Was it me or did anyone else notice that once the refs were on to Brunson's flops (not calling the fake fouls) , the rest of his game was only mediocre?
Brunson's Game
- Thread starter IUFan4Lifer
- Start date
I wouldn't say mediocre...but quite obviously tempered a bit. Take away his ability to draw some of those fouls, that quite frankly should not be called fouls, and he becomes a much less dominant perimeter scorer. And when you take away the dominant scoring abilities...the other things he isn't elite at start to get amplified a bit.
Alas, I think most NBA officials will continue making those calls in favor of Brunson, SGA, etc...
I can't imagine the NBA office isn't aware of the overall fan outcry against that kind of bullshit basketball. If they want the league to survive (let alone flourish), they need to stop that crap. Most anyone with even a little bit of basketball acumen saw the Pacers ball movement, player movement, and elite passing as a much more enjoyable brand of ball. The other crap is nearly unwatchable.
I'm o.k. with some of it. The ones where they catch you with your hand in the cookie jar, and rip up... I can't think of it being called anything but a foul. But I would attempt to not allow it to be a shooting foul. I think they've tried to do this some already, giving officials discretion on whether it was going to be a legit shot attempt before the contact.
The ones that drive me bonkers are the ones where guys like Brunson and SGA throw their shoulders or bodies in to legal guarding defenders, push them back off their entitled lines, and draw fouls. Those are the unfair calls that have long standing, damaging impacts on games. And on a broader scale, rewarding those plays is bad for the game in general. I hope they work to legislate out those sorts of concerted efforts.
Playing more players, playing a more wide open, ball and player movement style... hopefully that's where the game is headed. The Warriors, and then obviously the Pacers, tapped in to some very successful new approaches this year. I hope they become the model, and not anomalies.
I was thinking about this earlier this morning..
Wait until the NBA takes away the off hand push offs. Harden and Brunson use it as part of their game to create space.
I never thought Brunson would become the player he is in the NBA. His defense is still atrocious and in his first 2 years in Dallas it was beyond atrocious. Why they didn't trade him is just dumb. They knew he would not stay. Other than that I thin he is hard to dislike. I've listen to many of post game pressers and he is just funny as hell. His best response after leading the Mavs to a win when Luka was out for the game was to this question.
What is different playing the game when Luka is out?
Brunson: Other than not playing alongside a generational talent, not much.
I never thought Brunson would become the player he is in the NBA. His defense is still atrocious and in his first 2 years in Dallas it was beyond atrocious. Why they didn't trade him is just dumb. They knew he would not stay. Other than that I thin he is hard to dislike. I've listen to many of post game pressers and he is just funny as hell. His best response after leading the Mavs to a win when Luka was out for the game was to this question.
What is different playing the game when Luka is out?
Brunson: Other than not playing alongside a generational talent, not much.
