Soldier
not redeemed with gold but with His Blood
I'm not sure why it's happening now specifically, but there have been serious issues with late game finishes for while.
If the game is within 10 points, the last 5 minutes are complete garbage to watch, deflating all of the tension and slowing to a crawl. The optimal way to play if you're down a few points is to just keep fouling and taking free throws, over and over on both ends. I can't think of another major sport where the end of the game is so unwatchably terrible; it's supposed to be the most exciting part! And it IS, in every other sport. The last few mins of a close game of football, hockey, baseball, soccer, tennis, etc, all incredibly exciting and fun. In basketball? You have to sit and slog through anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes of full-on boring slowed down play, timeouts, intentional foul baiting, long video replays, referee game management/involvement, review challenges etc with zero flow and very few moments of suspense, drama, anticipation and actual basketball gameplay.
Soccer has a lot of time wasting and slow play near the end of the games when it’s close. But the clock is still ticking in soccer, so if your team is winning/leading, your heart is jumping hoping your team keeps the ball away from the opponent and that the clock goes faster, while when your team is trailing/losing, you are anxious and hoping the players on your team quickly get ball possession /the ball in play. NBA games completely slow down in the last minutes of the 4th quarter/overtime so there’s no urgency/tension. Basketball is a fluid game, a flow-based, dynamic, active, fast, spectacular, mobile, back and forth sport-in theory, it should have the best endings/finishes in sports.
I'm personally hoping the NBA will choose to address this issue first. It's been a long time coming.
If the game is within 10 points, the last 5 minutes are complete garbage to watch, deflating all of the tension and slowing to a crawl. The optimal way to play if you're down a few points is to just keep fouling and taking free throws, over and over on both ends. I can't think of another major sport where the end of the game is so unwatchably terrible; it's supposed to be the most exciting part! And it IS, in every other sport. The last few mins of a close game of football, hockey, baseball, soccer, tennis, etc, all incredibly exciting and fun. In basketball? You have to sit and slog through anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes of full-on boring slowed down play, timeouts, intentional foul baiting, long video replays, referee game management/involvement, review challenges etc with zero flow and very few moments of suspense, drama, anticipation and actual basketball gameplay.
Soccer has a lot of time wasting and slow play near the end of the games when it’s close. But the clock is still ticking in soccer, so if your team is winning/leading, your heart is jumping hoping your team keeps the ball away from the opponent and that the clock goes faster, while when your team is trailing/losing, you are anxious and hoping the players on your team quickly get ball possession /the ball in play. NBA games completely slow down in the last minutes of the 4th quarter/overtime so there’s no urgency/tension. Basketball is a fluid game, a flow-based, dynamic, active, fast, spectacular, mobile, back and forth sport-in theory, it should have the best endings/finishes in sports.
I'm personally hoping the NBA will choose to address this issue first. It's been a long time coming.
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