NBA fans these days haven’t seen much of the 80’s and 90’s where Charles Oakley played. Back then people played hard. And you could see it. You don’t have to have been in the arenas to see that they played hard back in the day. Charles Oakley was one of those players where you can clearly see the hard-nosed play. Like a human battering ram.
Recently Oakley was at a Toronto Raptors game. Combined with being an assistant coach for Charlotte back in the 2010-11 season. He has come to the conclusion that the NBA today is hard to watch according to ESPN.com.
“Who do I like watching? It’s hard to watch,” he said. “I don’t know, it’s just, it’s a different game. It’s some good games and a lot of bad games. More bad games than good games these days.”
Oakley — who knew a thing or two about toughness during his playing days — said, in part, players’ mindsets have changed.
“The mind is not — you don’t have to be strong to play this game no more,” he said.
“I don’t know what it is. They just roll you out there like a basketball. That’s why … you see the same teams in the finals or winning 55 games. Strong teams, strong-minded coach. Just the players, they don’t think it, they don’t know how to play together,” he said. “So that’s one of things I see the weakness is: Communication, the guys don’t love the game. They play the game, but they don’t play with their heart.“
Now I find it hard to believe that they don’t love the game. And even if that is so it is because the game is too business orientated. We might be having another lockout. That’s three in the past 20 years. It’s no surprise Oakley has these suspicions. Because business is becoming the common denominator. Only time these players actually have fun is in the summer. Remember when Jamal Crawford spent a week dominating a Pro-am tournament in Seattle? That’s because he wasn’t bound by the constant crap that NBA players go through every year. Maybe that’s why players are fine playing in Europe and China?
Communication is not the problem. It’s the bigger picture that’s the problem. The days of playing because you strictly because you love the game is over. It’s a damn shame.
