No one theory can explain all of it. There may be several factors. You admit that Bosh is a "victim" of the super team. So there is at least one 20-pt scorer less because of the super team. And yes, Kobe by himself is worth two chuckers. :grin: Harden has become a top scorer once he left the Thunder. You can't deny the effect of more than two volume scorers on the same team.
Super teams always existed though. Just look at who were on previous championship teams, most championship teams have multiple HOFers on them. E.g. 64 and 1986 Celts, 71 and 86 Lakers, 95 bulls etc. (these would all be classified as super teams)
True, the league cut down on who they gave phantom superstar calls that year. That and there aren't as many 20 ppg stars coming out of every draft like they used to. Some drafts had 5+ and the average was 3 in the 90's. I think it's the twitter effect. The NBA no longer wants the players to be the product, but the package as a whole is what they want to sell.
lol yeah I was going to mention that playing with Kobe wasn't the best way for Dwight scoring to remain in the 20's. He is also coming off of major back surgery to though.
Very interesting article. Thibs has a rep as a coaching genius, yet his success is predicated upon a surprisingly simple and elegant defensive scheme, as it turns out. One thing that amazes me about thibs is that he manages to get his players to play all out all of the time. I'm sure the fantastic crowd support has something to do with that, but you simply don't see any of the bulls players taking a play off. Very often, the crowd's intensity and the team's level of hustle reminds me of some of the most intense college basketball programs, such as a kansas or duke. The bulls pulled off a major coup by hiring this guy and whatever it is they're paying him, it is surely not enough.
There is such a thing as driving your players too hard. Your team is tired mentally and physically by the time the playoffs arrive. You won't have that extra gear to go to. Chances of key injuries will also be higher (see rose). Thibs needs to learn to let up on his players a little before they start to tune him out. However he probably feels pressured to prove himself as this is his first head coaching job.
