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[Ripclawe]

more at the link and bring back 90's ball! when if you went up the middle once, you were in fear of your life the second time you tried.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...e-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-calls-nba-finesse

Kobe Bryant said it's been hard to watch the Los Angeles Lakers as they've struggled in his absence, but it turns out he doesn't like watching the NBA in general with the way it is currently being played and officiated across the league.

"It's more of a finesse game," Bryant said before the Lakers played the Chicago Bulls on Monday. "It's more small ball, which, personally, I don't really care much for. I like kind of smash-mouth, old-school basketball because that's what I grew up watching. I also think it's much, much less physical. Some of the flagrant fouls that I see called nowadays, it makes me nauseous. You can't touch a guy without it being a flagrant foul."

Bryant said that the hand-check rule that was introduced nearly a decade ago during the 2004-05 season has made it easier for less-talented players to succeed. Bryant said Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni is at least partially responsible for the shift in style of play across the league.

"I like the contact," Bryant said. "As a defensive player, if you enjoy playing defense, that's what you want. You want to be able to put your hands on a guy. You want to be able to hand check a little bit. The truth is, it makes the game [where] players have to be more skillful. Nowadays, literally anybody can get out there and get to the basket and you can't touch anybody. Back then, if guys put their hands on you, you had to have the skill to be able to go both ways, change direction, post up, you had to have a mid-range game because you didn't want to go all the way to the basket because you would get knocked ass over tea kettle. So I think playing the game back then required much more skill."

Of course, Bryant has scored close to 5,000 points on free throws since the '04-05 season, but he said he doesn't think the rule change has benefited his career in any tangible way.

"Probably not," Bryant said. "Us players, upper-echelon players, are going to do what they do no matter what the rules are. It's not going to make any difference."

Is there any chance the league could revert back to the no harm, no foul ways of the 1980s?

"Kids might be a little too sensitive for that nowadays," Bryant said with a smirk.

 

[CountAntonius]

I agree with him. It was much more fun to watch when things got a bit more physical.

 

[wsoxfan1214]

Agreed. Stop with the bullshit touch fouls and the blatant favoring of teams like the Heat and I'll watch the NBA again.

 

[DominoKid]

old man kobe tells no lies.

 

[johnny_park]

He would've never had that 81 point game if it stayed physical.

 

[Nemo]

I don't really follow basketball but why was touching made illegal in the first place? Holding out your arms doesn't seem to be exactly violent

 

[The Maverick]

Watch Kevin Durant and James Harden play to understand what he's saying. Though they are both talented, they go to the line for petty fouls way too often. I wish they would start holding the whistle a little more in today's game.

Spoiler

Also, Wade 2006 finals. I'm still mad.

 

[hipbabboom]

He would've never had that 81 point game if it stayed physical.

Weren't most of those ranged shots? You would have to also offensive screens would have been more effective as well... a wash?

 

[Khalifa Jayy]

He would've never had that 81 point game if it stayed physical.

It's fun to speculate, but the guy was on another level that day. He would have gotten up there or real close regardless.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Well yea. Thank new rules and zone defenses for that, Kobe.

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

I think this is the first "I wish it were like the good old days" reference when talking about the 1999-2004 era (which was a super iso-focused, very slow paced era that has not really been talked about that fondly before).

 

[Tashi]

I agree with Kobe but it sounds weird coming from him.

 

[Heel]

Agree 100%. Modern NBA is moist as.

 

[thekad]

Yeah, the NBA needs less team oriented play and more hero ball. You go Kobe.

 

[brianjones]

NBA needs more free throws

 

[Kak.efes]

The leagues fallen quite a ways from what made it so great in the 90's. It's tailored towards the individual star player now more than ever. Doesn't help that only a handful of teams ever have any real expectation of winning a championship each year. Parity is dead in the NBA, and has been for a long time.

 

[theignoramus]

Agreed. Stop with the bullshit touch fouls and the blatant favoring of teams like the Heat and I'll watch the NBA again.

you think favoritism and star treatment hasnt been going on in the NBA for decades?
The Lakers and Bulls got their helping of partiality too when they were dynasties.
Also, the game, while being softer than before, is much more watchable due to fast, athletic guards upping the tempo of the game.

The San Antonio Spurs from the early 2000s played the kind of "smash mouth" basketball Bryant is talking about. And everyone said they were a fucking insufferable bore to watch.

 

[FinalStageBoss]

Kobe speaks the truth, nba is soft as butter now. You have guys gettin carted off in wheelchairs cus of a minor shoulder injuries smh

 

[thekad]

The leagues fallen quite a ways from what made it so great in the 90's. It's tailored towards the individual star player now more than ever. Doesn't help that only a handful of teams ever have any real expectation of winning a championship each year. Parity is dead in the NBA, and has been for a long time.

Is this a parody post?

 

[theignoramus]

The leagues fallen quite a ways from what made it so great in the 90's. It's tailored towards the individual star player now more than ever. Doesn't help that only a handful of teams ever have any real expectation of winning a championship each year. Parity is dead in the NBA, and has been for a long time.

Its strange that you would mention the lack of parity today when the 90s had two threepeats from the Bulls.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

They need to nip the flopping and trolling for fouls in the bud quick though. It used to be that scrubs and role players would take on that hateable flopper role, guys like Danny Ainge. Now you have STAR players, guys like Blake "Bitchassness" Griffin, Chris Paul, James Harden and even LeBron flopping all over the court. And as much as I'm a fan of Kobe, he and guys like Wade are just as guilty of that lame move where you just throw yourself into a defender to get a foul call on a shot you had no chance of making or attempting.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

War has changed indeed Old Snake

Is this a parody post?

Parity post?

 

[Enron]

more at the link and bring back 90's ball! when if you went up the middle once, you were in fear of your life the second time you tried.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...e-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-calls-nba-finesse

Fuck 90's ball. Too much of the 90s was players taking bad shots, and playing 1-on-5. The mid-late 90s were so sloppy in particular.

 

[Vipershark]

That's because nobody can match Jordan

 

[the_log_ride]

I agree with the point, but lmfao at who this is coming from. Bring back hand checks!

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Fuck 90's ball. Too much of the 90s was players taking bad shots, and playing 1-on-5. The mid-late 90s were so sloppy in particular.

Like so much of the 90s, people have a rose tinted, nostalgia filled view of how "great" things were. I remember putting on NBA on NBC on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and being tortured by endless Knick/Heat/Pacer games. That was some terrible fucking basketball.

 

[newjeruse]

They said the same thing about your generation Kobe.

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

Meh, Kobe is guilty of this same stuff as well, with his fishing for fouls when jumping into people's chests or kicking legs out and other such nonsense.

There is a middle ground. I don't want 90's Riley fuckball back, but the flopping on offense/defense needs to be toned down.

 

[Phire Phox]

He's right. You look at a dude and your getting hit with a foul.

 

[Fotheringay]

He would've never had that 81 point game if it stayed physical.

Toronto just fucking gave up in that game. In another era perhaps they would have hacked him down, but he single-handedly broke that team's spirit.

 

[Enron]

Like so much of the 90s, people have a rose tinted, nostalgia filled view of how "great" things were. I remember putting on NBA on NBC on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and being tortured by endless Knick/Heat/Pacer games. That was some terrible fucking basketball.

You ain't lying. The era of Allen Iverson and Antoine Walker.

Shoot early, shoot often. Zero fucks, all chucks.

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

Toronto just fucking gave up in that game. In another era perhaps they would have hacked him down, but he single-handedly broke that team's spirit.

In the 90's he would had been laid out probably, fuckball gives no fucks!

 

[Ninja Scooter]

In the 90's he would had been laid out probably, fuckball gives no fucks!

There were plenty of garbage ass scrub teams in the 90s. WHy do you think the Bulls were able to win 72 games in a year?

 

[Onemic]

Agreed 100%

 

[Enron]

Even if the game is softer now, i'll take this NBA over that streetball shit from the late 90s any day.

 

[Aesius]

It boggles my mind that Kobe is an old NBA veteran now.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

It boggles my mind that Kobe is an old NBA veteran now.

He's been in the NBA longer than he hasn't been.

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

There were plenty of garbage ass scrub teams in the 90s. WHy do you think the Bulls were able to win 72 games in a year?

Jordan never dropped 81. Maybe he never wanted to, idk.

Would the 90's scrub teams not gotten physical with Kobe in a similar situation because the rules and vibe was different back then? Or give up like the Raptors.

The other poster was questioning if Kobe would be able to score 81 in 90's because it was more physical. Who knows. Maybe.

 

[Enron]

It boggles my mind that Kobe is an old NBA veteran now.

Want to feel real old? Some of the other guys from the Class of 1996

Antoine Walker
Shareef Abdur Raheem
AI
Stephon Marbury
Kerry Kittles
Peja Stoyakovic
Zydrunas Illgauskus
Ben Wallace

 

[See You Next Wednesday]

Jordan never dropped 81. Maybe he never wanted to, idk.

Would the 90's scrub teams not gotten physical with Kobe in a similar situation because the rules and vibe was different back then? Or give up like the Raptors.

The other poster was questioning if Kobe would be able to score 81 in 90's because it was more physical. Who knows. Maybe.

I don't see this anymore in the NBA

Kobe would hold his own in the '90s.

Now if that was Lebron, would would have flop fainted, would be carried out in a stretcher & later appear on Dateline in a neck brace crying on how he was traumatized.

 

[rokero]

agree the foul calling on NBA has gotten out of control

 

[Dreams-Visions]

I don't see this anymore in the NBA

Kobe would hold his own in the '90s.

Now if that was Lebron, would would have flop fainted, would be carried out in a stretcher & later appear on Dateline in a neck brace crying on how he was traumatized.

I...

...yep, can't disagree at all.

 

[Deleted member 13414]

Jordan never dropped 81. Maybe he never wanted to, idk.

Would the 90's scrub teams not gotten physical with Kobe in a similar situation because the rules and vibe was different back then? Or give up like the Raptors.

The other poster was questioning if Kobe would be able to score 81 in 90's because it was more physical. Who knows. Maybe.

Mabey Kobe wanted to score 81 that day and make sure his team won. Im going to have to check the stats on that game and see if kwame and smush had any points that day. Kobe went off those years. He really didnt have a team. They should have traded shaq for gasol.

 

[RS4-]

League has been soft for years. Players full of bitching

 

[Dereck]

Yep, I agree