It's odd watching someone like Kawhi be a superstar. I mean, he's awesome for sure. But, the lack of fundamentals(other than shooting) on offense like his footwork and his ball handling leave me wondering how someone like Scottie Pippen or Grant Hill could do today, not even thinking about guys like any age MJ or prime Kobe. Maybe i'm just a hater? That's all i'm called now for ever questioning "the most athletic and skilled era ever." Who knows. Maybe guys of the past spoiled me with their highly aesthetic games over guys like LeBron, Westbrook, or Kawhi. It's almost like watching football players playing basketball. There's zero grace now other than probably Curry. Kawhi is awesome though. But, if he's a top 5 player in your league, something is wrong with the talent pool. More than any other years, the past few NBA seasons has taught me that stats are really only a reflection of the overall quality of your competition. Maybe i'm just like that episode of South Park where everyone keeps spewing literal **** out of their mouth because I just hate everything now. But, I don't think so. I feel like it's SO OBVIOUS when you watch some players of the past and see just how fundamentally sound(other than shooting) players used to be. I guess ball handling has improved especially from the Iverson/Kobe era of cupping the ball illegally? I still prefer in the box handles like Isiah Thomas and Tim Hardaway over outside. I feel like they just dance to get no where. Curry and irving of course being the exceptions. I mean FFS....40 year old Michael Jordan looks like he could put up 30 on today's league while playing elite D. Who has the grace and footwork of even a 40 year old MJ? This is who Kawhi was supposed to be studying his game from. Pop has had him studying older MJ, but Kawhi looks like a robot in comparison. **** me man. What I wouldn't give to see so many players of the past play in their prime today.
Curry is a better shooter but you don't think Harden would take it to the basket against Curry? He's much stronger and a way better finisher. Curry's a good finisher but Harden's on ball defense is actually great.
Sure, Harden could take it to the basket against Curry, but then Curry's team would swarm the paint and force Harden to kick it out for a perimeter shot. Since Harden is shooting 35% from the 3pt line this year, that's a win for Team-Curry. Harden may be a good on-ball defender, but he's a poor off-ball defender, and Curry is one of the best off-ball players in the league. I have no doubt that a team comprised of 5 Currys would be able to consistently get open looks against a team of 5 Hardens.
if that worked then you would see 4 bigs one guard line ups. oh wait, you dont. but you do see 4 smalls one big. gee, i wonder why. threes and spacing is key in todays league. it sounds stupid to run pick and rolls since they would just switch everything and still have he same match up, but harden still has the deadliest pick and roll/pop game out of the bunch. harden is so versatile and thats what wins games.
Many people agree with your statement here and come with the opposite conclusion. The stars in yesteryears faced inferior competition and therefore if they were put in today's league, they would not have been as successful. The talent pool today is clearly much bigger than in the past for the simple fact of the lure of money for a lot more kids to aspire to be a pro player. Not to mention the big bloom in international talents.
Bill Russell argues that because there were fewer players when he played, the talent was greater. Told Jordan in 93 that he wouldn't have won the championship if he played in his era. MJ said why? Russell said because John Paxson wouldn't have been able to make an NBA roster in his era and therefor wouldn't have been around to make that shot.
Sorry, but you're wrong. We aren't talking about 5 random bigs. We're talking SPECIFICALLY about 5 Lebrons or 5 Giannises. If a coach had 5 Lebrons, you could bet your ass that he'd start all 5 of them. Also, these are YOUR parameters. Try to stay within them. Obviously, if NBA teams were forced to start 5 identical bigs, they wouldn't have a 4 small/1 big lineup.
Harden is the only guy out of all of them who you cannot go under on screens, and who can roll and pop. he is the toughest to guard out of the bunch and I don't know why you don't respect his game.
Sorry, not feeling that argument. Kawhi is hands down the best perimeter defender in the league, and Michael Cooper couldn't hold his jock.
I respect his game just fine. The problem is your hypothetical scenario. It sets up Harden to fail. There's no way 5 Hardens can compete against 5 Lebrons or 5 Giannises for rebounds, and that's why Team-Harden would lose. Harden can do a lot of things, but he's not going to be able to out-jump Giannis or out-muscle Lebron.
yeah you're right that's why Andre Drummond, westbrook, dwight, deandre jordan, hassan whiteside won every championship. Harden doesn't need to grab rebounds if he doesn't miss. also these guys only average half a rebound more than James Harden. all of them are over eight
Are you seriously comparing Drummond/Dwight/Jordan/Whiteside to Giannis/Lebron? Seriously? Again, this is your hypothetical scenario. Stick within the parameters. There's never been an NBA team that's fielded 5 identical centers at once so those guys' individual failures is absolutely irrelevant. Also, Harden will absolutely miss. He's been bothered by Roberson's wingspan. You don't think he'll be bothered by Giannis's? You can't win this argument. You really should just drop it. You're not going to be able to convince anyone that 5 Hardens could out-rebound 5 Lebrons or 5 Giannises.
you act like rebounding is he only thing that matters. sure it matters. team harden can run a zone against those players to cover up any defense and rebounding issues. They can't do the same to him
Fewer players ON FEWER TEAMS. If we only had 9 teams today, of course a lot of players wouldn't have made it. That doesn't mean the competition was greater back then. Bill Russell's argument was flawed. He should ask, how many players in his league could have made it in today's league, even after adding some many more teams? It is arguable that Wilt Chamberlain would not have been as dominant if he played today. How many athletic 7-footers did they have in the 60s? Pretty much only him and later Kareem. Russell would have been considered an undersized center today, or a PF who could not spread the floor.
If we are comparing some of the best players in our game on the defensive end, these I feel are some of their faults. Westbrook - Gambles a lot defensively with steal attempts and uses his natural athleticism to play defense rather than his brain. This basically mean he can some times create chaos on his own team's defensive coverage which can confuse his own team mates. Harden - Decent on ball defender with his sheer size at the guard position and his underrated strength and speed. Has shown to be a pretty solid post defender against certain bigger players because of his strength. Problems are off ball. Can be undisciplined and lose track of defensive sequences. Has mental check out moments. Durant - The sheer length of his height and arms makes him a formidable help defender. Does fine switching onto guards because of his length/ athleticism and moderate lateral speed. Is only a medium post defender because high center of gravity, can be pushed off his position. Uses more athleticism defensively than actual defensive fundamentals. Also has mental lapses/ check out moments. Curry - Considered very average/slightly above average on ball defender. Does well off ball. Well drilled defensively/ rotates well. Lack of size/athleticism hurts him the most out of the above candidates. Also his lack of discipline in regard to reaching in hurts him with foul counts. Most upside on the defensive potential is Durant with Harden/Westbrook tied for 2nd. I feel that defense comes down to intelligence and maintaining focus, also on the willingness of these players to craft this skill.
harden lit him up tonight, bet you wont see that on BSPN harden dont have near the help that kawhi has on his team
Must be nice to play one side of the court and concentrate your full effort on scoring. It's not as easy for some other players who play both sides of the court and are demanded to do much more.
