You and me both. The league and the game have really gone down hill for me since Michael Jordan retired for the second time in 1998. Ever since then, it just hasn't been the same for me. My beefs are:

1) Centers have no outside game. I remember growing up watching Patrick Ewing, Rik Smits, David Robertson, etc. These guys could shoot and even make free throws.

2) The Hack-a-Shaq that puts the worst free throw shooter on the line and slows the game down to a crawl. Not to mention all of the timeouts during the last 5 minutes of a game. The last 5 minutes of a game can last up to 45 minutes with all of that crap!

3) Little changes like a backcourt violation is only 8 seconds now, rather than 10.

4) Ugly uniforms. What infuriates me more than anything is how more and more, the away team wears a white jersey and the home team wears a dark jersey. I have to figure out who's the home team based on the logo at center court, rather than what jersey the team is wearing. Football is the only game where a home team wears a dark color and the visitors wear a white color. Now the NBA has so many of the stupid, ugly jerseys that they want to sell, more times than not, they have the home team wearing a dark color. And don't even get me started on those horrendous volleyball jerseys too!

5) Sponsors on jerseys. Yes, beginning next year, NBA jersey's are no longer sacred. They will allow advertisers to put their logo on all of the teams jerseys. I mean really, how much is enough? It'll roll out slowly, but before long, they'll wind up looking like NASCAR drivers and will look absolutely ridiculous. This is NOT the league I remember watching growing up. It has done a lot to expand itself, especially globally, but due to these items above, these are just some of the reasons why I really only watch during the playoffs (and it's usually either the conference or NBA Finals).