Why is the NBA so predictable year after year?

[Virtanen18]

The Bulls didn't stack their team like the Cavs and Warriors. Their stars came from drafting them then during their 2nd run of championships the added a head case nobody wanted in Rodman to help their D. They played Utah in the finals twice and then played Portland, Seattle, Phoenix, and the LA. They beat a lot of teams to be the best and all of those teams had stars. The east was also a lot more difficult with the likes of NY, Miami, and Indiana. That is parity and the Bulls proved they were the best. The mentality then was to beat everyone, not join up with them to all but guarantee a championship. OKC was on the cusp of winning, especially if Harden didn't leave, and then Durant left for the team that bested them. That's like Jordan leaving the Bulls and going to play for Detroit because he couldn't beat them.

The Warriors are a pretty bad example to use of stacking a team. They were 73-9 without adding one of the GOAT scorers in his prime. I don't remember something like that even happening before, but that's how free agency works. One thing like this happened and the CBA now has the KD rule with salaries. The Cavs are debatable as well. It's less now, but people used to **** all over Kyrie's game (the only "star" Cleveland had when LeBron joined them). They added Love in exchange for the 1st overall pick, and just now people have finally stopped saying the Cavs should trade him lol.

One team having two separate 3-peats doesn't really scream parity to me. The rest of the league competing for the right to lose to Jordan in the finals seems worse than the current Cavs/Warriors inevitability, where you can't guarantee a winner either way. Without the greatness of parity, last year was probably the greatest finals of all time. The Cavs vs a team that runs a brilliant system with terrific players they got through the draft. How do you try and fix that?

 

[Stylizer1]

The Warriors are a pretty bad example to use of stacking a team. They were 73-9 without adding one of the GOAT scorers in his prime. I don't remember something like that even happening before, but that's how free agency works. One thing like this happened and the CBA now has the KD rule with salaries. The Cavs are debatable as well. It's less now, but people used to **** all over Kyrie's game (the only "star" Cleveland had when LeBron joined them). They added Love in exchange for the 1st overall pick, and just now people have finally stopped saying the Cavs should trade him lol.

One team having two separate 3-peats doesn't really scream parity to me. The rest of the league competing for the right to lose to Jordan in the finals seems worse than the current Cavs/Warriors inevitability, where you can't guarantee a winner either way. Without the greatness of parity, last year was probably the greatest finals of all time. The Cavs vs a team that runs a brilliant system with terrific players they got through the draft. How do you try and fix that?

It took Jordan 7 years before he won. He earned the right to be at the top and for the rest of the league to try and dethrone them. That's a Dynasty. Same with how the Spurs built their championship teams. Parity means any team can win so that is why the Bulls faced 5 different teams in the finals. Parity isn't a different team wins each year. If you build the strongest team you earn everything you get. Just like GS's championship. They felt in order to stay there they had 1 up the Cavs and get Durant. At that time the rumor was the Cavs were trying to get Carmelo or that Lebron wanted him. GS was just pro active. I've always said the way you build a championship team is the way GS did. Their core they drafted, and then went out to find role players. The Cavs did a terrible job drafting until they got Lebron and after. It wasn't until he left and they bottomed out could they draft Irving, Thompson, and Wiggins. Lebron bailed on his team to win 2 manufactured titles in 4 years and then returned home and got a whole new team. Look at the roster of the Cavs the season before he came back and the roster the season after. 95% of the league doesn't operate like that.

 

[Virtanen18]

It took Jordan 7 years before he won. He earned the right to be at the top and for the rest of the league to try and dethrone them. That's a Dynasty. Same with how the Spurs built their championship teams. Parity means any team can win so that is why the Bulls faced 5 different teams in the finals. Parity isn't a different team wins each year.

He earned the right to be at the top? Because he lost for 7 years with one team? I don't even know what that means. He was at the top because he was the best. Hard to complain about parity if parity to you is having one great team beat different teams every year in the finals. Right now the league has two really really strong teams and you'll have to live with it barring something drastic. You want to live in some make-believe world where everyone should be loyal to the team that drafts them forever. Players have their options of where to go, front offices have the options to trade and sign players. Do I wish KD had stayed in OKC? Yeah. But he put in his years there and had the freedom to choose his next team. Can't hold that against him.

I've always said the way you build a championship team is the way GS did. Their core they drafted, and then went out to find role players.

There's no one way to build a championship team.

If you build the strongest team you earn everything you get

Unless you use FA and trading. Cus then nah you're just manufacturing trash titles.

 

[Hadoop]

Ignoring the ridiculousness of some of your proposals, your post seems to be born out of the idea that the NBA is struggling and needs a big shake up to get better. That might be how you personally feel, but that just isn't the case on a macro level. The league has never been more popular or more profitable.

True. And it needs to added that basketball is a global sport these days and most fans outside the US could care less about parity. To them guys like LeBron and Curry are like demigods and the NBA being a superstar driven league is exactly what sells in these markets.

 

[Stylizer1]

He earned the right to be at the top? Because he lost for 7 years with one team? I don't even know what that means. He was at the top because he was the best. Hard to complain about parity if parity to you is having one great team beat different teams every year in the finals. Right now the league has two really really strong teams and you'll have to live with it barring something drastic. You want to live in some make-believe world where everyone should be loyal to the team that drafts them forever. Players have their options of where to go, front offices have the options to trade and sign players. Do I wish KD had stayed in OKC? Yeah. But he put in his years there and had the freedom to choose his next team. Can't hold that against him.



There's no one way to build a championship team.



Unless you use FA and trading. Cus then nah you're just manufacturing trash titles.

This conversation is over your head.

After 7 years he learned how to lead his team to a championship and once there, stayed. Teams have short windows to be successful and then there is a fall off. Lebron goes to teams who will spend the most to guarantee him at least the finals. I am talking about an era you didn't live through were the best "teams" won. Coaching played a big part of it.

Lebron was more scared not living up to the title of being the next one that he went somewhere where he could learn and win. He brought that back with him to Cleveland because he had no pressure anymore to win.

There is no right way or wrong way to win a championship. If you end up winning so be it. But there is a more respected way to win one.

Every team drafts player to build around. Some GM's are better than others. When you designate certain players as your core pieces you fill out your rosters with role players and you take your run at a championship. That way didn't work for Lebron so he did the easier thing and that was go to a good team who had there star and poach another to make it to the finals in years 1,2,3,4. When the heat were no longer willing to spend he left and did the hole thing again making the finals in years 1,2, and most likely 3 again. Lebron is by far the best player in the league and he would have been if he stayed in Cleveland but instead chose to go to another Stars team and ride the coat tails of a champion.

 

[EpochLink]

The 70s for some reason had a ton of parity.

At the end of the day, it's the structure of the sport and NBA's playoff system. The game of basketball and four best-of-7 playoff rounds just do not mix up well when it comes to creating parity.

70 - Knicks
71 - Bucks
72 - Lakers
73 - Knicks
74 - Celtics
75 - Warriors
76 - Celtics
77 - Trail Blazers
78 - Bullets/Wizards
79 - Supersonics

 

[Virtanen18]

This conversation is over your head.

Over my head? When this is your response?

L

If you can't back up what you say without getting on a high horse like this, don't say it at all.

 

[Voight]

Because its the only sport where one player can make a huge difference. Put LeBron on the Raps, they probably make the finals, put him on the Bulls, they probably make the finals. Just like how in the 90's teams were lucky MJ went to play baseball and missed one playoff run plus came back right before another and then retired after the second three peat.

 

[Voight]

The Warriors are a pretty bad example to use of stacking a team. They were 73-9 without adding one of the GOAT scorers in his prime. I don't remember something like that even happening before, but that's how free agency works. One thing like this happened and the CBA now has the KD rule with salaries. The Cavs are debatable as well. It's less now, but people used to **** all over Kyrie's game (the only "star" Cleveland had when LeBron joined them). They added Love in exchange for the 1st overall pick, and just now people have finally stopped saying the Cavs should trade him lol.

One team having two separate 3-peats doesn't really scream parity to me. The rest of the league competing for the right to lose to Jordan in the finals seems worse than the current Cavs/Warriors inevitability, where you can't guarantee a winner either way. Without the greatness of parity, last year was probably the greatest finals of all time. The Cavs vs a team that runs a brilliant system with terrific players they got through the draft. How do you try and fix that?

To be fair LeBron demanded Cleveland bring in one of Love, Melo or Aldridge for him to return. And he conspired with Bosh/Wade in 2010 on where to sign.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Yet many fans of teams that aren't the Cavs and Warriors enjoy the sport immensely. Your sports teams probably have better chances in other leagues that have more parity, but it's not like those teams are always championship contenders. The Mariners haven't looked it for a long ass time, so why aren't they boring and pointless to be a fan of? It's sports. It's fun.

It really is that simple.

Imagine if in hockey you could have Crosby/McDavid play 90% of the game and take as high of a % of your teams shots as you wanted. The structure of basketball/NBA allows you to keep pressing your advantage every time you have the ball. So the disparity of talent is shown much more. The better team almost always wins.

Ignoring the ridiculousness of some of your proposals, your post seems to be born out of the idea that the NBA is struggling and needs a big shake up to get better. That might be how you personally feel, but that just isn't the case on a macro level. The league has never been more popular or more profitable.

Because its the only sport where one player can make a huge difference. Put LeBron on the Raps, they probably make the finals, put him on the Bulls, they probably make the finals. Just like how in the 90's teams were lucky MJ went to play baseball and missed one playoff run plus came back right before another and then retired after the second three peat.

Agreed. Plus peopel as much as they complain, want to see the best of the best.

To be fair LeBron demanded Cleveland bring in one of Love, Melo or Aldridge for him to return. And he conspired with Bosh/Wade in 2010 on where to sign.

LeBron is always demanding help lol.

 

[Power Man]

Because its the only sport where one player can make a huge difference. Put LeBron on the Raps, they probably make the finals, put him on the Bulls, they probably make the finals. Just like how in the 90's teams were lucky MJ went to play baseball and missed one playoff run plus came back right before another and then retired after the second three peat.

Im not sure the Bulls would have beaten the Rockets in 94 and 95

 

[Voight]

Im not sure the Bulls would have beaten the Rockets in 94 and 95

It wouldn't of been easy with peak Olajuwon but MJ was still 3-0 in finals at that point so who knows.

 

[Power Man]

It wouldn't of been easy with peak Olajuwon but MJ was still 3-0 in finals at that point so who knows.

Bulls vs Rockets in 94 and 95 would have been awesome

The Rockets were a matchup nightmare for the Bulls during the early to mid 90s

Plus Im pretty sure the Bulls were burned out after 93
MJ was.
Repeating is hard. 3peating takes a toll on anyone

 

[Stylizer1]

It wouldn't of been easy with peak Olajuwon but MJ was still 3-0 in finals at that point so who knows.

Bulls vs Rockets in 94 and 95 would have been awesome

The Rockets were a matchup nightmare for the Bulls during the early to mid 90s

Plus Im pretty sure the Bulls were burned out after 93
MJ was.
Repeating is hard. 3peating takes a toll on anyone

In the Era of the dominant big man the Bulls had Longley, Wennington, Purdue, King, Cartwright, and Parish. They broke the mold and changed the importance of a big man.

The problem with the league now is that it is run by the players where as the other leagues are run by the owners/GM's. You have players colluding with each other to play with each other and have little loyalty to the teams that draft them. Why win the hard way when you can get paid the same and have it easier? Also not having a hard cap makes this even easier.

 

[John Price]

European club soccer says hi.

The same European club soccer that saw Leicester city win the title? English premier League has some parity because of the TV moneys. But I won't argue about LA liga or Bundesliga.

 

[Aladyyn]

The same European club soccer that saw Leicester city win the title? English premier League has some parity because of the TV moneys. But I won't argue about LA liga or Bundesliga.

Pistons won the NBA Championship in 2004.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

The Pistons also had a stretch of 6 straight ECF appearances. Not exactly a Cinderella story.

 

[Morozov]

The same European club soccer that saw Leicester city win the title? English premier League has some parity because of the TV moneys. But I won't argue about LA liga or Bundesliga.

Leicester is clearly such an exception rather than proof of parity. Look what happened to them this season following up from that. It will be a very long time before we see any such extreme example happen again. In terms of winning the league, it's pretty clear that the majority of the PL are irrelevant. They have various other things that they are competing for, but most of the PL do not matter when it comes to actually winning the league. Other European leagues are even worse.

 

[Voight]

The same European club soccer that saw Leicester city win the title? English premier League has some parity because of the TV moneys. But I won't argue about LA liga or Bundesliga.

Yes, EPL is really the only top league to have more than 2 good teams.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

The NBA has always been this way but now the product is terrible. Atleast in the 90's you had physical games and although the bulls always won the playoffs were watchable. Now Cleveland and GS basically sweep to the finals.

Even during their years the Lakers were pushed to the limit along the way.

 

[Stylizer1]

The NBA has always been this way but now the product is terrible. Atleast in the 90's you had physical games and although the bulls always won the playoffs were watchable. Now Cleveland and GS basically sweep to the finals.

Even during their years the Lakers were pushed to the limit along the way.

Kids can't handle adversity. Hurts potential earning power.

 

[Ivan13]

Yes, EPL is really the only top league to have more than 2 good teams.

Oh boy

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

Kids can't handle adversity. Hurts potential earning power.

The money has ruined sports. Now super teams can happen that also hurts. Even in the Jordan days having 3 top 10 players by signing a guy like Durant for a year wasn't very realistic.

 

[Stylizer1]

The money has ruined sports. Now super teams can happen that also hurts. Even in the Jordan days having 3 top 10 players by signing a guy like Durant for a year wasn't very realistic.

That is what was so hard in building a champion. You had to draft your stars and build the team around them. Jordan's mindset is that he wanted to beat everyone not join them. It took them years to beat Detroit. When they finally did nobody could stop them.

 

[Power Man]

That is what was so hard in building a champion. You had to draft your stars and build the team around them. Jordan's mindset is that he wanted to beat everyone not join them. It took them years to beat Detroit. When they finally did nobody could stop them.

Jordan in his interview (back when LeBron made The Decision) did pause and say : " I mean.. it's different... those kids today have those opportunities "

So if Jordan could, he would have teamed up with other stars; and let's not forget how many times he called out the Bulls FO in public before he started winning titles.

The whole old farts wanted to beat their rivals back in the day narrative is utter BS