I dont care what they say about the Pheonix Suns....

SportSavant · May 30, 2005

maybe playing their style with little defence DOESNT win championships....

but one thing I can sure tell you...

IT SURE IS FUN TO WATCH!!!!

arty:

the NBA should take note & make whatever rule changes necessary to speed up the game the same way it is when the SUNS play...

Seymour · May 30, 2005

Let's go to a 6 second shot clock so you can enjoy the games even more.

ClipJoint · May 31, 2005

Or I have a better idea...how about we stop teaching every young basketball player that a flashy dribble or pass is actually worth more than the fundamentals. Dunking on someone doesn't earn you extra points...and it is ok to actually be able to hit an open 15 foot shot because it counts the same as a 360 dunk.

SportSavant · May 31, 2005

exactly CLIP,

similar to hockey which has become Bogged down, there are ways to make these games more exciting....

of course the PURISTS will always fight this, but who cares about them? they will love the game wether it changes or not, they are ALREADY fans for life.

BELEIVE YOU ME....

if the NBA could make everyday basketball more like Pheonix Sun Basketball..... THEY WOULD HAVE MORE FANS.....

Same with the NHL, if they opened up the game, brought in exciting penalty shots etc.....

The Purist will remain a fan no matter what.... BUT MANY new fans would emerge.

WildBill · May 31, 2005

What the Suns do isn't something you can replicate easily. You have to have guys with great quickness and range, things you don't always get with the defensive minded players who populate the NBA now. The other thing the Suns do is they have trust in everyone else because of that quickness and range. If other teams passed it around as much as the Suns do they probably would be overpassing. On the Suns that is creating a more open shot for an equally talented player. Guys like Marion, Johnson, and Q don't ever have a play called or designed for them, they just get the ball because of the extra passes the team makes. Hard to find another team where passing it to the third or fourth option on the floor makes sense, but in Phoenix it does.

ClipJoint · May 31, 2005

Hmm...sorry Sports Savant, but I think I didn't do a very good job of explaining myself. I am a purist. :103631605

I think more teams would score more points if they had players that perfected the fundamentals before learning how to dribble between their legs, throw passes off their elbows, cover their eyes when they dunk, etc...

If guys could still hit open jumpers, scoring would go up which is what people are looking for. Players are much more athletic these days and the dunks make the game exciting...there will always be exciting plays and dunks with as athletic as everyone is. But scoring will never increase without guys that can make open shots.

I LOVE watching Stoudamire throw one down in someone's grill probably more than any other fan in the world...but I hate watching guys getting paid $15 million a year that can't hit a free throw from a line that hasn't moved for them since grammar school.