Dead wrong. The league has barely expanded by 1/3 in 35 years. The talent pool meanwhile has probably tripled or increased 10x in that same time period.
NFL: Mel Kiper is a draft expert who has yet to be hired by any NFL teams. :roll eyes: Mel has good hustle, but I'm just saying. NBA - Old time NBA greats were exceptional at every facet of the game and played all 82 games until their shoes were worn thin and never dabbled debauchery/vices. The NBA instituted the NBA lottery to help big market teams get potential star players. No, the NBA instituted the lottery to prevent "all-teams" from tanking, because it wouldn't guarantee the worst team the first pick by default.
Since tonight's theme is officiating, let me put these down. They are not really "myths" for they are real. But they are BS officiating which everybody takes for granted as the way it is. 1. Superstar calls. Nuff said. 2. Swallow the whistle and "let the players play" down the stretch. This is such a BS principle. It's just a cop out because the refs are afraid to make a wrong call. The fallacy of this is that a non-call is as much a part of officiating as a call. A wrong non-call is as bad as a wrong call.
Myth: The NBA officials do not have a vendetta towards the Rockets and officiates their games just like any other team.
So guys who have, at minimum, 10x better postgame than Dwight, 100x better mid-range jumpers, shoot FTs 70%, all while playing at least equal post defense as Dwight wouldn't at least perform well today? Sounds like they would dominate. Of the 90's top 10 centers, at least half were highly mobile and could run the floor. Sounds like they would dominate.
Wow, so they shoot 500% from post and 2000 % from mid range? Amazing skills Pacerstunna. I wonder where George will finish in MVP voting this year.
Oh man...I'm so tempted to go laugh at the "Harden or Paul George?" thread right now... I must resist!
Well, improved postgame wouldn't be limited to increased FG% only. It would also include less turnovers (travelling, fumbling the ball, offensive fouls, etc). Dwight has PLENTY of room to improve offensively. If you're going to get technical, do it right.
You're missing the point. The quality of play was better and it was harder to score. Teams like Golden State would not be as good in the 80's or 90's because Steph Curry would be on his azz most nites. The rules now make it to where you can't touch guys. Also, back then free agency was different so teams could keep their core players together longer. It was brutal and WAY more competitive. Alot of teams we think of as great now wouldn't be as good back then.
1. The quality of play was better ... that's a blanket statement, because in many regards the style of play was much different between the 80s vs. 90s. The 90s became the "iso-ball" era with heavier emphasis. There's less iso-ball, now vs. mid 90s - mid 2000s. Also, are we talking about the Celtics and Lakers, or are we talking about Clippers and Kings. Amongst elite teams, you could make that argument. 2. Teams, like Golden State and Phoenix were pretty much the standard high seeded playoff team. Deep rosters and great ball movement. In GS's case, they've pretty good defensively as well. I'd like ask you, during the Showtime era in the West from about 1980-1988, what teams were annually as good as Golden State on offense and defense, besides the Lakers. You don't think having Igoudala, Thompson, Curry, Barnes, Green, Bogut, and the other Warriors would be a good roster for mid-80s Western Conference. 3. The rules now make it to where you can't touch guys. On offense or defense... so you do think there's a such thing as physical or aggressive offensive players. What about good defenders or eraser-type defensive players, now ... does their defensive skills disappear, because physical play? If given the opportunity, you don't think modern teams could play physical. While, all NBA teams from that weren't exactly defensive stalwarts, like the Pistons or Knicks. I say that by actual game footage, statistics, or by other professional accounts. At any level of basketball, why is it that most high scoring affairs ... 110 ... 115... 125+, there's typically very mediocre or porous defense being played, because the game is being played at such faster pace. Good defense comes at controlling pace, while stopping fast breaks and keeping offensive players covered through switches and help defenses. Would modern teams suddenly forget how to do that, when matched up against teams from the 80s or 90s? Speaking of which, why did defenses suddenly get better from about 89-95? The style of play slowed down. When David Stern cracked down on defense and physical play, how come teams, like the Spurs and Pistons. Or, even present day Memphis, Atlanta, or GS ... how do they magically play good defense when you cannot touch offensive players or club them over the head?/ Pulled this quote from another site. 4. Also, back then free agency was different so teams could keep their core players together longer. It was brutal and WAY more competitive. Alot of teams we think of as great now wouldn't be as good back then. The West was awful for most the 1980s, if Magic didn't make it to the Lakers, you would've seen a few sub-50 win teams in the Finals. To get demolished in the Finals. The East was brutal ... amongst, like 3-6 teams, tops. People didn't start crying parity until about the late 2000s. The parity in the West is getting to the point now, where a 50 win team conceivably could miss the playoffs. http://www.thesportsnotebook.com/2014/06/1987-nba-finals-sports-history-articles/ http://www.si.com/nba/2010/12/30/1980s-nba 1980s Western Conference vs. 2000s/2010s Western Conference. Again, tell me things are watered down.
SIGNIFICANT RULE CHANGES 1977: This isn't a rule change, but is significant anyway. The NBA completed it's merger with the ABA, and expanded the league's talent pool. The league would soon crack a 1:1 point possession ratio and never look back. 1979: Clarification added to prohibit hand-checking through “rigid enforcement” of rule allowing a defensive player to retain contact with his opponent so long as he does not impede his opponent’s progress. 1979 was the beginning of the end for handchecking, and teams jumped 3 PPP with the decrease in physical play. SIGNIFICANT RULE CHANGES 1980: In perhaps the most important rules change league scoring has ever seen, the 3pt shot was adopted by the NBA. The results are seen immediately - a jump to 105 PPP and the league never looked back. 1982: Zone defense rules clarified with new rules for Illegal Defensive Alignments. In other words, the death of zone defense. With zone defenses severely limited, teams began to take the physical limitations of handchecking to the limit. While the Bad Boy Pistons were especially known for this, it did not stop teams from scoring at an efficient rate that was simply unheard of 10-20 years prior. League scoring hit an all-time high 108.3 PPP in 1987, just when the Bad Boys were starting their run. SIGNIFICANT RULE CHANGES 1994: The 24-second clock is reset only when the basketball hits the rim. Previously, the clock would be reset if the ball hit either the rim or the backboard. This is a huge blow towards offenses, as it is much easier to force a 24 second violation with the change. 1995: There was A LOT going on in the 90s, particularly in 95. A. The league shortened the three-point line (22 feet in the corners extending to 23 feet, nine inches at the top of the key) to a uniform 22 feet around the basket. B. Awarded three foul shots for any player fouled while attempting a three-point field goal. C. Hand-checking eliminated from the end line in the backcourt to the opposite foul line. D. "Clear path” rule changed to include contact in the backcourt. If a defender, grabs a player when the player has a clear path to the basket on a breakaway, two foul shots will be awarded. The NBA had seen enough, and eliminated hand checking, while also shortening the 3pt line to a distance... 2002: The following rules were implemented to limit defenses. A. No contact with either hands or forearms by defenders except in the frontcourt below the free throw line extended in which case the defender may use his forearm only. B. Neither the offensive player nor the defender will be allowed to dislodge or displace a player who has legally obtained a position. (They might as well have named this one "The Shaq Rule.") C. Defender may not use his forearm, shoulder, hip or hand to reroute or hold-up an offensive player going from point A to Point B or one who is attempting to come around a legal screen set by another offensive player. D. Slowing or impeding the progress of the screener by grabbing, clutching, holding “chucking” or “wrapping up” is prohibited. 2002: More defense rules. A. Illegal defense guidelines will be eliminated in their entirety. (Hooray for the return of zone defenses!) B. Defensive Three seconds rule implemented (No more camping in the paint). C. The time that a team has to advance the ball past midcourt will be reduced from ten seconds to eight (To speed the game tempo up). D. Brief contact initiated by a defensive player will be allowed if it does not impede the progress of the player with the ball. SIGNIFICANT RULE CHANGES 2005: New rules were introduced to curtail hand-checking, clarify blocking fouls and call defensive three seconds to open up the game. No rule changes have been made since, as this had exactly the desired effect the NBA and it's fans wanted. In one fell swoop, scoring jumped by 4 PPP, and last season returned to the all-time high mark set in 1987. The removal of illegal defense rules coupled with no hand checking has led teams to play a swarming, rotating based style of team defense where every player on the court is accountable. The Celtics brought this style to the limelight in 2008, and other teams have begun to adopt it as they did Pat Riley's schemes in the early 90s. Time will tell if the offense/defense scales will tip back to the defense. SIGNIFICANT RULE CHANGES 2005: New rules were introduced to curtail hand-checking, clarify blocking fouls and call defensive three seconds to open up the game. No rule changes have been made since, as this had exactly the desired effect the NBA and it's fans wanted. In one fell swoop, scoring jumped by 4 PPP, and last season returned to the all-time high mark set in 1987. The removal of illegal defense rules coupled with no hand checking has led teams to play a swarming, rotating based style of team defense where every player on the court is accountable. The Celtics brought this style to the limelight in 2008, and other teams have begun to adopt it as they did Pat Riley's schemes in the early 90s. Time will tell if the offense/defense scales will tip back to the defense. http://thereal2kinsider.blogspot.com/2010/02/history-of-nba-scoring-and-rule-changes.html
1. Those great NCAA fundamentals that those college basketball purists rave about are on full-display, right now. 2. Outstanding Team-ball - You need superior one-on-one talent to actually be a good team with isolation basketball. Yet, to play great teamball you need talented players who are unselfish. Sorry, you cannot erase talent. 2b.College teams play better defense: When playing the juggernauts of the Sky-Valley and CAC conference.
What do you think of the theory that refs swallow the whistle in the playoffs? And as a consequence, players like Harden, who rely on drawing fouls, will have a tougher time?
