Ryan Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Less to prove how silly it is than just be random. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuetsar Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Kareem and the sky hook is probably the most unstoppable. Wilt deserves some discussion, though . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie M. Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 It's fine for someone to be the best at something. Michael Jordan was the best at basketball. He was clearly the best player in a better era than we are currently in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 Define "better era". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie M. Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 More great players. Before NFL became the king of everything and started taking away a lot of talent from the NBA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebbie Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Are you talking about Tony Gonzales? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 The NBA has spent the last twenty years expanding their talent pool across the planet. And if you think the majority of those kids in American ghettos think they're getting out by playing football, you're crazy. The number of "Great" players... I'll just go ahead and defer to you on this, because there's no way we're getting into a debate on whether the top players in either era are better than another in this thread because that can be like 50+ posts of us doing stat comparisons and boring bullshit analysis. Which is all fine in another thread, but this one is nominally about the Heat & Spurs killing each other for the next two weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 It was clearly a different era, and a harder one to play in. The athletes are more skilled now, but fewer of the players we see now will be listed as all time greats, compared to the 80's and 90's. I've said before that many of today's teams would not be able to handle playing late 80's NBA. The list of teams Jordan and Kareem had to go through FAR outweigh the teams that someone like Lebron had to go through. It's not his fault that the East has been a cakewalk for every one of his trips to the Finals, but it doesn't change the fact that he hasn't been challenged outside of the Finals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie M. Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Yeah I'm sure we've had this debate before but generally we like to think new is always new and improved. Makes us feel special. I'm not sure that's the case with the NBA. Anyway, where's our daily Tony Parker update? Will he be fine by next month when the Finals start? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 RA's right in that the depth of the East since he moved to the Heat has pretty much given the Heat a free ride to the Finals every year and even then, there was a huge possibility they could have lost that series with the Pacers last year. This doesn't help arguments for LeBron being the best, but I also can't say it hurts him. I just hate the talking point now of "LEBRON LEAD HIS TEAM TO THE FINALS FOUR TIMES NOW." Well, it's not like it was hard to in the East. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 Lebron has led his team to the Finals six times now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I meant in a row. And isn't it just five? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgundy LaRue Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 RA's right in that the depth of the East since he moved to the Heat has pretty much given the Heat a free ride to the Finals every year and even then, there was a huge possibility they could have lost that series with the Pacers last year. This doesn't help arguments for LeBron being the best, but I also can't say it hurts him. I just hate the talking point now of "LEBRON LEAD HIS TEAM TO THE FINALS FOUR TIMES NOW." Well, it's not like it was hard to in the East. If it were easy, anyone could do it. For everyone that overpraises, there's someone who overpisses (that doesn't really make sense, but I'm going with it). At least don't miss the toilet, OK? ************************************** Paul George looked sharp after Game 6. Was that Armani? No! That was a paternity suit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 First things first.. the big men are dead. Timmy is about the last true post threat and a Guy who can excel at both ends. There are more talented point guards then ever but how many of them have led their team to a title. Its just different now... see how many 6'10" guys can't rebound or play defense...its weird. I'm not sure which era was most talented but I would say overall the conferences used to be more equal. The east just sucks.. and has sucked for over a decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 The east just sucks.. and has sucked for over a decade. And yet, the West is 5-5 over the last 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole Miner Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 The NBA has spent the last twenty years expanding their talent pool across the planet. And if you think the majority of those kids in American ghettos think they're getting out by playing football, you're crazy. For sure star basketball player is still more prestigious. Commercially as well. I'm curious if Allen Iverson would give more thought to playing in the NFL now that we've moved out of the dark ages with attitudes towards quarterbacks if he were coming up today. My only hope for this years finals is that it goes 7 again. Need something to fill in that time waiting for the draft. NFL minicamp reports aren't enough. Though the World Cup will help if not. Curious if the Heat will be able to turn it on. Looks like a lot of the drop from 66-54 wins this year is age related. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 The east just sucks.. and has sucked for over a decade. And yet, the West is 5-5 over the last 10 years. So? Nobody has ever said the East didn't have some very good or even great teams. The road is easier to the finals... that's the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 The West was softer than the East when Magic went to all those finals and you don't hear that as a talking point much. I'm not sure the Western conference teams Jordan faced were as good as today's Western teams, either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mco543 Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Yeah, it's weird you never hear it mentioned how shitty the West was in the 80's while the East was a battleground. The East was always a tougher conference in those days, I don't think it shifted until Shaq and Duncan came to prominence post-Jordan. It seemed for a time every great big ended up in the West; Shaq, Duncan, Dirk, Webber, etc and all the East had was Zo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Eh, the Rockets, Sonics, Robinson-led Spurs, Jazz, Blazers, and Barkley's Suns made for a tough conference. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie M. Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 There's probably some trickle down from the top of the conference. If you're in the West, you know you have to build a great fucking team just to compete. So you've basically had an arms race for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgundy LaRue Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 That sort of thing works in cycles. Only reason it's a problem now is because it's Miami/LeBron running through the conference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 So, Spurs in 6. (There was definitely better post play during Jordan's run, especially the first 3-peat. There is definitely more athleticism and smarter offenses in today's era. The 80's-90's teams would mug today's current teams, but could they play defense with the tighter rules of today's game? Etc etc etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiller Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 So, Spurs in 6. (There was definitely better post play during Jordan's run, especially the first 3-peat. There is definitely more athleticism and smarter offenses in today's era. The 80's-90's teams would mug today's current teams, but could they play defense with the tighter rules of today's game? Etc etc etc.) This is what I often wonder about. Look at the Bad Boy Pistons. Obviously they had some great players, but would they have been nearly as effective as they were if they couldn't play such physical defense? It's impossible to really compare eras, though, because of things like this. People bring up how athletic players are now, but what if Russel and Wilt had today's nutritionists and personal trainers? They would be freaking monster athletes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgundy LaRue Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Wilt would be ridiculous. He was already a great multi-talented athlete. With today's nutrition and doctors? Good grief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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