confused_demon

There has been some dialogue and debate regarding what benefits, monetary or otherwise, could be awarded to teams to motivate players and coaches to care about the in-season NBA cup. Some have argued that a playoff spot should be guaranteed. The league has gone so far as to incentivize coaches with monetary rewards for making deep runs into the tournament.

But what if an additional intangible benefit could be provided? One that could boost a team's morale for the remainder of the season? What if players on the winning team could be exempted from receiving technical fouls for NON-PHYSICAL (so nothing like what Draymond did recently) acts of unsportsman-like conduct for the remainder of the season?

This means, players of the winning team can now: verbally taunt, stare/glare at another players face, pull-up on the rim, clap aggressively, show-boat etc. with absolutely no fear of ever receiving the all-mighty tech from the whistle-happy refs. A bad-boy get out of jail free card for the remainder of the regular season. Certain players thrive when their competitive spirit is allowed to shine, and this could potentially enhance player morale for the winning team for the remainder of the season. Not to mention, it would also make that team must-watch-TV for the remainder of the season as well, which would boost ratings.

Hypothetically, imagine Booker's trash talking if the Suns win, Giannis and Bobby Portis's glaring if the Bucks win, Jaylen Brown being able to roar in a players face without having to turn away like a glitched out video game character, Tatum finally being able to clap, dunkers like Aaron Gordon being allowed to go completely ham on the rim. The possibilities are endless, and would be highlight-worthy and hilarious.

While it goes without saying that the league has gotten extremely soft and is very liberal with the techs being handed out, and that the severity with which they are policing player behavior needs to be relaxed, having this opportunity could open endless possibilities for entertainment. What do y'all think?

Hello everyone, I'm new to watching NBA Basketball (Started watching from last season's playoffs). First post/comment on the sub, please be nice.

I have been watching some of the games for a while now, and I have watched all of the last few games from the Lakers because I wanted to see LeBron play. I am genuinely baffled by the Lakers offense. It's basically dribble to the perimeter, AD sets a screen, drive to the rim, kick to the perimeter, and then brick a three. The Lakers keep doing this again, and again, and again, and again, with no major adjustments or changes. LeBron seems to be the only player who consistently drives to the rim and finishes, but he still does a lot of kicking to the perimeter. If they can't kick the ball to the perimeter, they more often than not get fouled attempting to make a shot and then get sent to the free throw line. The other variant is giving AD the ball, he tries to score, or kicks it to the perimeter again. There are barely any cuts, drives with passes to another guy cutting into the paint, no staggered screens, in summary there's barely any off-ball movement outside of a screen to the ball handler. Just 5 dudes chilling around the perimeter. It's incredibly fun watching teams like the Nuggets, Kings, Thunder, and the Warriors run an offense. Meanwhile, it's like Groundhog Day with the Lakers, especially with this season.

I feel like in the last playoffs, the Lakers had some variety thanks to Schroeder, but with him gone I'm curious to know why the Lakers refuse to have any variety. Was Schroeder that good of a floor general that he could set up an offense like LeBron? Is Darvin Ham solely to blame? Why are the Lakers not utilizing Rui Hachimura more? Why is Darvin Ham not adjusting? I'm puzzled because four games in, they've barely made any changes to the existing formula. Is this sustainable over an entire season?