No, NBA teams are not all playing exactly the same way | And if you think they are, you’re not paying attention to the right things
December 23, 2024
No, NBA teams are not all playing exactly the same way | And if you think they are, you’re not paying attention to the right things
37 comments
I mean, I suspected I wasn’t paying attention to the right things but flat out being told I wasn’t? Harsh.
I pay attention to the things Stephen A says are important—Knicks, Lakers, which players want it more, etc. Pretty sure that’s all that matters!
Ratings are down because the media is full of entitled whiners
Ratings are down because it’s fucking impossible to follow your team without a minimum of 3 separate streaming services. Give me a full team pass with no blackouts and I’ll give you your fucking money.
>And if you think they are, you’re not paying attention to the right things
That would imply that they’re actually watching the games to begin with.
I look at our team and can say for sure they not like us lol
We are zigging when almost everybody else are zagging and we are zigging ourselves to capturing the Flagg
>Everywhere you look these days, you can hear someone making some form of the same argument: “Every NBA team plays the same way.” It’s *everywhere*. It’s on TV. It’s on Twitter. It’s made its way over to Bluesky. It’s probably in your group texts and your DMs and your G-chats, if you’re still using that.
This is very true and it’s kind of annoying. But I guess that’s what happens when the NBA media deals keep becoming richer and richer.
The cheaper TV packages are becoming priced out, and we suffer more of the casual hot takes from folks who only watch highlights stitched together in a 10-minute-or-less video format along with the usual talking heads who probably don’t watch the games either.
I’m pretty sure the majority just looks at the box score
I keep hearing about ratings but I’m curious about money from merchandising. Ratings are not a reliable indicator of interest/popularity due to how easy it is to get illegal streams. Sometimes it’s easier to watch games illegally than legally.
People buy a lot less music these days, too. I don’t think Americans are not as into music as past generations were.
It is hard to watch games. Put them on TV or fuck right off please.
Some of this is on the presentation. Not everybody knows what teams are doing. Teams in the past had clear schemes whether it was the triangle, or the pick and roll, or showtime, horns, etc. Analysts don’t always go over this during games. You can’t just say, this team runs more screens. That’s how basketball is played. You have to go into detail. What’s the play or set action called? Who is it for? What’s the design? Engage your audience.
I think the nba media and fans saying the playoffs are all that matters for the past 15 years has done a big part of this. People really don’t care what you do in the regular season anymore.
Plus it’s hard to get people to care for 82 games in an age when there’s so much high quality entertainment. It’s a commitment.
Ratings are down because the players don’t care enough and that makes fans lose interest. Why should I care about losing if the players don’t? NBA games are essentially background noise at this point due to lack of intensity.
The product on the floor right now is incredible and all the whinging about playstyle, lack of identifiable stars, etc just seems like lazy analysis from people who don’t want to watch regular season games anyway.
The hilarious thing is that NFL teams have a shit ton less variation than NBA teams.
Referee corruption and greed is why ratings are down.
Yes they are. it depends how you keep track of the data.
Its either pick & roll to setup a 3 point shot, or set a screen to shoot a 3, or…
Idk man. The argument this article makes doesn’t really hit. If you dig super deep into the nuances of team offense, you’ll find differences. But when you consider all the play styles that have existed in basketball history, all current NBA teams play virtually the same way. These nuances are obvious to a basketball writer but not the common fan.
Yeah I’m def in the ballpark that I don’t think the game is as watchable as it used to be a few years ago, but really you can’t even watch them most the time if you want. Its hard to find your team ever.
Realistically the average casual fan that has started tuning out doesn’t have the time or patience to “pay attention” to the entire league.
Point being if they tune into the occasional nationally televised game or watch their local team every once in a while and still walk away feeling like this then there likely has been a tangible change/shift.
Imagine I’m a Bulls fan in Chicago, probably a 45 year old unc/dad that grew up on MJ, and has become distant from the league in recent years. Maybe I watched opening night where the Celtics almost broke the three point record by halftime while looking like they were barely trying. Then I turn on another game in December and see my team and the Hornets combining for fucking 75 missed threes in a game. What conclusion do you think I’m walking away with?
On top of that if I’m already growing disillusioned and then every year it gets harder and harder to watch games with all the apps and services, why would I watch?
Losing the people above ^ are why tv ratings are down. The NBA is probably the strongest professional American sport in terms of internet presence and engagement from younger adults but to have strong TV ratings you gotta appeal to the average middle American uncs and dads and grandpas. The NFL does this well, the NBA does not. Does it matter if a highlight reel of Wemby dunking on Instagram got 100 million views or if the Bill Simmons podcast has a shit ton of listeners if nobody is actually tuning in to watch the games?
There’s two reasons. The fact that I need to buy $300 worth of subscription services to watch all of my away games and the inconsistency of the Ass refs.
Actually they are.
I was watching the nuggets and the kings last night and both teams kept trying to put the ball in the basket.
We need more variety out there
Fix this:
1. Refs controlling games with no oversight.
2. Shitty streaming services.
3. Players randomly taking rest days – I’m not buying tickets or paying to watch games if I can’t watch the players I paid to see.
It’s impossible to respect the NBA in its current form.
If I’m paying for league pass I should be able to watch all my teams games.
It ain’t that fucking complicated.
Nobody cares. Boring af to watch and effing expensive too!
Next time you watch a game count how many on ball screens are in 1 possession and how many possessions end in a kick out or swing pass for a three. Teams absolutely are playing the same, with maybe a few differences in how they set their moving screens and where the kick out 3s come from.
i like watching basketball idk about all of this ratings discourse but i just like watching the game of basketball the league never had like 30 completely unique teams anyway there’s some good basketball being played why can’t we just enjoy it without worrying about ratings which really doesn’t effect us at all as viewers
Points should be inverted, closer you are the more points a shot is worth
Ratings are down because (insert your opinion here with no data to back it up)
Ahh we’re at the “insult the consumer” stage of this mess.
whenever people say “all the teams do is jack up 3s and play no defense” I know they dont watch the games
Yes but also do you expect casual fans to notice these distinctions ? That’s a lot to ask.
This reminds me of math in school. Do some teams run different actions, sets etc? Absolutely. But the result is the same. I don’t care if it’s long division or simple addition – possessions ending in 3s and the lack of finishing and unique skills is becoming overwhelmingly stale and boring to watch.
This was a good read, I really have not liked the common line of, “All they do is take 3s now”, I think it’s a kinda silly way of looking at basketball. I think the NBA media, just generally needs to be more indepth, and actually talk about what’s going on in the game of basketball. It gets people more invested I think, and it can get easier to follow and appreciate the sport. I think the NBA media, and especially online fandom, has focused so much on narratives, and kinda tearing players down, that it’s created a lot of apathy, and results in less people engaging with the actual games. Narratives exist for every sport, and it can be an easier way for people to get into sports, it is apart of the appeal, but the NBA has gone so far with it, for so long, that I think a lot of people, just are less interested in the actual going on’s of the actual games, which is sad. I think it also just leads people, to kind of just be more ready to engage with it, by shitting on it. There’s way more active negativity then any other sport, and I don’t think that’s really all that healthy for the league.
This graphic actually shows me that teams ARE playing the same way lol. The majority of action is P&R, second most is OB screens, third most is DHOs, ALL THREE OF WHICH are typically trying to generate 3s. And pretty much across the board iso play has taken a back seat, and nobody plays in the post anymore. Like, the charts look exactly the same with just a little variation.
Missed threes should be -1 point.
The constant gambling ads and extra stoppages to squeeze in even more gambling ads are a way bigger issue. But all of these talking heads are also sponsored by them so we’ll never hear them admit it
37 comments
I mean, I suspected I wasn’t paying attention to the right things but flat out being told I wasn’t? Harsh.
I pay attention to the things Stephen A says are important—Knicks, Lakers, which players want it more, etc. Pretty sure that’s all that matters!
Ratings are down because the media is full of entitled whiners
Ratings are down because it’s fucking impossible to follow your team without a minimum of 3 separate streaming services. Give me a full team pass with no blackouts and I’ll give you your fucking money.
>And if you think they are, you’re not paying attention to the right things
That would imply that they’re actually watching the games to begin with.
I look at our team and can say for sure they not like us lol
We are zigging when almost everybody else are zagging and we are zigging ourselves to capturing the Flagg
>Everywhere you look these days, you can hear someone making some form of the same argument: “Every NBA team plays the same way.” It’s *everywhere*. It’s on TV. It’s on Twitter. It’s made its way over to Bluesky. It’s probably in your group texts and your DMs and your G-chats, if you’re still using that.
This is very true and it’s kind of annoying. But I guess that’s what happens when the NBA media deals keep becoming richer and richer.
The cheaper TV packages are becoming priced out, and we suffer more of the casual hot takes from folks who only watch highlights stitched together in a 10-minute-or-less video format along with the usual talking heads who probably don’t watch the games either.
I’m pretty sure the majority just looks at the box score
I keep hearing about ratings but I’m curious about money from merchandising. Ratings are not a reliable indicator of interest/popularity due to how easy it is to get illegal streams. Sometimes it’s easier to watch games illegally than legally.
People buy a lot less music these days, too. I don’t think Americans are not as into music as past generations were.
It is hard to watch games. Put them on TV or fuck right off please.
Some of this is on the presentation. Not everybody knows what teams are doing. Teams in the past had clear schemes whether it was the triangle, or the pick and roll, or showtime, horns, etc. Analysts don’t always go over this during games. You can’t just say, this team runs more screens. That’s how basketball is played. You have to go into detail. What’s the play or set action called? Who is it for? What’s the design? Engage your audience.
I think the nba media and fans saying the playoffs are all that matters for the past 15 years has done a big part of this. People really don’t care what you do in the regular season anymore.
Plus it’s hard to get people to care for 82 games in an age when there’s so much high quality entertainment. It’s a commitment.
Ratings are down because the players don’t care enough and that makes fans lose interest. Why should I care about losing if the players don’t? NBA games are essentially background noise at this point due to lack of intensity.
The product on the floor right now is incredible and all the whinging about playstyle, lack of identifiable stars, etc just seems like lazy analysis from people who don’t want to watch regular season games anyway.
The hilarious thing is that NFL teams have a shit ton less variation than NBA teams.
Referee corruption and greed is why ratings are down.
Yes they are. it depends how you keep track of the data.
Its either pick & roll to setup a 3 point shot, or set a screen to shoot a 3, or…
Idk man. The argument this article makes doesn’t really hit. If you dig super deep into the nuances of team offense, you’ll find differences. But when you consider all the play styles that have existed in basketball history, all current NBA teams play virtually the same way. These nuances are obvious to a basketball writer but not the common fan.
Yeah I’m def in the ballpark that I don’t think the game is as watchable as it used to be a few years ago, but really you can’t even watch them most the time if you want. Its hard to find your team ever.
Realistically the average casual fan that has started tuning out doesn’t have the time or patience to “pay attention” to the entire league.
Point being if they tune into the occasional nationally televised game or watch their local team every once in a while and still walk away feeling like this then there likely has been a tangible change/shift.
Imagine I’m a Bulls fan in Chicago, probably a 45 year old unc/dad that grew up on MJ, and has become distant from the league in recent years. Maybe I watched opening night where the Celtics almost broke the three point record by halftime while looking like they were barely trying. Then I turn on another game in December and see my team and the Hornets combining for fucking 75 missed threes in a game. What conclusion do you think I’m walking away with?
On top of that if I’m already growing disillusioned and then every year it gets harder and harder to watch games with all the apps and services, why would I watch?
Losing the people above ^ are why tv ratings are down. The NBA is probably the strongest professional American sport in terms of internet presence and engagement from younger adults but to have strong TV ratings you gotta appeal to the average middle American uncs and dads and grandpas. The NFL does this well, the NBA does not. Does it matter if a highlight reel of Wemby dunking on Instagram got 100 million views or if the Bill Simmons podcast has a shit ton of listeners if nobody is actually tuning in to watch the games?
There’s two reasons. The fact that I need to buy $300 worth of subscription services to watch all of my away games and the inconsistency of the Ass refs.
Actually they are.
I was watching the nuggets and the kings last night and both teams kept trying to put the ball in the basket.
We need more variety out there
Fix this:
1. Refs controlling games with no oversight.
2. Shitty streaming services.
3. Players randomly taking rest days – I’m not buying tickets or paying to watch games if I can’t watch the players I paid to see.
It’s impossible to respect the NBA in its current form.
If I’m paying for league pass I should be able to watch all my teams games.
It ain’t that fucking complicated.
Nobody cares.
Boring af to watch and effing expensive too!
Next time you watch a game count how many on ball screens are in 1 possession and how many possessions end in a kick out or swing pass for a three. Teams absolutely are playing the same, with maybe a few differences in how they set their moving screens and where the kick out 3s come from.
i like watching basketball idk about all of this ratings discourse but i just like watching the game of basketball the league never had like 30 completely unique teams anyway there’s some good basketball being played why can’t we just enjoy it without worrying about ratings which really doesn’t effect us at all as viewers
Points should be inverted, closer you are the more points a shot is worth
Ratings are down because (insert your opinion here with no data to back it up)
Ahh we’re at the “insult the consumer” stage of this mess.
whenever people say “all the teams do is jack up 3s and play no defense” I know they dont watch the games
Yes but also do you expect casual fans to notice these distinctions ? That’s a lot to ask.
This reminds me of math in school. Do some teams run different actions, sets etc? Absolutely. But the result is the same. I don’t care if it’s long division or simple addition – possessions ending in 3s and the lack of finishing and unique skills is becoming overwhelmingly stale and boring to watch.
This was a good read, I really have not liked the common line of, “All they do is take 3s now”, I think it’s a kinda silly way of looking at basketball. I think the NBA media, just generally needs to be more indepth, and actually talk about what’s going on in the game of basketball. It gets people more invested I think, and it can get easier to follow and appreciate the sport. I think the NBA media, and especially online fandom, has focused so much on narratives, and kinda tearing players down, that it’s created a lot of apathy, and results in less people engaging with the actual games. Narratives exist for every sport, and it can be an easier way for people to get into sports, it is apart of the appeal, but the NBA has gone so far with it, for so long, that I think a lot of people, just are less interested in the actual going on’s of the actual games, which is sad. I think it also just leads people, to kind of just be more ready to engage with it, by shitting on it. There’s way more active negativity then any other sport, and I don’t think that’s really all that healthy for the league.
This graphic actually shows me that teams ARE playing the same way lol. The majority of action is P&R, second most is OB screens, third most is DHOs, ALL THREE OF WHICH are typically trying to generate 3s. And pretty much across the board iso play has taken a back seat, and nobody plays in the post anymore. Like, the charts look exactly the same with just a little variation.
Missed threes should be -1 point.
The constant gambling ads and extra stoppages to squeeze in even more gambling ads are a way bigger issue. But all of these talking heads are also sponsored by them so we’ll never hear them admit it