KIRS Notebook – Today’s NBA Offensive Struggles

Great point. The triangle we last saw that operated at a high level wasnt that long ago in 2010 with Pau, Kobe and Bynum/Odom. How about teams like the Suns that thrived in spite of roster limitations last season. Perhaps the Laker Knicks struggles are arising as a result of old offense that enhances there roster limitations.

You’re right though, Danny. Basketball these days does seem to flow better. Another reason for this might be due to the specialization of certain players and positions. We’ve gone from the five positions on the court to who knows how many. We’ve got stretch fours, slashers, guys that hit the corner 3 (Shane Battier), perimeter defenders, etc. There are guys that wouldn’t have been in the league 15-20 years ago because they only do one thing well. These days, if a player can do one thing really well, theres a good chance he’ll find a team and if he’s lucky, he’ll land on the right team (the Spurs) and flourish. No one is going to mistake Danny Green for an All-Star type player but he came up big tonight to force OT. Monta Ellis is a sieve defensively but he hit a game winning jumper tonight. Its sort of like baseball changed with relief pitchers. In the 70s, guys like Catfish Hunter had to pitch 3 innings to get a save but now  you have lefty specialists and right specialists and guys being brought in face one batter.

To go back to your original point though, the european style is only going to become more and more prevalent in the league not only because we’re seeing more and more european players come over and have success but because a lot of the old school coaches are leaving the game, opening things up for guys with younger and fresher ideas. Its only a matter of time.

But if the basis for preferring something is nostalgia is it not inherently flawed? Should we not be able to look at the product and make a choice. I know it may be an era issue but lets take your Ali Tyson analogy. They never faced each other and never will but I think Ali would have destroyed Tyson just based off knowledge i have of the boxing game.

As far as whether 90s style offenses determine how flawed the era was, I think it has more to do with more people understanding how those offenses work and negated their success. Its basic cause and effect. “This offense is successful so lets try and find a way to break it down.” In the NFL, we see this all the time. Tony Sparano made the Wildcat offense popular until teams figured it out. He tried to bring it back with Tebow and the Jets and it didn’t work. That doesn’t make what Sparano did with the Dolphins flawed, it just means the rest of the league caught up and figured it out. I think the same can be said about the NBA.

Compelling arguments on both sides, the NBA is evolving to heights that the former commissioner David Stern couldn’t even imagine. One major difference between both eras, we are in the day and age where coaching has taken second fiddle to actual talent and versatility. For example, Popovich and the Spurs can create a plan for 28 teams in the league and defeat them, but when they reach a team without a consistent offensive scheme such as OKC, they falter and lose. George Karl was praised for letting his 2012-2013 Denver team who won 57 GAMES to do whatever they wanted on offense. The average fan would not see this type of basketball in the 80s/90s. I applaud the fact that this could be a style but it doesn’t win championships.

The Spurs won in 2014 similarity to their previous championships, run through Tim Duncan and let the shooters get open. Miami Heat changed their dynamic in winning championships but they used a style similar to the 96-98 Bulls in which they changed their line up to become smaller by including Toni Kukoc in the 4th quarter. While the 90s have their flaws, the modern game has its own flaws as well. We are in the age of PUBLIC tanking and players are just using their abilities to play the game without actually learning the game properly. We can go back and forth on which era can dominate the other (IE Dream Team vs 2012 Olympic Squad) but we should appreciate 80/90’s basketball because they brought the change to the NBA that we love today.

P.S. Don’t forget, Bob McAdoo was the first stretch 4 to dominate the game, they are a lot more now  but McAdoo was giving the business on a daily rate.