What would Shaq do against this kind of modern defensive effort?

[Poetry]

https://youtu.be/AmBopU7cOKM

:lol

In all seriousness, why does it seem like this kind of defensive effort is becoming more frequent? It can't just be the rule changes. It seems that lately more players are just completely giving up on plays.

[MrFonzworth]

Absolutely is the rule changes. Kyle O'Quinn wasn't even supposed to play that game, but both Turner and Sabonis had 4 fouls. The 3rd quarter isn't even halfway over and both your centers have 4 fouls. And what happens as soon as your 3rd string guy goes in? He gets baited into a foul. This was the play that immediately followed it.

Effort is the main component of defense, always has been. When the league prohibits defense, it prohibits effort, and the play in the OP is the end result. A stale brand of basketball that attracts casual fans, but makes the die hard fans slowly enter a depression killing themselves from the inside out, starting at the heart, traveling to the brain, eventually leading up to daily hour long rants on a dead outdated message board.

[Sakkreth]

Absolutely is the rule changes. Kyle O'Quinn wasn't even supposed to play that game, but both Turner and Sabonis had 4 fouls. The 3rd quarter isn't even halfway over and both your centers have 4 fouls. And what happens as soon as your 3rd string guy goes in? He gets baited into a foul. This was the play that immediately followed it.

Effort is the main component of defense, always has been. When the league prohibits defense, it prohibits effort, and the play in the OP is the end result. A stale brand of basketball that attracts casual fans, but makes the die hard fans slowly enter a depression killing themselves from the inside out, starting at the heart, traveling to the brain, eventually leading up to daily hour long rants on a dead outdated message board.

Well said.

It's not only about the bigs though. Whole Hardenesque foul fishing shouldn't be rewarded.

[keep-itreal]

I guess Jabari Parker was right. They don

[andgar923]

The rules make it harder for players, which in turn affect their mentality... it's a cycle.

[Phoenix]

The rules have stripped both pride and accountability from individual defense. When you have players deliberately 'defending' a player with their hands behind their backs, what else needs to be said?

[FKAri]

The rules make it harder for players, which in turn affect their mentality... it's a cycle.
That's a part of it but in any era if a defender has allowed his man to get right underneath the basket, and the defender doesn't want to pick up a foul, conceding a basket isn't uncommon. Modern offensive players are also better at drawing a foul call in that situation on their way to an and1.

['Toine=MVP]

Shaq would be so dominant in this era, it isn't funny. No one would ever think LeBron is better than Shaq both playing in their peaks.

One thing to note is that there an under-discussed reason why the modern NBA has so many smaller centers than it did in the 80s, 90s, mid 00s. That is because teams NEED to employ a traditional center with defensive ability when there is a Shaq in the league, nevermind all the high quality offensive centers that retired before him.

Teams employed Kobe-stoppers and LeBron-stoppers (or their best attempts at that) in the last 15+ years, but 3 and D wings are generally pretty useful and there will always be at least some good high quality wings even if not to the level of LeBron, Kobe, Durant, etc. When there are no truly dominant inside centers (I like Embiid, but Al Horford can handle him and I like AD, but he's not an inside offensive center at all), then you don't need to roster (and start and give lots of minutes to) big stiffs.

If a young Shaq was in the league and on a contending type team, that alone would be enough to totally change how all other contending teams construct their rosters.

#3 greatest player of all time behing Jordan and Bird. Both Bird and Shaq would absolutely THRIVE in today's game.

[bullettooth]

Well said.

It's not only about the bigs though. Whole Hardenesque foul fishing shouldn't be rewarded.

It's essentially cheating but nobody is willing to call it that. WTF?

[Overdrive]

https://youtu.be/AmBopU7cOKM

:lol

In all seriousness, why does it seem like this kind of defensive effort is becoming more frequent? It can't just be the rule changes. It seems that lately more players are just completely giving up on plays.

If done right Shaq would score less. Alot of guys fouled him, when they had no chance to stop him.

[superduper]

You have 6'7 Centers running rampant in this zero defense zero rim protection layup line 3pt chucking era. Imagine if LeGOAT had to go up against real centers, guy would be a rich man's Rudy Gay without a jumpshot and that's it.

[LostCause]

High scoring and gaudy stats

I wonder what the rule changes will be to make games more competitive in the future. They absolutely will come