A Forecast of the NBA

By Evan Miller

This will be a discussion on the current weather within the NBA. By weather, I mean the state of the league and how the game has changed, in my opinion over the past decade. From the years of 1-2 3 pointers a night per player to every player shooting from deep with seemingly no regard for the score, the league has grown in its own unique way.

Whether it's for the better or not is up to the individual, but if you were to ask me, it has its give and takes. The fundamentals and humility of the game have now been traded for flare and expressiveness. In the early 2010's, we saw a game that had a heavy influence on the coaches and their gameplays. Not only did they control the pace, but they restricted the players ability to control the motion of the offense. Plays were crafted to allow for openness and safer opportunities.

From watching coaches like Mark Jackson, who I noticed was a frequent fan of almost unnecessary screens to release players into their shooting pockets, I noticed the pace being moved like a chess game. Though his stint with the Warriors was short, he knew the potential he had on his hands with his newfound backcourt. Unfortunately, he proved a restraint on what could've been an earlier start to a dynasty. His plays, while carefully crafted, didn't allow for much post movement. He didn't have bigs that were skilled enough to take advantage of smaller centers, and they didn't even have the speed- my main example being David Lee, the Warriors’ power forward. One might even argue that if we stuck to coach-led teams, players like Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum, and Stephen Curry wouldn't have been given a proper opportunity to showcase their abilities.