No offense, but the NBA has gotten ugly

It's dee-fense, says the NBA. That's the official explanation for the league's lowest scoring output since the first year after the 24-second clock started ticking.

Here's what it really is -- ugly basketball that needs a face lift.

It's not good defense. It's bad offense.

I can still remember the 1954-55 season. The 24-second clock put a halt to the old slowdown offenses in which the philosophy was this: Hold the ball until somebody fouls you. The clock caused scoring to soar from 79.5 to 93.1 points per game the first season. Scoring continued to increase as player talent improved during the 1960's.

IN THE PAST 30 YEARS three things have happened to set the game back:

• Expansion from 10 teams to 29 teams: The problem is that the number of standout players hasn't increased. According to TENDEX ratings, there were 20 stars in 1966-67 when 123 players participated and there are 20 stars in 1996-97 when over 400 players will see some playing time. In the 60's every team had at least one star player; some teams had as many as three. Now a team is lucky if it has one.
• Sacrifice of fundamentals for showtime: For all the good Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson did for basketball's image, young players tend to notice their flashiness and to overlook their basic skills. Nobody boxes out on rebounds any more. Nobody practices free throws by the hundreds.
• One change too many in the 3-point line: Introduction of the three-point field goal 29 years ago was a boon to the game. Shortening the line to 22 feet one year ago has proven to be a disaster. Let's talk about the three issues. First, expansion. The major eras of expansion were the ABA period and the past decade. Both watered-down periods were boring. The NBA's golden ages were the 1960's before inauguration of the ABA and the early 1980's. During those two eras the league size was stable and CBA caliber players were where they belonged -- in the CBA.

Reverse the trend to expansion. Work on contraction. The next five franchises that can't make it financially should be eliminated, not moved. Then the league would have 24 teams, six per division. The talent pool could supply 24 teams (maybe).

IT IS ARGUED THAT DEFENSE is better than ever in the NBA. That is supposed to be the reason the league-wide scoring average which hit 117.5 in 1966-67 has dipped to 94.5 so far this season. Reduced field-goal percentage is cited as evidence of superior defense.

I say it's evidence of inferior offense. Especially, poor shooting. Bad shooters don't have good percentages. Players who don't practice good technique don't shoot well. The overall NBA free-throw percentage of .726 so far this season is the lowest in 28 years.

What kind of defense can cause bad free-throw shooting? A free throw lane zone?

My second suggestion is this: NBA coaches, teach your players how to shoot. If they won't practice free throws and other basic techniques, send them to Europe where they'll be embarrassed into doing it.

The 3-point shot is an exciting part of basketball. It was introduced by the ABA in 1967. Twelve years later, a 23-foot, 9-inch 3-point line was adopted by the NBA.

The purpose of later shortening the line to 22 feet was to increase the number of 3-point shots taken and made. In that respect it has worked. NBA players used to shoot between 25 and 30 percent from that range at the old distance. Now they are over 35 percent and attempting more than ever.

The trouble is twofold.

NBA COACHES, GREEDY FOR three-point opportunities, have removed some basic elements of low-post offense from their attack. Defenses now know almost exactly what to expect.

Secondly, the area of the court that needs to be defended has been shrunk. The area bounded by the old 3-point line was 875 square feet. The new area bounded by the 22-foot line is 760 square feet. The old area was 15.1 percent larger than the new area.

A smaller area to defend makes it a whole lot easier to pack in the defense.

So here's my third suggestion: Let's go back to the old 3-point distance of 23-9. And let's go back to the old aggressive offenses that concentrated on working the ball inside, instead of the soft inside-out stuff designed for 3-pointers.

Dave Heeren invented TENDEX in 1960 and is the author of an annual TENDEX report. You can reach him at (561) 243-6606.

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