......you can't compare players from different eras. Plain and simple! This looks like the old guys in my neighborhood playing a pickup game at the local church. Shit, could you imagine what todays players would do to these guys? Michael Beasley or Evan Turner would score 80 on them every night! You trying to tell me that these motherfuckers would be able to stop even Nolan Smith or Eric Maynor? Props to old school ballers, but the game has changed!
The game was A LOT rougher back then. The reason the game is so finesse style now is because they call fouls on anything. "hand checking" is garbage... the game now is played for ratings, not for the game. It's catered to the stars, plain and simple.
You think Cousy could stay with Dame or Kyrie at the top of the key.......you think #16 could play today against LA and Blake Griffin. They would get killed. Snuff all that conspiracy theory bullshit. I would love to see that guy on the far right (who looks like my middle school shop teacher by the way) try to stop Mello or Nic Batum even.
Fundamentally they get worse with time and with each era. However, the body continues to change with all the performance enhancing drugs. Athletically, they are head and shoulders above where they were back then.
THIS is exactly what it would look like! [video=youtube;4qXkn3iqym4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qXkn3iqym4[/video]
I'm not so sure about the drugs, but strength training is completely different. Explain how players today have less fundamentals than back in the day.
They don't pass, they don't shoot, they don't rebound as well as they did in 60's, 70's, 80's and even 90's.
As a fan of the game, this blanket statement hurts my soul! Can you show me some proof of this. Just because the game is more athletic and flashy does not mean it's any less fundamental.
Let's compare Lebron James to Magic Johnson. The best in the game in this era compared to one of the best if not the best in the 80's. Magic was the fundamentally superior player. Now put together the 12 best players in the game today and put them against the Dream Team in 92. There is comparison from a fundamental standpoint. Physcially, yes. Fundamentally, no way.
I grew up loving Magic, but why do you say he is more fundamentally sound? What does he do better than 'Bron besides average more dimes? What do you consider fundamentals that would lead you to believe this?
HCP, in general you are right. But certain players from the 60's and early 70's can ball with the best today. And players from that era would be substantially better fundamentally. And, yes, they were way tougher. Granted, the NBA today is superior but I think you are still underestimating some of the great players of old.
In what sport aren't the players bigger, faster and stronger in these days? Hell, even golfers are weight lifting now.
