[dirtboy]

I don't watch the NBA. I prefer to watch basketball. The 24-second clock is insane - doesn't give enough time to set up a decent play, instead an offensive possession typically consists of bringing up the ball, passing once and then one-on-one play for the shot. Up the clock to 30-35 seconds, get rid of their stupid pissantish defensive rules, call offensive fouls on Shaquille O'Neal and drop the fouls back to five.

The NBA will, however, get better in the upcoming years - because foreign players will slowly take over the game, and return it to fundamentals. Yao Ming is the best reason to watch an NBA game right now.

[Alberta's Child]

I never understood basketball's appeal, to be honest with you. It's like watching a hockey game with a 24-second shot clock and no goaltenders.

[FreeTally]

call offensive fouls on Shaquille O'Neal and drop the fouls back to five.

Shaq would be sitting on the bench with three fouls after the first three times he touched the ball. LOL!!! I hate the "Shaq Rules" the league had to adopt when he came in. I cant wait until he retires.

The NBA will, however, get better in the upcoming years - because foreign players will slowly take over the game, and return it to fundamentals.

You could be right, and I hope so.

Yao Ming is the best reason to watch an NBA game right now.

I have to admit that I thought he would be a bust. I think I was wrong after seeing him do so well. Right now, he is twice the player Shaq ever was - but he's just 100 lbs or so lighter and the league hasn't changed rules for him.

[THE Aardvark]

The better basketball discipline of the foreign players was probably one of the major reasons the U. S. team flopped so bad in the last World Championships. A slower, more disciplined approach to the game will get the playground legends off their game and expose their weaknesses in fundamental basketball skills. American players will soon have to learn basic skills that were never needed and have been forgotten by most players and coaches. That will make the game better in the long run.

[SamAdams76]

What really ruined NBA basketball for me was the "slam dunks." Once the players started doing that, I was totally turned off. I mean, where's the athletic ability in that? If I was 6'10", I could slam dunk too. Big deal. So all we have now are a bunch of insanely tall players driving to the hoop for a slam dunk (and hoping to draw a foul in the process). The game is now boring as hell. Just like hockey where fighting is now all but banned and everybody hangs around the neutral zone for 60 minutes dumping the puck and hoping for something to happen. But that's a complaint for another thread.

At least we still have the NFL.