You don't have to agree. But it's no accident that there were more point guards who averaged ten assists a game. Not to mention more points averaging 20 and 10. More centers were averaging 3 + blocks a game, And more forwards and centers were averaging ten + rebounds a game. And more teams were averaging 100+ points per game back then. Fundamentals were a big key to that. If you take the best player at each position today and compare it to the best player at each position back then. Fundamentally, each player was superior.
I'm glad I decided to read the thread before posting, because I was going to post exactly the same thing. I haven't seen such a helpful teammate since Delonte West "helped" LeBron James.
Listen up, I have a little problem with people comparing LeBron to Magic. Here's why, In Magic Johnson's rookie season, he filled in for an injured Kareem Abdul-Jabaar at center and put up 42 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists. Until I see LBJ guard a big time center in a BIG game and put a numbers like that, Leads his team to a win, He's no Magic Johnson!!
Your overlooking a very big thing. Defensive schemes have evolved and become much more sophisticated in the last 10-15 years. No longer is it all about man on man defense, its more about team defense and that has played a huge part in slowing the game down so those gaudy stats are harder to achieve. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
Man, there are going to be different opinions about this obviously but please go back and watch games from the 80s.......there is a reason teams were scoring over 110 points all the time and it wasn't because the players were more fundamentally sound.......nobody played D.
It looks like you're saying it's because they're all white. Especially since you only mentioned black people beating them.
HCP couldn't have cut the mustard back then cutting kinescope tapes. You had to be all man to snip Dave Garroway or Arthur Godfrey. Or Howdy Doody.
so defense isn't a fundamental aspect of the game in your world then? Because even in an era where considerably less D was played, Magic was considered a horrible defender while Lebron is absolutely elite on that end of the court. sorry but you're way off base on why statistics aren't as gaudy as they once were. Individual fundamentals have nothing to do with the pace of the game being slowed down considerably by modern day coaches trying to maximize possessions and having the PG always contested as they bring the ball up. Watch games from past eras and notice how guys always seem to have wide open looks on their jumpers, where as now they're contested. Guys can still drain open shots like it's nothing, they just aren't allowed those sort of looks anymore. I'd place superior defensive schemes and techniques under team & individual fundamentals as I'm sure every coach would. *edit* looks like I didn't read enough of this thread as others are hammering this obvious point too STOMP
I could make a team that "looks like" that too. Stockton, West, Bird, McHale, Walton..... You don't think that team would win a title today? (BTW, your thinly veiled racism did not go unnoticed). Players today probably can jump higher and sprint faster, but that only does you so much good. Just look at how team USA has barely beaten, and even lost to teams full of Euro-scrubs.
You're a fucking clown. You think I went out of my way to find a pic of white guys? I was reading an article and this popped up. Looking at it I realized how "unathletic" or "NBA" they looked. Sent from HCPs Baller-Ass iPhone 5...FAMS!
I'm gonna have to go ahead and sort of disagree with you there. You underestimate the skill level of the older generations. Cousy would still be viable. Wilt? Kareem? Walton? Right out of college they would still embarrass this crop of big-bodied, no-skill goons in todays NBA. Disappointing post HCP, you're supposed to be an MVP here!
Bro, you just named 3 of the best players to EVER play! Of course they would do well....I'm claiming today's below average players would dominate back then. Sent from HCPs Baller-Ass iPhone 5...FAMS!
I don't know about that. Today's below average players, while presumably more athletic, might look like unskilled goobs against the Chuck Taylor 50s-60s guys. They would be completely out of context. Yep, you need a time machine for that one, call Stewie Griffin.
Says the person who probably has no ballhandling skills. Any contact that displaces a player's rhythm, Balance, Speed, or quickness is a foul. I ref players who are handchecked out of bounds. Should that be a foul? The offense is being contacted by a person who is NOT a legal defender. Stay in front of your man and stop using your hands to play defense. You play defense with your feet.
I don't think it's that relevant to compare the elite of one era with the elite of another. Truth is that an uber talented 6-11 guy in 1968 was probably just as likely to play hoops in 2013. The difference is the role players. Back then, every team had multiple guys who were just not that big and not that athletic. If you were 6'7 and pretty good at basketball but also pretty good at accounting, accounting was probably a better long-term career option. Almost nobody came from overseas to play. Every night a superstar could pretty reliably count on getting defended multiple times by somebody who was vastly inferior, akin to the difference being guarded by a high school vs college-level basketball player. The huge salaries of the modern NBA put a competitive premium on those jobs. On top of that, the pool of available talent grew exponentially bigger as the league became more popular, the US population doubled in size, and the international game grew in popularity (thanks in no small part to the original Dream Team). Bigger talent pool = more talent. Plus, coaching, drafting, scouting, traveling, training--it all got much better as the financial stakes of putting out a good team got much, much higher. This all helped to make the average NBA player better (whereas I suspect the prodigy elite-types saw much less improvement. There's an upper limit to what anybody can do with a basketball.) The superstars are still superstars. It's everybody else who got a lot better.
