Jordan: 'I could have scored 100 points' in today's NBA

i don't think goodbug gets that. with jordan's efficiency, it's not how many points he can score, it's how many shots he is willing to jack up.

 

He would definitely get better treatment from the refs, but still a 100 points...? I don't think so.

 

jordan's career 3pt% is 32.7%. in the 2nd 3pt, he took more 3s (up to 3.6) and he shot 42.7% and 37.6% in 2 seasons.

i don't think 3pt shooting would be a problem. when MJ was hot, he can bust the 3 as indicated by my video v. john starks and the knicks.

 

MJ's 5 60+ games.

69 Cleveland OT Cleveland 3/28/90 23 37 21 23 64 Orlando OT Chicago 1/16/93 27 49 9 11 63 Boston 2OT Boston (Playoffs) * 4/20/86 22 41 19 21 61 Detroit OT Detroit 3/4/87 22 39 17 18 61 Atlanta Chicago 4/16/87 22 38 17 21

3 with OT, 2 61 points without OT in 87, when the league averaged 109.9, the worst of last 40 years, no coincidence.

I am sorry, I have to say MJ will have difficulty to scratch 60 without OT in today's league, when the pace is so much slower. Wolves gave up 107.8, Warriors 112.4 PPG, but back in 87, Nuggest gave up 117.6, Clippers 115.9, it's really hard to convince people those team were difficult to score against.

 

When the 3points line was short, yada yada.

 

if i bust out the fg% of kobe v. those guys, you wouldn't be very impressed. 2 of the 3 times kobe busted 50 poins on battier, he shot below 45%. so let's not go there for your sake.

there are give and take. there is less zone then. that may benefit kobe. but with the touch fouls nowadays, it'll benefit jordan more. and with the lack of physicality, that would benefit jordan even more.

look if a guy like kevin martin can average 10 ft attempts per game for a season (and he did), i don't even want to fathom what jordan can average. people do not understand how much a young jordan went to the basket, and his career high in ft attempts is freakin' 11. imagine that.

 

MJ was all driving in 80s, shot 28 per game in 87 to get 37PPG, still couldn't scratch 70. He had the efficiency, he didn't have to share the ball. He didn't even have to face zone, he still couldn't.

 

allen iverson scored 60 and he doesn't have 3pt range. tmac scored 62 and that was with him missing 14 free throws and running out of gas (or else he would have scratched 70 points).

are those guys better offensive players than MJ?

 

you do know david robinson scored 71 points in regulation? shaq 69 points in regulation?

 

I don't think Kobe gets touchy foul. Not once handcheck was called in finals for Kobe. You can easily show me an instance to disprove that.

And no, even if you get touchy foul and shot a lot of FT, it's not going to get high points. As that kind of game is always slow paced. Most high individual performance had like 20 FT, not 40.

 

Both were better 3pt shooter than MJ. So for one game, yes, they could score higher. You have to convince me whey in 80s, MJ did drive, pace was fast, no one to share the ball, he still couldn't scratch 70s. And never score 60+ without OT other than 87.

If MJ did play today, and he practices his 3pts more, I see him getting one or two 60s games without OT, that's it. Even 80's a stretch.

 

You do know Robinson and Shaq got forced fed like Wilt in his 100 games right? They were contesting for scoring champion. And they shot every time they can get the ball.

It's differerent form how Kobe got his 81 and 62.

 

b/c you've never heard MJ was a ballhog. like i said, to go out and score that many points, you want to have your mind set to do it.

all the guys nowadays who score tons of points do it v. bad teams b/c they know it doesn't jeopardize their team's chances of winning.

see kobe's 60 point game v. the knicks last year where he clearly ignored his teammates and had his mind set on scoring a ton of points.

it's all mindset. i don't think jordan came into the game thinking: i'm scoring just so i can impress.

 

Kobe won all 4 games he scored 60 or more, how many MJ won? I am sure the 63 playoff was a loss, and I remember he lost 3 out of 5 there. Who's the ballhog?

So when you got defeat in every number, you bring out this ballhog bull****? LOL.

 

100 seems out of reach in our minds today.
But who knows?
If Jordan approached a season, with only one goal in mind, to score 100 points in a game....he just might.

 

Yes he could have scored 100. In as much as i hate the Jordan era because of his domination of it, he is, argueably, still the best that the sport has ever had to offer.

In case people missed it or are just plain delusional, this is a guy was dominating people on both ends and it's something we still can't say to this day about anyone else because when it came down to it, he won double 3 peats.

While he was doing all this, it was a time of the most physically punishing defense. We now awe at 30+ ppg in an offensively kinder time when Jordan was doing better at a time when you could crack your skull at any given night against defensive bruiser teams. Lots of the fouls he sustained are easily grounds for suspension nowadays. He took those in stride and won championships.

His generation along with Olajuwon was the reason why the rules are as they are today. It was only the true fans that got it. In terms of expanding the league's popularity, the game was so slow and grinding because of the defense which made too selective for mass appeal.

As for the bigger, faster, stronger...etc. arguement, he still would have been a phenomenal athlete by todays standards.

Still not convinced? Check out his accolades amassed (too many to cite) excluding the 3peats. It's insanse and well deserved. I couldn't stand his time in the sun but i sure can respect it.

On a side note, it's 100 pts, and not 100pt average to the folks replying. If you actually thought about a 100 pt average, you should really consider the puff-puff-pass rule.

 

I think it's important to examine outlier games for this kind of statement. To me, scoring a truckload of points is how much you are able to turn it on. Kobe's 82 was an outlier, and I'm gonna define games where a player scores over 40 as outliers as well.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_40-plus_point_games_by_Kobe_Bryant
http://www.michaeljordansworld.com/statistics/points_60_50_40_30_20_10.htm

Jordan played 15 seasons with two seasons of 17 and 18 games. Bryant has played 14 seasons so you can say they have played in the NBA a very similar amount of time (and Jordan at a very much older age).

Jordan has dropped 40+ games 211 times. 174 games were 40-49 points, 34 games 50-59 points and 5 games 60+ points.

Out of those 40+ point games, Kobe did it only 11 or so times (data needs updating on wiki) during the playoffs - about 10%.

Jordan on the other hand dropped 40+ points almost 40 times in the playoffs, or close to 20% of the time!

Add on top of this that Jordan shot 3-5% better FG%. To me, scoring 80+ is all about whether or not you want to "turn it on" and go on this shooting spree. As amazing as youngsters think Kobe is, I think it's clear if Jordan wanted to, doing what Kobe did and beyond is no sweat for his Airness.

 

Haters going to hate no matter what.

To me the greatest thing about MJ was not his basketball skills but his mentality.

If he wanted to score 100, he would have freaking done it, not because of his physical skill because his mind already made it's choice.

 

MJ didn't need Pippen when he dropped 63 points in a playoff game against arguably the greatest team of all time.

 

Dwight wouldn't even know how to use Hakeem's skills. Hakeem's game was based on a unique blend of strength, speed, quickness, and agility. Dwight might have Hakeem beat in the strength, but even then it's hard to tell because he only plays against a weaker crop of centers.