In Reply to: It's all there to plainly see if one chooses to see. posted by ej on July 19, 2026 at 08:51:55
Yeah, I tend to agree with wanna here. ej, you, I, and probably most people on this board aren't casual fans. I don't mind a rugged, defensive style of play either, but I recognize that I watch sports differently than most people.
For example, I enjoy a good pitchers' duel in baseball. I loved when Howland would call a timeout specifically to set up his defense, and I'd get a real kick out of watching the team force a stop afterward. Along those same lines, I don't mind Cronin's style one bit. But that's how we watch the game.
Wanna is right that most fans don't see it that way. Even a lot of former players don't view the game through that lens. That's why you hear guys like Kenyon Martin and Gilbert Arenas say Cronin handcuffs his players offensively. It's also no secret that opposing coaches use that perception as a recruiting pitch: "You don't want to play for Cronin. He's not going to let you showcase your offensive skills. He wants to play basketball like it's the '50s and limit your shot opportunities."
I'm not saying that's an accurate criticism, or that it fairly represents what Cronin actually teaches. My point is simply that many people experience basketball almost entirely through the offensive end of the floor. They see it as a straightforward game where the only objective is to score more points than your opponent, without appreciating that one of the easiest ways to outscore the other team is to keep them from scoring in the first place.