1 on 5: Has the NBA Become a High Powered Pick-Up Game?

I’ve been watching the NBA playoffs and after checking out the Warriors vs. the Spurs, OKC vs. the Grizzlies, and the Knicks vs. the Pacers I’m convinced that the NBA has turned into a high powered pickup game with no understanding of the concept, TEAMWORK. It was very frustrating to watch those playoff series I mentioned earlier, but the Knicks have been painful to watch all season and it didn’t get any better during the playoffs. Carmelo put me to sleep with his one on five exhibitions that I never made it through any of the games. I just couldn’t take it anymore! Pass the ball please!

When did this shift to one on five take place? The last I knew the Lakers were running the Triangle offense with Phil and they were going up against the Big Three with Rondo running the show and now it has turned into move out the way and let me milk the 24 second shot clock until I have to take a horrible fade away jumper. The Knicks were notorious for doing this. If Carmelo wasn’t dribbling out the shot clock to get his shot off, it was J.R. Smith. I could see the frustration of the rest of the Knicks turn to complacency when ever Smith or Anthony had the ball, because they knew the ball wasn’t coming to them so why bother to cut to the basket or post up. I guess that explains the Knicks early playoff departure.

But they were not the only teams doing the one on five offensive strategy, OKC tried to ride Kevin

Durant to the Western Conference Finals but they came up quite short to the Grizzlies teamwork effort. It is quite apparent that the teams that relied on one player to do all the scoring or played isolation offensive basketball went home early and the team oriented teams are still playing. I can’t really say the best teams are still playing more than I can say that the unselfish teams are still playing. Hopefully, next year the Knicks will learn from their lack of team effort and come back strong as a unit, but for now we will have to watch the best teams play team ball the way the game was intended.