I don’t want to sound like an old man who misses the good ol’ days of basketball, but the NBA has lost its quality in recent years. A big part of that is due to the new rule changes that has brought more high scoring games.

How many times do we see guards nowadays go off for 50, 60, and now 70 points? Devin Booker, KD, or even Steph Curry can go off for 50 any night. Yes, part of that is due to their greatness, but another reason is because of the lack of defense allowed during games. Klay Thompson can drop 50 points without dribbling all because defenders can’t push him off screens when he’s off the ball.

The hand check has gone away, the shot clock now resets to 14 seconds instead of a new 24. The shot clock rule irritates me because it just rewards poor rebounding. Now guys are going into the league without the fundamentals of the game, a lot of these new guards can’t hit a midrange shot worth a damn. Guys can’t defend ball handlers by sliding their feet.

Sure, guys are more skilled offensively, but it’s moreso isolation basketball than it is scoring off the ball. Not a lot of footwork going on. That’s why more guys from overseas are coming to the league and taking over (Luka, Joker, Giannis, etc…), it’s because they don’t need to worry about the defensive fundamentals or anything.

As sports fans we always loved the highlights that games provided. Ja Morant is special to watch on the floor for his high-flying plays. There will always be a new posterizing player who will grab eye-catching alley-oops and more. But watching these games and seeing both teams reach over 120+ points is dumb in my opinion, unless the game went into overtime.

Don’t get me started on the Celtics, they shoot so many 3s, but give up the lead so often that it doesn’t matter. And because the shot clock is shortened, more possessions for more scoring happens. Now with coaches being able to challenge, it just rewards poor play and crying to the refs.

I’m not going to say the NBA is getting soft, but the level of competitiveness and quality isn’t near the same.

Rant over.