The Spineless Zone
Basketball is a great American sport. June 6, 1946 was one of the greatest days in sports history. On that glorious day in American history, the National Basketball Association was created (NBA). Less than seven months later the NBA outlawed zone defense (NBA). Those great men decided that professional athletes should have to guard each other, instead of guarding an area. During my basketball experiences, there was nothing more frustrating than a team with less skill pulling back into a zone defense. Zone defense is a slap in the face to me and the work I put in to become a good defender. As an athlete I wanted to prove that I could compete with the best, one man against another man. All basketball players should feel this way, especially professional basketball players. Zone defense is for cowards and has weakened professional basketball. Now, the glory days are gone, there is no such thing as an illegal defense, slashers are limited, and isolation is scarce.
After zone defense was banned there was a 54 year period of nothing but old fashioned man defense. I can remember watching clips of Magic Johnson, Pistol Pete, and Michael Jordan using their athleticism to maneuver their way around defender and penetrate into the lane. There is footage of Magic Johnson driving through the lane while wrapping the ball around his body, faking a pass to a teammate and executing a flawless finger-roll. In today’s game there would probably be a large center waiting on him and blocking his lay-up. The three-second area was the place where action took place. Skillful dribbling or cutting without the ball could get you to the promise land of points. The pizzazz of yesterday’s game has dissipated and an ugly cloud of zone defense...
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...on. I hated playing zone defense, being told to guard an area on the floor felt like cheating. I was told to wait for the offensive player to come to instead of meeting him head on in combat. The game was now who can make the most long range shots. I did not run for countless hour, sweat gallons, and bleed to prepare myself for eight minute quarters of H-O-R-S-E. Therefore, I am with Bomani Jones when he says, “Zone is for cowards.”
Works Cited
Allowing zone is indefensible for the NBA. The Washington Times. 2001. Web. 10 December 2013. www.washingtontimes.com
NBA rules history. National Basketball Association. 2008. Web. 10 December 2013. www.nba.com
Winderman, Ira. NBA ‘Change the Game’: Ban zone defense again. Sun-Sentinel. 2011 Web. 11 December 2013. http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_basketball_heat/2011/10/nba-change-the-game-ban-zone-defense-again.html
Ethical Rules on Sport’s Justice. Dallas: East Dallas Times, page 21. 2008. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Print: Harry, Patrick Hayes.
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