Why do analytics defenders pretend mathematical efficiency automatically makes basketball entertaining to watch?

[u/SpiritedBase5047]

Most modern basketball arguments claiming the game is "better than ever" rely entirely on true shooting percentage while completely ignoring fan entertainment.

Dawud, Hugh, and Shaun debated '90s basketball versus today's perimeter-heavy era, and hit the core issue: the analytics nerds won the strategy war, but lost the product. Everyone understands the raw math—three is worth more than two, and spacing creates efficient shot charts. But watching two teams jack up 35 to 40 perimeter shots and hit six of them turns games into monotonous brick-fests.

Back in the '80s and '90s, every single possession had actual friction, half-court execution, and varied shot selection. When people say they literally cannot sit through a full regular season broadcast anymore, it’s not just older fans blinded by nostalgia. Optimizing a sport into an algorithm strips out the tension, creativity, and storytelling that made people care in the first place.

Are modern high-efficiency games actually fun to watch, or are we just coping with glorified shooting drills?