[Yahoo Sports] Kenny Smith: Houston is the must-watch team in the 2nd half.

Wow, did this thread go off on a tangent or what? I think some people here are overrating the oldies and others are underrating them. I'd love to see the old stars of the NBA go up against this generation's stars.

Yes, I know, tinman, Hakeem would rule them all.

 

Let's see how Lebron would dominate after he gets a forearm shiver from Laimbeer or Mahorn while driving to the lane, then multiply that by how many other teams in the NBA at the time. If he's going to play in the 80's then he's playing in their rules, not today's rules where it caters to the perimeter players.

Besides, Bird was a better passer then him, a better shooter then him, and actually had better post up moves cause I rarely see Lebron post up, just either face up J or drive to the basket. So what if Lebron is more athletic, Dominique Wilkins was more athletic then Bird, but who was the better overall player.

I have no problem with fans wanting to slob Lebron's knob, but losing reality of what other players were while hyping up your faves is credibility down the drain.

And your explanation of Dirk and Yao are stupid. Bird would eat Dirk's lunch if matched up against each other, just as Dirk is way better player then Dunleavy Jr. even if Dirk was 3 inches shorter and Dunleavy was a 7 footer. And you ever heard of Shawn Bradley, Gheorge Muhresan, those guys didn't work out too well.

Bird in his prime > Lebron right now

btw, lebron made it to the finals with that Cavs team because he was in the EAST, where sub .500 teams get to go to the playoffs, and the Pistons went brain dead on how to guard him. Lebron is a better one on one player which suits his Cavs team better then Bird, who was a better team player.

 

One question yes or no

When Lebron reach his prime do you think he will be better than Bird at his prime?

And another thing Bird best season was the 1987-1988 season where he avg 30, 9, and 6. Now Lebron is avg 30, 8, and 7 right now and hes only 23 so you know he can only get better

 

except that you have to compare them by age. While Jordan is a rookie at 23, Le Bron isn't even 23.

Le Bron was a rookie at 18 remember

 

Wilt had better individual stats then Russell, but Russell holds the edge 11 to 2 in the most important stat, guess which stat is that.

Sure Lebron is on course to have a better individual career then Bird statwise, but can he lead his team to a championship, where he plays in the crappy EAST. Bird won 3 and was in 5 finals in a tougher East back in the 80's, not to mention facing the Lakers in the finals 3 times.

One can make an argument that Lebron is racking up stats on a diluted NBA product, too many players in the NBA that don't belong, like most of the players on the Grizz and the Timberpups.

 

actually, you're the one who said to pick one after their rookie years. i was playing by your rules.

if you want to change the rules, i'll play by your new rules.

if you compare lebron's 4th year to jordan's rookie year, all stats are similar except free throw % which was in jordan's favor and 3 pt % which was in lebrons (jordan didnt shoot that many).

so basically, at the age of 23, they put up similar numbers. the big difference is potential. right now, the amount of potential that lebron has left pales in comparison to jordan's remaining potential at the age of 23.

i would take jordan at the age of 23 over lebron at the age of 23.

 

generally by their 4th or 5th season, most players do not have that much rooom to improve.

an exception might be nash, but you can argue that his skill set was complete after his 5th season. his performance increased dramatically when he moved to a system that properly utilized him.

 

Imagine if Carlos Boozer had never left. Wow that would be a scary team.

 

Too bad there is no loyalty in the league now.

 

lol @ lets how lebron would dominate after a forearm from bill laimbeer... LOL!!

man please !!! do you see how big lebron is ? laimbeer is the one who better worry about the contact. it doesn't matter if he had to play by their rules because defenders back then were nowhere near as good as they are today, thats WHY THEY HAD TO MAKE THE RULES THE WAY THEY ARE NOW IN THE FIRST PLACE. lebron would absolutely destroy defenders from the 80s. what is this a ****ing joke ? i bet if jordan played now instead of the 80s, you say no way jordan could jordan do what he does now back then, laimbeer would hit him with a forearm !!!

get real..... i'm sorry, but if you put bird on that cav team, he wouldnt be able to do much the detroit D on him like a cheap suit.

 

the detroit bad boys > detroit with flip saunders

Bird would have detroyed last year's Pistons

 

940 posts that support or defend T-Mac since January of 2008. You are boring me, kiddo.

 

does it really matter how big lebron is if he's in the air and off balance? even aaron brooks could punish lebron if thats what he wanted to do.

all he'd have to do is take out lebron's legs while he's in the air. are you saying that lebron is so big and strong that he doesnt need legs?

 

sharp elbows were sharp elbows in the 80s, 90s, 00s, and the future.

 

Like OMG, Lebron is such an animal!!! He's so big, so physical, so taut!!!! I can't believe he threw his sweatband at me, I'll never wash this thing and just can't stop sniffing it!!! My life is so complete!!!!

.... dude, you ever reread the crap you post, it's pretty hilarious...

According to his number 1 fan, Lebron would prolly take on the whole Cleveland Browns OL with one hand and with the other wipe out the whole 80's Cleveland Browns team cause he's just that much of a badass.

 

The key to success, really, I think, is Tmac. When he shoots efficiently and/or facilitates the ball from the point-forward position, we are a very potent team. Yes, he takes bad shots now and then, but heck-Kobe takes just as much + flare. But because they involve fading away over two defenders, and then when it goes in, people usually forget that he takes those types of shot often
I agree that Yao should be the go-to-guy, but WITH Tmac, except on really off nights, we are ALWAYS better. Whats the record with Tmac again? I know its only 20 losses at the most, the last two years combined, with him in the lineup. But this is a totally different team now, with much less emphasis placed on Yao and Tmac, so the TEAM is actually winning some of the games.
But either way, Yao and Tmac are indespensible at this point. We can't, and shouldn't, say playing with only one or the other makes us a better team overall. I truly think this year can be special because we're not as dependent on the 3pt shot, and we actually have some youth and depth in our frontcourt

 

You havent been paying attention.

The only way we can succeed is if we discover kryptonite.

Apparently, thats the only way we can stop Lebron.

 

wtf are you idiots talking about ? so a great player like lebron is just incapable of adjusting or what ? a skinny michael jordan can handle but a beast like lebron would need to be carted off the court ? people overrated the hell out of anything that was good in the past. LEBRON WOULD DOMINATE the 80s, just like any other great player who plays today, there is no question. defense is 10 times better today. just watch the old games that come on nbatv.... the defense is atrocious, its no wonder they scored so many points. it was so bad they had to allow hand checking just to give them some kind of chance to stop someone. they days are long gone. if you dont think lebron would dominate in the 80s you must have some sort of brain deficiancy.

 

When lebron penetrates, he relies on power. When Jordan penetrated, he relied on finesse. When you rely on power, you look for contact. When you rely on finesse, you try to avoid contact.

The bad boy pistons would've given lebron all the contact he wanted.

they scored more points because they were more fundamentally skilled. how many elite wingmen can you name from the eighties that shot free throws as poorly as lebron?

defense was much rougher and much more effective back then. half the fouls called today wouldnt have been called 20 years ago.

back then, hand checking was part of the game. it would still be part of the game if the league hadnt gradually become offensively inept.

they removed it to give players a better chance to score. if you dont recall, they also moved the 3 pt line closer to try to augment scoring.

 

Lets try this again

Do you think Lebron will be a better player?