I cannot believe how bad NBA basketball is today compared to what it could be. Watching the NBA finals is watching great athletes stand in a half-circle around the three-point line too much of the time.
It's young guys playing old man's basketball. There are literally 10 players standing around the arc so often, that if you drank a beer every time all 10 players were standing next to the three-point line during an NBA game, you would get drunk! Mathematics says we can fix this!
CHARACTER
I grew up loving basketball because it was so exciting. When I watched high school basketball in the 1970s it was non-stop running and gunning full court all the time! I saw a high school team score over 100 points a game twice, and there was no three-point line back then! When I got old enough to play, all we did was fast break! Today, it seems like it's full-time walking and stepping backwards behind the three-point line. The most coveted players are the ones who can step backwards the best. There is no non-stop forward motion!
CHARACTER 2
I grew up loving the ABA! Dr. J was running full court and slamming it down in unbelievable fashion all the time!
We once had Houston's Phi Slama Jama(R)! Remember when Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwan came along in college and played full court all the time? It was non-stop running and dunking! That was thrilling basketball. That was rocking and rolling basketball. It was a dunkathon.
CHARACTER
How can you make a high-speed game slow? By stepping backwards all the time.
CHARACTER 2
The mathematics of today's NBA game are all screwed up. Instead of running and gunning, and fast breaking, and being exciting, it's better to step backwards behind the three-point line.
Let's say you shoot a hundred shots in a game. If you shoot all three-pointers and you make 40% of them you have scored 120 points. If you shoot all two-pointers and you make 50% of them you have only made a 100 points. Mathematically it's much better to shoot three pointers!
CHARACTER
We can fix this! We can start by playing 4-on-4 full court. We can start with a TV show about starting 4-on-4 games. This would be great for upstart sports organizations like Outkick or Barstool Sports, or for new social networks that need sports highlights. The fans can post the highlights! The fans can be the camera operators using smartphones!
Entrepreneurs need to step up. Why are we watching boring basketball? Set the players free with room to play! Uncage players like LeBron James to run and gun. Set them free. There are far too many great basketball players today without enough wide open games for them to play in. Run and dunk!
Copyright (c) Bradley R. Hennenfent, MD. All Rights reserved. This blog is an ongoing script and treatment.
