, but, it would be astronomical and be a true rival to the NFL if there were true parody in the association.

[froot loops]

If you cater to the purists your audience will not grow. Its why Maroon5 will be playing a ridiculously long halftime at this year's Super Bowl and it is a good business decision. As much as purists like futureshock bag on the NBA, they sure like to comment on it. They couldn't care less about the NBA and they'll prove it with many posts about it. Its kind of like Gonz and soccer.

Defense in today's NBA is much tougher, you have to move your feet. Hand checking and physical toughness is most definitely used to avoid moving the feet.