Why I hate basketball

[NUProf]

Just got done watching the VCU/Butler BB game and realized why I hate basketball so much.

1. There's way too much scoring. A goal in hockey is an event. A basket in basketball (unless it happens in the last two minutes) is a big meh, except that some players seem to have to celebrate every score anyway with this look at me, I'm so cool chest thump act.

2. Time outs - it seems like they call time outs every 30 seconds or so and they last for two minutes. In hockey each team gets 1 for the whole game.

3. The way way the last two minutes of a game drags on and on even after the outcome is determined because the trailing team either calls time out (see above) or commits an intentional violation of the rules to stop the clock (see below). In hockey the last two minutes of the game takes about the same amount of time as the first two minutes.

4. At the end of the game, the trailing team deliberately fouls because fouling gives them an advantage if the other side misses a free throw. Except when covering up for a really bad defensive play, there is no advantage to be gained in hockey by committing an intentional foul. Why should a team be rewarded for deliberately violating the rules?

I tried, I really tried to watch with interest, but in the end I was bored.

 

[snc1]

Re: Why I hate basketball

All very good points. I can watch about two minutes of basketball before my ADD kicks in. Although to somewhat contradict myself I'm sitting here watching college baseball on the U.

 

[MCHA GURU]

Re: Why I hate basketball

With you on all points except the too much scoring.

Not sure anyone would play or watch if scoring was not how the majority of the game went.

But yes on all others. Especially the timeouts...

 

[AC09]

Re: Why I hate basketball

All very good points. I can watch about two minutes of basketball before my ADD kicks in. Although to somewhat contradict myself I'm sitting here watching college baseball on the U.

Baseball...LOL! When a pitcher is having a pristine game, it is the most boring thing to watch IMO.

As for basketball, I agree about the timeouts. The intentional-fouling seems strange, but free-throws are a fundamental skill. If you want to win close games, practice the fundamentals. Same goes for any sport. As for scoring, a high-scoring game is exciting to watch in any sport, as long as it's not just one team doing all of the scoring

 

[The Real Georgia Peach]

Re: Why I hate basketball

But you gotta admit, those squeakball players have real cool body art...

 

[Dandydan]

Re: Why I hate basketball

"that most players seem to have to celebrate every score, pass, steal, rebound with this look at me, I'm so cool chest thump act"


Number 1 reason why basketball is so hard to watch!!!

 

[norm1909]

Re: Why I hate basketball

It doesn't help when fans of the high school basketball tournaments clog up the field house parking lot - that - is Why I hate basketball

 

[hockeyfan77]

Re: Why I hate basketball

Cause you have to be a man giant to play the game. I am 6'3. 230 and I am a midget on the court.!!!! That's why I hate basketball!!!!

 

[NUProf]

Re: Why I hate basketball

Cause you have to be a man giant to play the game. I am 6'3. 230 and I am a midget on the court.!!!! That's why I hate basketball!!!!

Even a Casey Beaulac or a Phil Aucoin who were not given the size gene could be very good hockey players

 

[mdmadison]

Re: Why I hate basketball

Just got done watching the VCU/Butler BB game and realized why I hate basketball so much.

3. The way way the last two minutes of a game drags on and on even after the outcome is determined because the trailing team either calls time out (see above) or commits an intentional violation of the rules to stop the clock (see below). In hockey the last two minutes of the game takes about the same amount of time as the first two minutes.

The last 30 seconds in basketball are the longest 15 minutes on TV.

 

[NUProf]

Re: Why I hate basketball

The last 30 seconds in basketball are the longest 15 minutes on TV.

+1

(especially if you are waiting for the show that comes next.)

 

[KnightsOfTheRound]

Re: Why I hate basketball

4. At the end of the game, the trailing team deliberately fouls because fouling gives them an advantage if the other side misses a free throw. Except when covering up for a really bad defensive play, there is no advantage to be gained in hockey by committing an intentional foul. Why should a team be rewarded for deliberately violating the rules?

Your other points are fair I think (you don't like basketball, gotcha), but I take issue with this last one. Fouling at the end of the game isn't so much a "violation of the rules" as it is a sanctioned way to stop the clock by putting the other team on the line. If it were indeed a violation of the rules the refs would call an intentional foul or a technical foul, but they never do, so I think we have to assume it is considered acceptable behavior.

It would be a violation of the rules if the trailing team, in desperation, shoved the an offensive player to the ground or otherwise tried to do physical harm to him. It would result in two free throws for the leading team AND possession of the basketball after that. Needless to say, the trailing team does NOT want to do this in a game they are still trying to win.

Generally, all a player who is trying to commit an intentional foul does is wrap his arms around the player with the ball, or something similarly silly and harmless, to signal to the ref that he wants to commit a foul. I've even heard that sometimes players are told to tell the ref before the ball is inbounded "I'm going to foul this guy right here" just so the ref is looking for it and will blow the whistle faster. You're free to think this is dumb if you want, but to say that it is somehow cheating or "violating the rules" is just taking the term "foul" too literally and making an overly semantic and simplistic argument.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Why I hate basketball

Your other points are fair I think (you don't like basketball, gotcha), but I take issue with this last one. Fouling at the end of the game isn't so much a "violation of the rules" as it is a sanctioned way to stop the clock by putting the other team on the line. If it were indeed a violation of the rules the refs would call an intentional foul or a technical foul, but they never do, so I think we have to assume it is considered acceptable behavior.

It would be a violation of the rules if the trailing team, in desperation, shoved the an offensive player to the ground or otherwise tried to do physical harm to him. It would result in two free throws for the leading team AND possession of the basketball after that. Needless to say, the trailing team does NOT want to do this in a game they are still trying to win.

Generally, all a player who is trying to commit an intentional foul does is wrap his arms around the player with the ball, or something similarly silly and harmless, to signal to the ref that he wants to commit a foul. I've even heard that sometimes players are told to tell the ref before the ball is inbounded "I'm going to foul this guy right here" just so the ref is looking for it and will blow the whistle faster. You're free to think this is dumb if you want, but to say that it is somehow cheating or "violating the rules" is just taking the term "foul" too literally and making an overly semantic and simplistic argument.

It used to be (at least in the NBA) that a technical foul would result in one free throw and then the team that commited the foul gets the ball at midcourt. Obviously they have since changed this rule.

The rules are always going to be an integral part to any game; heck the rules (or at least lack of understanding) is the reason that some don't like hockey. The reason I don't like basketball is because it's become a showboating sport. All you really see is three-pointers and slam dunks anymore. I think the defining moment was the 2004 Olympics when the USA lost a game in the round robin because they were pretty much showboating (with maybe exception to Tim Duncan). At least back in the 90's, yes you had Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal, but it was very much still a team sport, and there were still fundamentals involved and actual defense.

 

[NUProf]

Re: Why I hate basketball

Your other points are fair I think (you don't like basketball, gotcha), but I take issue with this last one. Fouling at the end of the game isn't so much a "violation of the rules" as it is a sanctioned way to stop the clock by putting the other team on the line. If it were indeed a violation of the rules the refs would call an intentional foul or a technical foul, but they never do, so I think we have to assume it is considered acceptable behavior.

It would be a violation of the rules if the trailing team, in desperation, shoved the an offensive player to the ground or otherwise tried to do physical harm to him. It would result in two free throws for the leading team AND possession of the basketball after that. Needless to say, the trailing team does NOT want to do this in a game they are still trying to win.

Generally, all a player who is trying to commit an intentional foul does is wrap his arms around the player with the ball, or something similarly silly and harmless, to signal to the ref that he wants to commit a foul. I've even heard that sometimes players are told to tell the ref before the ball is inbounded "I'm going to foul this guy right here" just so the ref is looking for it and will blow the whistle faster. You're free to think this is dumb if you want, but to say that it is somehow cheating or "violating the rules" is just taking the term "foul" too literally and making an overly semantic and simplistic argument.

Its still an intentional foul whether it is according to the rules of the game or not. A foul is an act against the rules of the game. You are deliberately doing so. It makes the game drag on forever. My solution (which actually was the rule when I was a youth - If a foul is committed during the last two minutes, the offended team can either put the ball back in play from out of bounds or shoot their free throws. Takes all the advantage away from committing a foul. You could, if you want to give the team that is losing a better chance, make it a 15 second shot clock in the last two minutes.

 

[KnightsOfTheRound]

Re: Why I hate basketball

It makes the game drag on forever. My solution (which actually was the rule when I was a youth - If a foul is committed during the last two minutes, the offended team can either put the ball back in play from out of bounds or shoot their free throws. Takes all the advantage away from committing a foul. You could, if you want to give the team that is losing a better chance, make it a 15 second shot clock in the last two minutes.

That's all fair enough. Personally I'd object to this change since I've only ever known the game under the current rules, and changing them now would make it seem like a different game than the one I'm familiar with. Strange but true, I kind like it that the excitement gets drawn out longer than it should during a close basketball game.

I've heard it seriously argued before that pulling the goaltender for an extra attacker at the end of a hockey game should be removed from the game. I can't fathom why anybody would think that because to me empty net hockey is about the most exciting thing in sports, but people can legitimately disagree about these things I guess.

 

[NUProf]

Re: Why I hate basketball

That's all fair enough. Personally I'd object to this change since I've only ever known the game under the current rules, and changing them now would make it seem like a different game than the one I'm familiar with. Strange but true, I kind like it that the excitement gets drawn out longer than it should during a close basketball game.

I've heard it seriously argued before that pulling the goaltender for an extra attacker at the end of a hockey game should be removed from the game. I can't fathom why anybody would think that because to me empty net hockey is about the most exciting thing in sports, but people can legitimately disagree about these things I guess.

I don't know why people would object to pulling the goalie. Seeing a parade to the free throw line bores me, but since this is the only weekend that I watch basketball, I'll live with it. Some people like classical music, some like rock, some like country. Everybody is entitled to their own sense of taste.

 

[unofan]

Re: Why I hate basketball

2. Time outs - it seems like they call time outs every 30 seconds or so and they last for two minutes. In hockey each team gets 1 for the whole game.

It's not nearly as bad as the NBA. And it wouldn't be nearly as bad if they didn't extend the media timeout lengths during the tournament. Blame CBS and the NCAA, not the game itself.

For most if not all D1 games, there are built in media timeouts - first whistle after the 16, 12, 8, and 4 minute marks of each half. In most regular season games these are 105 seconds long, for NCAA tournament games they're 120 or even 150 seconds long.

When the media timeout format is used, each team gets 5 time outs, four thirty second ones and one "full" one. One :30 for each team is a "use it or lose it," as you can only carry four timeouts past half time. The first timeout called by either team in the 2nd half counts as a :30 but will be extended to a "full" automatically for commercial purposes.

The problem really comes from games that are pretty much decided (5-10 point lead) taking longer than one that is only 1-3 point lead. If it's a one possession game or tied, each team plays defense normally. As soon as it becomes a 4 point lead or more, though, the fouling begins. Sometimes way earlier than necessary. The ones that really get me are the teams down 10 that start fouling with 2 minutes to go and chucking up shots from 25 feet out. Simply unnecessary.

 

[unofan]

Re: Why I hate basketball

That's all fair enough. Personally I'd object to this change since I've only ever known the game under the current rules, and changing them now would make it seem like a different game than the one I'm familiar with. Strange but true, I kind like it that the excitement gets drawn out longer than it should during a close basketball game.

The NCAA actually allowed preseason tournaments to try a variation of this a few years back. The teams hated it, because there was a greater risk of a turnover than there was of missing the foul shots.

 

[OZFEST]

Re: Why I hate basketball

Your other points are fair I think (you don't like basketball, gotcha), but I take issue with this last one. Fouling at the end of the game isn't so much a "violation of the rules" as it is a sanctioned way to stop the clock by putting the other team on the line. If it were indeed a violation of the rules the refs would call an intentional foul or a technical foul, but they never do, so I think we have to assume it is considered acceptable behavior.

It would be a violation of the rules if the trailing team, in desperation, shoved the an offensive player to the ground or otherwise tried to do physical harm to him. It would result in two free throws for the leading team AND possession of the basketball after that. Needless to say, the trailing team does NOT want to do this in a game they are still trying to win.

Generally, all a player who is trying to commit an intentional foul does is wrap his arms around the player with the ball, or something similarly silly and harmless, to signal to the ref that he wants to commit a foul. I've even heard that sometimes players are told to tell the ref before the ball is inbounded "I'm going to foul this guy right here" just so the ref is looking for it and will blow the whistle faster. You're free to think this is dumb if you want, but to say that it is somehow cheating or "violating the rules" is just taking the term "foul" too literally and making an overly semantic and simplistic argument.

Yes, the "goal" of the intentional foul being getting the ball back quickly after the FT to go on the offensive. My personal problem of todays 'game ending strategies' is waiting to shoot the game winning shot in a close or tied game. (see Florida v. Butler in the regionals) I hate it when I see teams set up for that; I say go for the points and then get on defense. I used to follow the Magic and had season tickets here in Orlando. Now all I follow is the college game and I wait for UCF to break my heart year after year. I see UCONN in a tight one tonight.

 

[KnightsOfTheRound]

Re: Why I hate basketball

My personal problem of todays 'game ending strategies' is waiting to shoot the game winning shot in a close or tied game. (see Florida v. Butler in the regionals) I hate it when I see teams set up for that; I say go for the points and then get on defense.

Heh, I hear you on that. I think if I was coaching I'd tell my guys to hold for the last shot during a tie game, but to score, score quickly, and score any way you can when we're losing. Seeing teams hold for the last shot when they're losing makes me

I don't know who will win, but my natural propensity to cheer for an underdog makes me a Butler fan at least until the net comes down tonight.