A Confused Brit’s View of Basketball: Why’s It So Easy to Score?

BBC ^ | March 11th, 2014 | Jon Langford

[MinorityRepublican]

The most common debunking of the game with slam-dunking is that everything happens in the final two minutes.

And while I agree with the sentiment of this statement, I do not accept that this is the fundamental ailment from which basketball suffers.

The main problem with basketball (thank you for asking) is that it’s too easy for the players to score. And this is not what Benjamin Basketball intended when he invented the sport back in the 1890s.

Okay, his name wasn’t really Benjamin Basketball (sadly)—it was Dr. James Naismith. B

[Roger Kaputnik]

And boring, as well as full of pussies & drama queens who fall down and pretend to be hurt because somebody brushed up against them.

[Rich21IE]

Uh, how hard can it be? The game invented over 100 years ago, the basket height has never changed. But...they have grown the players to plus 7 feet tall. They walk up and dunk it everytime.

[Huntress]

I have no idea who he is. My only point was that he had tattoos that could be covered up easily.

[Yaelle]

Please understand that I respect the athleticism of basketball and all the people who play and coach and work in the world. I dated a college player back in the day. I love still shots of what their bodies can do; its graceful and strong.

I just cannot watch it for long. As a baby and child I went to a zillion games in Wooden’s Pauley Pavilion. I grew up in a home filled with basketball lovers. It just didn’t take for me. Give me a good hockey game and I’m at the edge of my seat.

[Yaelle]

Tennis is, to me, the next most boring sport.

[Bogey78O]

Haha.. I meant about changes. Let the fans figure it out.

[Fightin Whitey]

I appreciate that.

And I was a big Wooden fan though I came along pretty late in the great run.

I went to school at University of North Dakota, home of the Fightin’ Sioux, and share your enthusiasm for hockey.

I’m just saying that in my experience small-town basketball can be a thrilling, heart-warming, almost magical experience.

[Yaelle]

I do love small town sports enthusiasm. In pretty much any sport, including basketball. I love it when you can practically see the tension in the air, whether it’s a national championship or a cross town rivalry. Yeah, I cry at sports movies, I confess. :)

Me as a little tiny kid, asking my dad, in Pauley Pavilion: “Daddy, I think a sign fell off!” Why did I ask that? Because every year they got a new “sign” (banner) to hang on the wall. And I noticed that one number was missing. (They actually didn’t win one once.) Lol. I just thought they hung new signs each year.

[Fightin Whitey]

Go Fightin' Sioux!

(Been a bit of a dry spell lately...oh but they've come so close!)

[mikrofon]

Nothing wrong with draws in my mind, particularly if there’s incentive to NOT play for one (additional points for a win) and, they don’t have to resort to something out of the course of normal play like a shootout, just to get a “winner.” As it is, they also use this concocted stat of Regulation+OT wins as a tiebreaker in the standings as a result.

Not to mix apples & oranges, but I believe there are still draws in boxing – nobody reasonable is suggesting that someone gets beaten silly in order to avoid this…

[Some Fat Guy in L.A.]

If anyone ever cared to make soccer interesting — they would cut the length of the “pitch” in half

Indoor arena soccer is quite exciting. The pitch is smaller and they can bounce the ball off the walls. Don't know if there is still a pro indoor league in existence, but the games were fun to watch back in the day.

[dfwgator]

I disagree. The problem with soccer is that the teams don't play to win; rather, they play not to lose. Sitting on a 1 to 1 tie makes for a really boring game. Indeed, I've often thought that points in the standings ought to be subtracted from both teams so that a tie is more painful than a loss.

Not the case since they instituted 3 points for a win and 1 point for a tie. Which means it takes 3 ties to equal 1 win. In a title race, ties are devastating because it's a drop of two points.

[Labyrinthos]

Not the case since they instituted 3 points for a win and 1 point for a tie. Which means it takes 3 ties to equal 1 win. In a title race, ties are devastating because it's a drop of two points.

That's a nice theory, but the reality is that nearly 30% of the matches in the English Premeir League this season have ended in a draw. The Italian A League is even worse -- 34% of the matches have ended in a draw. And nearly 25% of of the matches in the Spanish and Brazilian leagues anded in ties. BORING! As General Patton famously said, "Americans lover a winner and will not tolerate a loser." Playing for a tie is the same as losing IMHO.