Over the past couple of decades, the NBA has done a lot to change the game, with an emphasis on teams and players scoring more points by implementing rules that make it tougher and tougher to play defense efficiently.
That style of play has led to the three-point revolution and teams scoring 120 to 130 points on a regular basis, which has resulted in a product that people have grown increasingly frustrated with, especially players who pride themselves on their play on the defensive end of the basketball floor.
However, the league is starting to notice that things are starting to get out of control on offense and seems ready to change some rules once again to motivate players and teams to play defense on a regular basis.
In the meantime, players will continue to express their frustration about being unable to play defense the way they’d like to, which is what Chicago Bulls star center Nikola Vucevic recently vented about, per BasketNews via NBACentral.
“I think it’s very hard to play defense in the NBA,” Vucevic said. “Part of it is the change of rules where a lot of it favored the offensive players. With the three-point line now, and everybody’s shooting so many threes and you have at least three-four guys that can just shoot threes and get hot at any time. It creates so much space and it’s hard to defend now, especially with all the skill set that’s in the NBA.”
Nikola Vucevic thinks it’s ‘very hard’ to defend in the NBA
“I think it's very hard to play defense in the NBA. Part of it is the change of rules where a lot of it was favoring the offensive players. With the 3-point line now, and everybody's shooting so many threes and you have… pic.twitter.com/PThMwXpcke
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 13, 2024
The real question moving forward is whether the NBA is serious about making some drastic changes to stop the offensive onslaught every night, which has fans and players tired of the product.
Only time will tell if these changes get made and what kind of basketball will be played moving forward.
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