Kolek planning to go pro
Anybody who thinks there is a lack of D now compared to the 1980s didn't watch a lot of basketball in the 1980s.
ben simmons seems to be severely over-rated, not very good or rusty and not a good fit with the nets. surely not worth the $35 million/year contract
I was thinking the same thing about the top players (add Embid to the list at #5, and he's from Cameroon). This was Stern's vision, to make the NBA a truly worldwide league. I don't think the game is better today than it was in the 80s (too many threes and a lack of D), but the skill and overall athleticism are better.
Other than the Pistons, defense wasn't emphasized until the playoffs. After the Pistons' run, the early to mid 90's saw the real uptick in physicality and playoff games finishing in the 70's.
Lakers are 0-4 against the spread and 0-4 on the year.Some good value in taking them vs Minny tonight.
Yeah but I struggle to call that “good defense” like now. Freedom of movement is a thing now.
Ah yes, spoken from experience. Remembers watching the game in the 80s, but too young to remember MU as the Warriors.
MU wasn’t a thing to me until I applied after the name had been changed, why would I? Now, the Bad Boys Pistons….And then the 90’s Knicks and 2004 Pistons.
1982 Oldsmobile Fiernza. A white hatchback. 50,000 miles. Purchased in 1992 for $2000.
1. But that is what a lot of us call good defense. There used to be a lot more physicality both on ball (hand-checks/steering), and off ball. It was part of the game for a long time, and removed for "freedom of movement" to create a more exciting and higher scoring game.2. It might be that I don't remember it much, because you couldn't watch as many regular season games (only 2-3 channels) in the 80's, so much of what I remember is playoffs. But there is a lot more just standing and doing nothing, not even trying to get back on D, than I remember. The latter could also be, because I've watched the Lakers a bunch this year and man, is there no effort on D at all by several of them.
Lakers and Magic would be my two best plays if I were gambling tonight.
The "physicality" removed added little to the game, IMO. You want to watch body checks and clogged lanes with low scoring, watch mediocre HS basketball. It doesn't even have to be run and gun 130 points a game Warriors offense, any good motion offense, even a Princeton style offense by teams that don't score a ton of points, is negatively impacted by hand checking and grabbing and "bodying" up people.That being removed, "good" defense looks different. Why waste the energy getting 18 inches from your man when they are athletic enough to slip by you on a cut, when you can understand spacing and passing lanes and intercept passes or deflect/angle in space.I'm not accusing you of this, but some people that watched chest to chest defense in the 70s/80s can't fathom how you play good defense when you aren't running around constantly or in somebody's grill for 48 min.
The game was vastly different in the '80s and into the '90s. Big men ruled, and mid-range jumpers were the norm. The 3-pointer was still relatively rarely deployed, and certainly not as a primary weapon. Everything was different. Not necessarily "better" or "worse," but very different.The greats of that era still would be great today, and the greats today would have flourished back then IMHO.
It was worse. Much less free flowing. The iso ball resulting from mandatory man to man defense? Awful...And yes the greats from then would be fine today. The role players from back then would be hanging out in the G-League however.
It has honestly been pretty cool watching how the next generation of players (particularly big men) have adapted their game, similarly guys like Curry who have changed how the game is played.
Yes, zones were "illegal defenses," but nearly all the teams played zone principles, e.g. 1-2-2 trap, and sometimes outright zones that just weren't officiated.
Yeah that’s just not an accurate statement.
If you were the GM of the Lakers what would you do? It seems to me they have very few options. They may be the worst team in the league, consider how incredible that is? They are paying three guys about 130M this season. Also, if they do make the lottery NOLA gets their pick. Is there any team that actually wants Westbrook because of his expiring contract? Davis has three more years on his deal... is he worth rolling the dice for a semi contender?