Larry Bird is disappointed with new NBA rules that limit teams' ability to play defense: 'That's not how the game is supposed to be played'

Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird believes that the NBA is in good hands. He thinks there is a tremendous amount of talent across the league today and that the talent right now is just as good as when he was still playing.

However, during an interview with ESPN in 2016, Larry Legend also complained about how the NBA has become an offense-driven league. The league has wanted scoring to improve so badly that it has taken away players' ability to play defense as they should.

"The one thing I've always been disappointed in is guys driving, jumping into the defensive player and getting calls," said Bird. "It's a league of points. They love to have points on the board. But I think good defenders get beat down sometimes because they don't get to play. "

The NBA changed its rules to make scoring easier

Offense has always been the NBA's meal ticket, and it's what fans pay to see. The league soared to new heights when Michael Jordan arrived in 1984. Fans loved MJ's scoring outbursts more than the defensive clinics put up by the Bad Boys of the 80s and the Knicks of the 90s. However, league-wide scoring went down when MJ retired in 2003, and defensive schemes became better with the rise of the 2004 Pistons.

The drop in points scored coincided with a decline in league ratings. Because of that, the NBA established rules that made it easier for players to score points. But in doing so, they also took away the opposing team's ability to put up a good defense. For Bird, the arrival of foul merchants like James Harden, Joel Embiid, and Luka Doncic has done a disservice to the game.

"Some guys in this league are in here because they play defense," said Bird. "I just wish they would clean up some of the areas in the officiating. It's really not the officials. It's really how the rules are written. But it's getting to where guys are just driving, getting bail-out calls by jumping into defensive players, and that's not how the game, in my mind, is supposed to be played."

Steve Kerr also talked about giving the defense a chance

Bird's sentiments were echoed by Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr in 2021. In an interview, the former Chicago Bulls guard said the league has put defensive players at the mercy of foul merchants.

"We have gone overboard on the offense side, and I think we need to give the defense a bit of a chance," said Kerr. "I think the fans don't want to see 152-148, I think fans want to see defense. They want to see a team's ability to make a stand. It doesn't mean we need to go back to holding and grabbing but stop rewarding the offensive player for flopping and the BS. We have to go back and give the defense a chance, and I think almost every coach in the league agrees with me."

The main criticism of the league today is that it has become too soft. Part of that is the inability of defenses to play like they did during the '80s and '90s. Although Harden is no longer getting to the foul line as much as he used to when he was with the Rockets, league-wide scoring is still very high. However, this time around, viewership numbers are down. Maybe Kerr and Larry Legend are correct.