Improvements are needed to make the NBA more exciting

As the Boston Celtics come storming into our living rooms again – gosh, was there ever a Larry Bird? – I couldn’t help thinking about just how poor the NBA has become.

A basketball background and 34 years of coaching necessitates the annual question: Do I watch the professional basketball proceedings on television?

This year, I have to say that I’ve been giving it the old college try. The end result, however, remains the same: This is just not good basketball, dear readers.

If, as my old friend Arnold used to say, you like the dunk and the launching of 3-pointers, then stick around because there’s more of that on the way.

Back to the C’s.

Experts say – and that group does not find me among their ranks, by the way – that young forward Al Jefferson could be the key to Boston’s shot at repeating as Atlantic Division champions.

The 2004-2005 men In green won the 25th division crown in the storied franchise’s history.

Consider that, then consider how poor the overall league is before getting too excited about another banner being hung in the rafters of the TD Banknorth Garden.

There was a time in my life when the goings-on in the NBA were the center of my very existence. Shallow Hal, you’re calling me? No. I set my sights early on in life on a coaching career in pro ball. Little did I know that along the way a few sundry items such as renal disease would enter the picture, and I would adjust my thinking and become a high school basketball coach. All things considered, that choice proved to be a sound one for a lot of reasons including less stress, less travel, and, of course, less money.

My former CBA coaching cronies like George Karl have prospered in the big leagues, but as a former scout for the Marty Blake Agency, I can tell you truthfully that the NBA needs to make some wholesale changes that cut deeper than the new dress code for contractual players.

First and foremost, league fathers – most notably Commissioner David Stern – need to return the game to its one-on-one oriented rule base.

Zone defenses are fine, but they should be restricted to high school and college play. What has happened in the league is boredom. Slower paced games are the rule rather than the exception, and fans are seeing all-star centers smothered in the lane to the degree that forced a lot of these big players out of college in the first place.

Secondly, the 23-foot, 9-inch 3-point shot needs to be reduced a foot or two. It really does.

The clang sound you hear during televised broadcasts of the NBA needs to be replaced by the swoosh sound. A shorter 3-point shot will open up the middle again, and make the inside/outside game more proficient.

And finally, in order for the NBA to flourish to the degree of popularity it once enjoyed, the league fathers need to cut the 82-game schedule down to a more workable number such as 60.

Let’s face it. Eighty-two ballgames are a bunch of games. Stress-related injuries plague most players by season’s end, and healthier players mean better play.

Heck, the Celtics might even look better if they were less tired.

And think how long Larry Legend’s back and feet might have lasted if he hadn’t pounded that parquet floor all those games.

Mercy.

NEWS columnist Ron Brown, a retired high school basketball coach, can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net