So every time he tried to get to the basket, they would body up and bump him. He could get anywhere he wanted on the court. It was impossible to stay in front of Kobe. I’m seeing Larry Brown’s Pistons fully take advantage of the rules. "So a few years ago, Im watching the Pistons beat the Lakers in the Finals.
The best part about Cuban's statement is that it was after he got to watch Wade shoot ft's all finals long because of the rule changes he asked for. That's significant, the league average is currently "only 5 points worse", that's not a small number in terms of average difference at all Not only that but the NBA also locked down on the defensive three second rule and changed the rules regarding blocking fouls, again intending to give players more freedom to score inside and get where they wanted to go.Īs for the defensive/offensive rating? in 04 the average defensive rating was 102.9, the Warriors currently sit first in the league with a rating of 103.4. The NBA made no attempt to hide this, it was their absolute goal to decrease defence and favour offence as they saw it as a much more marketable league (and it has proven to be). Perimeter players following these rules had a much easier time getting to wherever they wanted to go, this allowed for a higher pace as well an easier time getting to where they wanted to go on the court. It’s virtually impossible to keep perimeter players out of the paint." This was explicitly done because the pistons exploited the defensive rules to shut down Kobe, it was done with the idea to make the game easier for him (and players like him) as they had the entertaining/popular play styles. The rule was intended to give offensive players more freedom, but has given offensive players an unfair advantage.
They played at slower paces/shot less efficiently due to the defence/rulesĬuban said this "The NBA eliminated all forms of hand-checking before the 2004-2005 season. New Post Game Thread Giannis Antetokounmpo with 41/17/5/3/2 in the 123-114 win over