Can't really compare players across eras that well, especially that far back when the game was so different. That said, if the question is Chris Paul or Bob Cousy, I'd take Chris Paul all day every day.
The single most impactful external factor to league-wide field goal percentage is the way fouls are called, as a foul called would remove a FG attempt itself. Imagine if Harden is not bailed out by touch-fouls or non-fouls, his percentage might approach that of Iverson's. Or imagine if threes were called like it was in the 90s - contacts made after the shot is no foul. We'd not see as many 40% shooters and as many points scored on the scoreboard. Happy whistles directly increased league-wide FG percentage and scoring. Some say old school guys shoot as many free-throws. I'm talking about the manner in which the fouls are called. For example, today Durant might get touched 10 times a game, but back then Jordan might get tackled 10 times a game. The threat of getting hit and the mindset to avoid it also contributes to the lower percentage. With that said, I have no idea what was going on in the 50s and 60s. Just want to point out this factor in general in exchange for more insights!
Players get better and better, through training, diet, technology. Through innovations in knowledge. On average, more modern players are going to be better than older players. It's just a fact of life. There are outliers (Chamberlain was a pretty modern style offense and if he was trained up the way modern athletes are and played by coaches today, he'd fit right in; Michael Jordan got started in the NBA close to 40 years ago, but he'd look just fine in today's game), but by and large, you can really only appreciate past players within their own ecosystem in terms of how good/great they were. Especially when they're very far back in history.
Lol, that's silly. Bob Cousy could have become an insurance salesman and the NBA would have been just fine. Same with Jerry West for that matter.
Really? Or is he coasting on reputation? I remember we thought Jerry West had fleeced us like crazy when he managed to con us into trading Rudy Gay when it turns out he was the one behind the curve Since then it seems like he's remora'd his way up abd down the PCH taking credit for other people's luck.
They played a more pure form of basketball back then. Cousy actually dribbled correctly. 95% of dribbling these days is carrying or palming the ball.
He couldn't shoot......I mean Cousy would have had to be a lot better to even make an NBA team today. He gets a lot of credit because he was on a great team, but Reddick is right, he didn't even shoot 40%.....that is really poor, especially as the Celtics played fast break ball, how terrible of a shooter was Cousy to make those layups and still be under 40%.....Rafer Alston style. DD
The old timers, like Cousy, kept the NBA going so that players like jj Reddick, and Moochie Norris would have a league to play in. Show some respect.
On the other hand, if refs called charges correctly, Giannis turnovers would double, and the bucks never get out of the second round.
You can respect someone and recognize that they had flaws......those are completely different. Respect Cousy because he helped build the league - absolutely. Criticize or analyze him because he could barely shoot a decent percentage - Sure DD
It was a strict rule to dribble palm down which needed to go as a rule, but damn, it's really bad today. Watching drew league and pick up games camera zoom ins and you see all these amazing pro superstars and they all carry damn near back of hand parallel to the floor every time they dribble and it looks so slow and deliberate that any ref pre Iverson would call it every time.
I don't care whether today's players palm the ball or not. It's what they are allowed to do and that's how the game is played. But people need to realize that players back in Cousy's days were not allowed to dribble like that before laughing at them for how awkward they looked. If they could dribble like today's players, the game would have looked very differently back then and who knows what players like Cousy could have done.
I don't know. I think easier handles help create shooting space. Also, shooting forms evolve too. The jump shot was not used until more than 40 years after Dr. Naismith invented the game. It's kind of like comparing the X-1 to the modern F-14 and conclude that Yeager was an inferior pilot than today's top guns.
He may have been an insurance salesman, during the off season. Players back then didn't make that much money and had to work summer jobs to survive. Many of todays players have opulent mansions with built in personal basketball courts. Or they are playing and practicing in some nice gym somewhere.
Cousy was overrated, he was on the best team - was a good player for his era - but his lack of shooting is a glaring weakness. Same for Bill Russell great defender on the best team, but not great on offense. Some of the older Celtic players are overated because they were on the best team. DD
