Are we witnessing the NBA Playoffs or NBA Rico Hines scrimmages?

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

You truly struggle with reading comprehension.

instead of arguing semantics of the label I put on those issues you should’ve tried to actually comprehend the point being made which was around the question of if these guys were playing at their best, not if these non bball () issues affected the game.

You don't have a point.

You missed the mark, altogether, and are completely ignorant of the fact that these aren't the normal conditions to what is a regular playoff settting. In your fumbling attempt to contrast what happened in 1959 as opposed to what happens today, as a reflection of how things have changed over time, you failed to realize that these conditions don't run parallel to what happened last season, and the likelihood of them not running parallel to what happens next season. This bubble shyt is a deviation from the norm; it is not changing of the times, or moving forward, or any type of progression of the state of the world. Travel, fans/crowd, atmosphere minutiae are all going to return - those basketball factors will be in play again - barring we don't end up in a basketball-dystopia.

Which is why I initially put forth a counter-argument of: how are we witnessing how good everyone is without those additional pressures, when those additional pressures are the standard, and ultimately shape our perception of the players and the game. Those pressures will be there next season. Does that mean we won't be witnessing how good everyone really is next year when those pressures return, does that mean we've been lying to ourselves this whole time watching a game where we don't get to see how good everyone is, and does that mean that all those basketball factors shouldn't be used as an estimation when valuing what happens going forward?

 

[thenatural]

I like it tbh. It shows how great these dudes are at their sport. This has been discussed on here before multiple times even when they had fans in the stands. The pace of play is similar to the 80s and the talent has also evolved. It's a natural progression. I would also say that the players' knowing the rims and court is more important than having a bunch of fans yelling "you suck" in the stands.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

@Barnett114

 

[Barnett114]

@Barnett114

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

I wonder if anyone's stance has changed given all the record-breaking shooting in the 1st round.

 

[rbksNgirbauds]

I wonder if anyone's stance has changed given all the record-breaking shooting in the 1st round.

Of course not, people on here, and in general are just stubborn

Do you have the statistics tho? I’m just curious

 

[Osmosis]

I wonder if anyone's stance has changed given all the record-breaking shooting in the 1st round.

Other than Utah and Denver, what teams have shot better than their averages? Genuinely curious.

 

[Buckeye Fever]

Fun basketball to watch but I can't act like this is the same thing. The atmosphere is so crucial to what the NBA playoffs are.

I dont get what people dont understand about this.

What I will say is, there are no intimidating atmospheres in todays NBA. These arenas are so state-of-the-art.

There is no musty Boston Garden.

No old Chicago Stadium.

No Bad Boys Palace.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

Of course not, people on here, and in general are just stubborn

Do you have the statistics tho? I’m just curious

Other than Utah and Denver, what teams have shot better than their averages? Genuinely curious.

Raptors improved from 37% to 43% (on greater volume)
Jazz improved from 38% to 42% (on greater volume)
Nuggets improved from 36% to 42% (on greater volume)
Clippers improved from 37% to 40.4% (on greater volume)
Heat improved from 38% to 39% (on less volume)
Bucks improved from 35% to 38% (on greater volume)
T'Blazers improved from 37% to 38% (on greater volume)
Magic improved from 34% to 37% (on greater volume)
Pacers improved from 36% to 37% (on greater volume)
Rockets improved from 34% to 36% (on greater volume)
Mavs improved from 36% to 37% (on greater volume)

Lakers, Celtics, 76ers and Nets had near-equal percentages or slightly lower, and/or on similar or greater volume.

Playoff teams' 3-pt shooting had an overall +9% increase (taking into account comparative volume) from the regular season to the 1st round. And yes, there's certainly the lining of sample size here, but if you take the overall 9% increase in the Bubble for the 1st round, and compare it to the 1st round last season, which had a drop of -7%, you'll see that there's a 16% differential of 3-pt shooting between the Bubble 1st round and the 1st round of last season.

Some of this can be explained by variance and teams' overall shooting improving from last season, but a large portion of it has to do with the Bubble conditions.

 

[Left.A1]

There's been a lot of discussion around the legitimacy of this bubble setting and whether or not if it's the real deal.

The conventional basketball-truths:

1. Depth of perception - due to the lack of background visual noise, there's a greater focus of light on the court, rim and net, which gives players a more distinct demarcation when lining up their shots. We've heard players already speak on this:
   
2. Travel - the factor of fatigue is less in play.
3. Crowd - the factor of fan pressure and distraction isn't in play; this is particularly relevant during closing possessions and free-throws.
4. Homecourt advantage - the factor of altitude, familiarity with court makeup, and bounce-factor of rims is all at a net of zero.
5. More perceptual space/less mental intrusion - since there are no fans directly courtside or player benches, players have more comfortability when navigating and shooting near the sidelines.

It's important to acknowledge that these factors exist, and aid in player performance, but at the same time, they all count just the same, even if the conditions/environment aren't identical to seasons of the past.

Dammmmmn...it's fukked up that these compulsive nikkas gotta delegitimize AMAZING performances from young superstars like Donovan Mitchell... That kid balled the hell out and deserves acknowledgement without attributing his success to these unique circumstances you know...





Hopefully the kid comes back and continues to do his thing next playoffs in what these posters assert to be a more "legit" situation.. One outside of the "Rico Hines private run" inflated environment posters like this are talking about

 

[rbksNgirbauds]

Dammmmmn...it's fukked up that these compulsive nikkas gotta delegitimize AMAZING performances from young superstars like Donovan Mitchell... That kid balled the hell out and deserves acknowledgement without attributing his success to these unique circumstances you know...





Hopefully the kid comes back and continues to do his thing next playoffs in what these posters assert to be a more "legit" situation.. One outside of the "Rico Hines private run" inflated environment posters like this are talking about

I can guarantee you neither one of those cats will have another 50 point playoff game in a normal setting....guarantee it

These achievements in this year’s playoffs will always need to have (bubble ) attached to themfor proper context . It’s not the same, it’s simply just not.

 

[Left.A1]

I can guarantee you neither one of those cats will have another 50 point playoff game in a normal setting....guarantee it

These achievements in this year’s playoffs will always need to have (bubble ) attached to themfor proper context . It’s not the same, it’s simply just not.

Damn...Hold on my G... You talking about Mitchell??? He literally just scored I believe the 3rd or 4th most points in playoff history for a single game... What makes you think the bolded is true??

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

I can guarantee you neither one of those cats will have another 50 point playoff game in a normal setting....guarantee it

These achievements in this year’s playoffs will always need to have (bubble ) attached to themfor proper context . It’s not the same, it’s simply just not.

Don't mind the ho babble coming from @Left.A1.

His poor attempt at satirical sparring is all because he tried to crown Ben Simmons over Donovan, and can't come to terms with the fact that Ben wouldn't have been able to play at the level we just saw Mitchell play at - Bubble or no Bubble.

 

[Rigby.]

Jamal and Donovan had horrible shooting days for most of the game, but that won't be used against the prevailing argument on this board shyt is really nonsensical to dismiss an entire postseason bc what a handful of guys are doing but thats what people here do best

 

[rbksNgirbauds]

Damn...Hold on my G... You talking about Mitchell??? He literally just scored I believe the 3rd or 4th most points in playoff history for a single game... What makes you think the bolded is true??

He did that shyt in the bubble. It’s not comparable to others who did it in arenas.....and time gne prove me right