Sometimes it's fun to read other Blazer forums

That there is some quality trolling!

 

I don't remember Wilt ever playing for the Blazers..hmmmm?

 

Ha yeah that'd make Wilt 100 years old when he scored his 100 points.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_basketball

I don't pay any attention to stats before the early 70's though; the league had no competition and was much smaller than arena football is today. Basically none of the pros were high level athletes that could succeed in football or baseball as they are today. Modern basketball really started in 1977 after the ABA merger.

 

Huh???? Oscar Robertson was the LeBron James of his day and very easily could have played pro football. Jerry West was another terrific all around athlete and likely could have played pro baseball. Wilt ran track. Dave Debushere played pro baseball. Walt Frazier wasn't a high level athlete?? Those are just a few players from that era who were not only all around athletes, but who could probably kick some ass today if you could magically transport them to 2015. Wow, I can't wait till you are in your fifties or sixties and the younger generation at that time gives Jordan, Kobe, LBJ et al the back of their hands. Besides, comparing generations is an exercise in futility. I wish I could be alive 30 years from now so I could watch your reaction. You have some great insights to share on this blog but this particular post ain't one of them....

 

but they didn't have the 3 second rule and jumped center that helped wilt

 

I'm not sure of your point as far as 3 seconds and the center jump goes. Though 3 seconds has been around for my lifetime (not that it...or traveling ever gets called on today's NBA). I was just defending the athleticism of the players from the 60's and 70's. And back to the traveling thing. Michael Jordan wouldn't have averaged over 12 points a game if the traveling rule had ever been enforced.....though I'm digressing...I just think the players back then were just as athletic. They certainly seemed to be more durable than the hot house flowers of today....

 

What? Are you trolling? Lebron is the traveler. Not MJ.

 

3 second rule introduced in 1936.

 

Go back and watch again...though yes, LBJ is at least as bad. But in all honesty, uncalled traveling probably started with Dr. J. I think the refs were so amazed by what he was able to do once he was in the air they didn't have the heart to negate it. Regardless, traveling is by far the most abused rule in the NBA by far.

 

First enforced in 2036...

 

I think I figured out why 3 in the key is enforced so strangely today:

1936 - 3 in the key becomes a rule. The lane is 6 feet wide at this point.

1951 - Lane widened from six to 12 feet (Change primarily attributed to the dominance of George Mikan)

1964 - Lane widened from 12 to 16 feet (Change primarily attributed to the dominance of Wilt Chamberlain)

If 3 in the key had expanded along with the size of the key, it would be 8 in the key. But that's not exactly fair, because camping out in the CENTER of the key 8 seconds is horrible. But since it takes a second to get int the key far enough to match the 1936 rules, and a second to get out again, maybe we should make it a 5 in the key count instead.

...which is what refs basically do now.

 

Just get rid of 3 in the key entirely, rename the "center" the "keeper" and sit back and enjoy soccer-style scores like 4-2.

 

Woooooosh right over your head

 

Jordan's go to move was his hook that was never called

 

Hey that's your opinion but I disagree with it. Yes there were a couple exceptional players here or there so perhaps I should've noted that. But the league overall was full of average Joe's instead of now where its top to bottom some of the best athletes in the world. The Celtics were racking up those 10 titles when there were 8 franchises in the NBA and most of them just sold their players to one of the few big teams. It means more in the modern NBA to get second in a conference as it did to win a title back then. That was closer to globetrotter exhibition than a major competitive sport. Those pre1970 stats are nearly meaningless. Comparing those stats to modern day players is the same as comparing 142 TD record in an arena football season to the 50 TD record Brady had in the NFL. The pre-1970's NBA isn't at all similar to other sports such as the MLB. Baseball had an ultra competitive mature league that existed for decades with competitive franchises all over the country. NBA games weren't televised, sometimes weren't on the radio and many learned about them later in the newspaper. It was a small niche sport back then.

Basketball is a great sport and those early NBA teams, the ABA league and college ball set the stage for what we now have. I think of it as similar to 1800's baseball.

 

Yep, dang it! And the breeze as it went by took my hat right off. That's what happens when a guy tries to stay involved with a thread while trailing his wife around the shopping mall. I didn't read Sly's original post anywhere near close enough before blowing off your point. I think it was between, "yes dear" and "that looks great on you, Honey" that I just skimmed the whole thing. And missed the joke. My bad.

 

Chuck Connors (The Rifleman) played in the NBA, Major League Baseball, AND was drafted by the Chicago Bears.

I think he was the first one in the NBA to break a backboard...

 

You make some excellent points but I think what really set the table for today's NBA started no later than the early '60s with freak (especially for that era) athletes like Cousy, Russell, West, Robertson and Baylor (I'll leave Chamberlain out of it because he was an even bigger aberration for that time). Cousy and West had ball handling and passing skills that are the norm today but were black magic back when they started doing it. Robertson and Baylor were high flyers and aerial artists that paved the way for the Dr. J's, MJs, etc. Their skills would translate almost completely to today's NBA. If the Big O was playing in his prime today, LeBron would be calling him Daddy. And that's the God's honest truth. Too, it can be argued that since there are now 30 NBA teams, the talent level is seriously diluted compared to back when there were only 8 teams. But, as I stated in an earlier post, comparing generations is truly subjective, so my argument is only for conversational purposes. And one last point...I love pro basketball almost as much as I love my wife but in some ways the NBA is still a "niche" sport, especially when compared to MLB and the NFL. The NFL is is a 24/7/365 topic with the national media, MLB gets about 9 months of love and about the only real attention the NBA gets (unless you live in Portland) is during the actual season. And that sucks. That's why this forum is a godsend, especially at this time of year....

 

And that's a fact.