The fashionable day NBA is excessive on talent, athleticism and taking pictures, but debate rages over whether or not the product was extra entertaining 20 years in the past.
The early 2000s and even Nineties are sometimes appeared again on with rose-tinted glasses, with followers remembering a extra bodily model of basketball, and discovering at this time’s three-point taking pictures much less entertaining to look at.
One of many stars of that period, Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace, was not impressed with one side of the 2024-25 NBA Playoffs.
Newly topped NBA Sixth Man of the Yr, Payton Pritchard has continued to play a significant position for the Boston Celtics of their ongoing playoff collection with the Orlando Magic.
Following the Magic’s deficit-closing Sport 3 win, a clip was posted on X that confirmed Payton Pritchard showing to commit an egregious journey.
The clip confirmed Pritchard dribbling into the paint, briefly pausing to clasp the ball with each fingers, earlier than re-launching to step in direction of the basket to attain a lay-up.
Metta World Peace expressed his view very clearly, writing: “Refs should repair this. This isn’t authorized.”
He was responding to a publish the place the unique poster had requested: “What’s touring within the NBA?”.
Referees take a extra relaxed method within the playoffs, by way of letting some fouls go unpunished. And generally this may lengthen into different rule breaches.
This occasion of the journey rule not being enforced is symptomatic, however it’s not confined to Payton Pritchard or the Boston Celtics, it’s league-wide, season-wide.
The Celtics have complained in the course of the collection about bodily, tough play from the Magic, with each Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis sustaining accidents.