It’s about time lacrosse had a game-wide tune-up
Lacrosse fans are seeing some of the best major league lacrosse of the season. The teams finally have full rosters with the playoffs. The world championships are over, returning a number of players to their teams. Also the few players that were nursing injuries from the winter professional league are apparently now healed and ready to help their MSL teams and get ready for the coming NLL season.
Arguably an MSL playoff game will trump any NLL game for both skill and excitement. That being said, the MSL game has changed and maybe not for the best!
When the Lakers regrouped 15 years ago with the signing of some quality players, the maturing of local talent and air conditioning coming to the Memorial Centre, the game took off for fans.
The Lakers rode offence to a number of championship seasons including six Mann Cup championships. Over those years the stick skills of the players improved immensely. Goalies added more bulk with padding but lost little mobility.
The lure of lacrosse scholarships to American universities, strong high school and minor programs and the potential of a professional career in the NLL have attracted more top athletes to lacrosse.
This influx of higher skilled players to the game seemed to be manifested in the offensive ends of the floor. With a glut of highly skilled offensive players, some of the better athletes turned to the defence and transition.
Today in much of box lacrosse parity has been achieved at both ends of the floor.
Especially notable in MSL games, the better defensive players are now able to consistently shut down the top offensive players. Much of the five-on-five game has become a stalemate. Most teams have five defensive players they can throw out to shut down the top offensive players on any opponent.
Today most of the scoring opportunities come off transition, where a defensive player or two have offensive skills that allow him to sprint the floor on a turnover and create excellent scoring chances or power plays.
The one area where the skilled offensive players can dominate is on the power play. Penalties in today’s game have never been more problematic for teams. The fan-pleasing individual skills of players and ball-moving superiority of teams are often dramatically displayed during the power play.
Longtime fans are finding the five-on-five game that gave much of the entertainment in past years is not as evident in today’s game. Defensive players are much quicker afoot, much more skilled with the stick at defending passes and shots, better at double-teaming and equal to offensive players on loose balls, making for a saw-off on most occasions. And they have the shot clock working for them.
With better defence in front of them, goalies have become more effective covering angles and blocking shots. Other than from a few of the very dominant outside shooters, fewer goals are being scored on long shots.
With the 30-second clock and pressure defence, offensive players are having less time and space to display their skills.
Where in years gone by, a 30goal plus game for both teams was commonplace, today it is more often a 20-goal game.
I believe it is time for the players, coaches and league officials to re-examine the game. They need to find ways for more of those “wow” plays fans reveled in. Maybe it is time to revisit a 45-second shot clock that was once experimented with. It would give the offensive players more time to set up plays to counter the powerful defences. Also referees could better control player changes to give more odd-man transitional plays.
Much like a luxury car with an engine ping, the game may need a minor tune-up before there is a major breakdown.