[Fran Blineburry] Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing

Yeah, maybe magic, but i dont think he could be a point in this day and age. Maybe a power forward. Pippen exposed him with his size and athleticism. Remember, Magic wasnt that old when Pippen shut him down, maybe thirty at most. Hakeem would translate well because of his great athleticism which back in the day was remarkable for a big man. Today, athletic big men are everywhere. they might not score a lot, but if you have decent range, which centers of old didn't have, you could take a modern center and make him a star back in the day.
I'm not knocking players of the past, but to say they would all be stars or better than yao is a difficult thing to imagine. take a look at Youtube and watch how the NBA was played back in the day. They were skinny beanpoles that had nowhere near the speed they have today. It's true of everysport. Golf, NFL, MLB (plus roids). More exposure, better technique, larger population, better economy where the masses can focus on leisure sports, and you get the best athletes ever.

 

You can't be serious! What makes you believe that?

You do realize that teams scoring was higher in the 80's and 90's than in todays game right? Also players shooting 45% or better was the norm not the exception. And I don't even want to get into the hand checking rule.

We're really not discussing the 80's. And you will notice a different level of athleticism and skill. Players back then could shoot and defend.

These guys are HOF's they would be great in any NBA generation.

 

You want to compare Howard, a 1st tier center in this era, versus Duckworth, a 3rd tier center in his era? Why don't you compare Howard to Hakeem, Shaq, Robinson, Moses, etc. instead. There's no comparison.

Duckworth was better than guys like Kendrick Perkins, Dalembert, Bogut, etc.

Bird, Magic, and Jordan would be even better in this era of no contact on the perimeter. Imagine Bird, Magic, MJ if players couldn't put a hand on him.

Jordan came out in '84. How are you lumping him in as "new school" with Kobe and Shaq?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbjBJy6AWQA&feature=related

sure they would...

 

im lumping Jordan cause he brought the athleticism that is hallmark in todays game. In fact, Hakeem could be a torchbearer too with his athleticism. Look, I was a huge fan of NBA in the 80's but in no way are the players better back then. You have your opinion, I have mine.

 

When Yao and Hakeem worked out together, Worrell said during a telecast that they played 1 on 1 and said that one of them was out scoring the other by a huge margin ( I forgot by how much) but I didn't catch which one he was talking about. He also said that later he got tired and didn't score much. Does anybody remember if it was Yao or Hakeem that was schooling the other?

 

There are those types of posters and then there are your types; truly refreshing to read. There are select few posters in here that I value. It's amazing how much you can gain from them.

You are right, I got little too excited. When they make it personal, I dont want to back off. I know some people here who do nothing but belittle Yao. They refuse to see the good things he brings to this club and tries to tell others what we should think of him. Their reasoning and logic seems to be incredibly bigot.

 

Dude,

You need to step back and really evaluate what Yao brings to the table.

He is a highly efficient interior scorer with amazing touch for his size. Hes a decent rebounder who does well when the ball is in his proximity but doesn't get the boards away that are slightly out of reach. He is also incredibly turnover prone and lacks the mobility and athletic ability to establish great position in the post. It shouldn't take a mammoth effort to feed the ball to a guy that is 7'6. The only reason that Tmac can do it easily is he can just pass it over top of his man. You would never EVER have a problem feeding the ball to Shaq, Timmy D, Dream or any of those other guys you think Yao is at the level of.

Face it, Yao is a good but not great player and isn't even close to those guys that you speak of. Great players don't get neutralized by inferior players like Biedrins and Sam Dalembert.

 

Considering the crappy shooting of this generation, Bird would drop 50 points a game. his shot was pure.
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ebx61XuFGX8&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ebx61XuFGX8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

 

this thread is fun to read.

i personally think akeem is THE g.o.a.t. - not "one of". and i prefer the game the way it was back in the 80's and 90's simply because there were more big men and more overall skills involved. skills like a simple jump shot are a lot harder to locate these days. if i only want to check out who leap higher or run faster, i'd simply turn my tv to another sport which i like - track and field. most of the great bball players are the ones that have a combination of and a fine balance b/w athleticism and skills. akeem is a perfect example.

which one is greater, this 21st century "new era" or the booming 80's and 90's for bball? i have to admit, with all the new technologies in sports, physical training today is probably far better than some 20 years ago; otoh, you've got nash (i'm not jabbing him) for mvp TWICE and john stockton (i hate him ) was not even once.

now back to the topic of this thread. i think yao was just joking when he "leaned his head down" to fran. that's, in my read, a typical yao-fashioned sense of humor. also see his comments that he'd fire himself after the 1st quarter if he's the coach.

what'd happen if yao played against akeem? i don'y know. bball is different from individual matchups such as tennis. dream would have a clear upper hand for sure. but i think 50-15 pts differential, given by many in this thread, is a bit too far.

 

Yao has played some of his better games against Biedrins. Dalembert cant stop Yao one on one...Very few centers can. The reason Yao struggles against the 76ers is mainly their style of play. we have prblems defending them and yao gets in foul trouble easily. The sixers also force alot of turnovers and they run which is something that can take Yao out of ball games.

One on one, yao can score on anyone in the league. The players you mentioned in your post are more versartile players because theyre more mobile, but Yao as a post scorer is pretty dang good and efficient. The only guy that gives him problems these days is Marc gasol. I dont really understand it, but Gasol has shut down yao all by himself this year.

 

i dont get all the al jefferson hate here. they guy can hoop. he moves well and has range.

 

Nash getting two MVPs and Stockton not getting one is pretty messed up. (Yes I'm a Rockets fan and I hate the guy as much as the next fan) Stockton is the all-time leader in assists (with a huge 5,000 assist lead on everybody else) and steals. Guess who else is in the top 10 all-time steals list....yup thats right...Hakeem Olajuwon and he is the only big man that high...everybody else is a guard or forward. So for those of you that think Yao could score on him at will have to realize that there is a good chance Hakeem would strip him of the ball before Yao could make his move.

P.S. for those of you newbies, you should really check out this link and see how high Hakeem is on the all-time list for everything....this is why people say Yao would have no chance against hakeem.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/alltime/leaders?cat=points

 

I have to say having watched Al Jefferson over the course of this season, I think he is about on par with Hakeem.

Of course, Hakeem is retired and into his 40's, but still, I think Al Jefferson would be able to match him!

 

I think Yao could hold his own against those classic back to the basket centers. He did pretty well against Shaq who was still in his prime during his Lakers years.

What Yao can't handle is those who have a face up game. Guys like Boozer and Amare give him trouble because they can hit the midrange shot and they can drive around him with ease.

 

You would think that our coaching staff would know this and stop asking him to guard those guys.

DD

 

Dream was great, he bring two champions to city. But I also remember Dream strugling against fake zone defence from Sonic. I am not sure How he could do with zone defence every where and gurad favored rule in NBA today. I also do not know how Yao could do in that period. So the argument is really non sense.

 

You're kidding right? Hakeem in his prime would leave Jefferson frustrated. Hakeem on offense total domination. Hakeem on defense will shut him down.
Hakeem a monster on defense, quicker than Jefferson,great recovery speed, and you're playing against the all time shot block in NBA history. Need I say more.

 

I think he meant that Yao is on par with Hakeem in his 40's... not Hakeem in his prime.

 

I mean Jefferson. Not Yao.