The End of Fun in the NBA

The big power forwards and centers, wide as canyons in the shoulders and waist, used to bludgeon each other in the post like elephant seals. That was basketball once — Charles Barkley backing down defenders like a bulldozer, Shaquille O'Neal shattering backboards, Oliver Miller eating his way through the league but still getting all the easy buckets. Now DJ Burns plays in Korea and Kenny Lofton Jr. bounces between teams, simultaneously too short and too hefty for a game that's become addicted to the three-point line.