Style of play in NBA Finals

[dasher]

Yeah, I can't imagine Magic staying in front of Kyrie. The fact that Klay does it as well as he is doing it really is a testament to how great a defender he is.

And Kyrie guarding 6'9 magic. That doesn't come in to play at all? The Lakers had a guy with a shot that couldn't be defended then or now.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

they play at the other end of the court too, don't they. The celts post those guys up and get them in foul trouble. Works both ways.

They would play the initial pass and concede the shot. Celts get 2, Warriors get 3. And the race is on. I'm confident the Warriors would get enough stops.

 

[dasher]

They would play the initial pass and concede the shot. Celts get 2, Warriors get 3. And the race is on. I'm confident the Warriors would get enough stops.

I'm glad you are.

 

[Alsacs]

Johnson wouldn't have been abused. He went against lightening fast guards back in the day. The logic of todays athletes being so far superior. They are better. But greats are great. Hmm I guess Muhammad Ali would have no chance against Wladimir Klitschko in a heavy weight bout. My money would be on Ali. and he was fighting in the 60's.

DJ was better against bigger PGs like Magic and bigger SGs like Andrew Toney. The Celtics acquired Johnson specifically to beat Philadelphia and stop Andrew Toney who abused them in 1980 thru 1983.

He wouldn't have been able to stay in front of these quick PGs of today. Isiah abused DJ. It was why Detroit eventually overtook Boston beyond age the Celtics didn't have speed in the backcourt. DJ was hella good. Just not a quick lateral defender.

He was probably the best guard in the 80s to defend Magic though.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

And Kyrie guarding 6'9 magic. That doesn't come in to play at all? The Lakers had a guy with a shot that couldn't be defended then or now.

Like I said, 2 for 3. I can't imagine Kyrie would guard Magic.

Actually it would be fun to line out how each team would guard. I imagine that we would see Magic vs. LeBron. Pick a year for the Lakers and we can see who takes Kyrie...

 

[Knicks411]

And Kyrie guarding 6'9 magic. That doesn't come in to play at all? The Lakers had a guy with a shot that couldn't be defended then or now.

I don't think you'd see Kyrie on Magic. They would probably stick him on the second big guy the Lakers had on the court (Cooper, AC Green, someone like that)

 

[dasher]

Like I said, 2 for 3. I can't imagine Kyrie would guard Magic.

Actually it would be fun to line out how each team would guard. I imagine that we would see Magic vs. LeBron. Pick a year for the Lakers and we can see who takes Kyrie...

I'm a Celts fan. My whole point is that Eric said that the Celtics would be overwhelmed and I don't buy it. The Celts, or the Lakers, create match up problems for the warriors as the warriors do for them. And because the Celts didn't shoot as many 3's as the Warriors do now, that doesn't mean they couldn't have. The game was played differently then.

 

[Alsacs]

The Celtics and Lakers teams had the talent to compete with these Warriors.

The pace of each era would determine who would win a 7 game series.

Worthy/McHale/Bird/Green would adjust to the newer Era and the Warriors couldn't go small with Parish and Kareem on the floor it would be mismatches galore.

 

[dasher]

DJ was better against bigger PGs like Magic and bigger SGs like Andrew Toney. The Celtics acquired Johnson specifically to beat Philadelphia and stop Andrew Toney who abused them in 1980 thru 1983.

He wouldn't have been able to stay in front of these quick PGs of today. Isiah abused DJ. It was why Detroit eventually overtook Boston beyond age the Celtics didn't have speed in the backcourt. DJ was hella good. Just not a quick lateral defender.

He was probably the best guard in the 80s to defend Magic though.

DJ was a bit older when the Celts lost to the Pistons. He didn't age all that well. For a lot of reasons.

 

[Knicks411]

I'm a Celts fan. My whole point is that Eric said that the Celtics would be overwhelmed and I don't buy it. The Celts, or the Lakers, create match up problems for the warriors as the warriors do for them. And because the Celts didn't shoot as many 3's as the Warriors do now, that doesn't mean they couldn't have. The game was played differently then.

I'm a "guys are better now" but I agree overwhelmed was a bit strong

 

[patcuse]

Yeah, they were all slow. Once again, Klitschko beats Ali, right?

Mark Spitz was a great swimmer in the 70's. he would be a nobody by a lot if he swam today.

 

[dasher]

Mark Spitz was a great swimmer in the 70's. he would be a nobody by a lot if he swam today.

How would Ali do against Klitschko? The athletes of today are better. there is no question of that. But that doesn't mean that the greats of the past couldn't compete against them. And that is the original point.

 

[UnknownOrange]

Silly, silly arguments. Jim Brown would be just as dominant today as he was in his day. That doesn't mean every single 'Jim Brown Era' running back would be. The 80's Celtics/Lakers would still be very good basketball teams today. Whose era fouls/refereeing would be used? It's silly. Can't have this current era without the one before that or the one before that. Game changes. Both are dominant in their respective time frames.

 

[Eric15]

Silly, silly arguments. Jim Brown would be just as dominant today as he was in his day. That doesn't mean every single 'Jim Brown Era' running back would be. The 80's Celtics/Lakers would still be very good basketball teams today. Whose era fouls/refereeing would be used? It's silly. Can't have this current era without the one before that or the one before that. Game changes. Both are dominant in their respective time frames.

Agreed on Brown. But the 1960 Syracuse Orange or 1968 Cleveland Browns would be absolutely dominated by football teams today.

 

[patcuse]

How would Ali do against Klitschko? The athletes of today are better. there is no question of that. But that doesn't mean that the greats of the past couldn't compete against them. And that is the original point.

Ali was great but he did lose 5 times and the sport of boxing for sure has declined. Toss up.

 

[UnknownOrange]

Agreed on Brown. But the 1960 Syracuse Orange or 1968 Cleveland Browns would be absolutely dominated by football teams today.

Oh I have no doubt the TEAMS would be dominated ... but give me Jim Brown in his prime with a modern day OLine

 

[UnknownOrange]

Agreed on Brown. But the 1960 Syracuse Orange or 1968 Cleveland Browns would be absolutely dominated by football teams today.

That's the point though. You're always going to have once-in-a-generation type talents.

 

[dasher]

Agreed on Brown. But the 1960 Syracuse Orange or 1968 Cleveland Browns would be absolutely dominated by football teams today.

the 68 Browns were no great shakes. good but not great. Sadly, I remember them well. Bill Nelson, Frank Ryan, Leroy Keyes

 

[OrangeDW]

Thing with the 3 point shooting is...do we really think that if someone like Larry Bird played today he wouldn't be making hundreds of 3's per year and among the league leaders every year? He was as good of a shooter as any of these current guys, they just didn't attempt as many 3's back then. Doesn't mean they couldn't make them.

Byron Scott, Ainge, Cooper...these guys would be filling it up. Heck, look at Magic. The 3 was becoming a bigger part of the game towards the end of his career, and suddenly he's shooting and making a good amount of them. Do we really think he couldn't have done that in 1982, too? The game changed. The shot selection changed. The style of play changed. That doesn't mean guys couldn't shoot with any range back then.

 

[BomberOrange]

Everyone brings the old teams to the present. What about placing the new teams into the past. The physicality of the past would hurt the warriors as today's game has been sissified in a watered down league. Comparing eras is tough to do so let's see what can be done over more time. While a great team, I will reserve judgement until they win more titles. Two puts you in a special place..five or more puts you in the GOAT discussion on Mt Rushmore. They're not there yet.

 

[Newhouser]

The Warriors are going to have an interesting off-season. They don't have a whole lot under contract. Heck, Durant's 2nd year is a player option. Who's to say that if they close out the series that he doesn't opt out. Curry needs and deserves to get paid. They're going to need to retool their bench big time, and they'll need to do it all in free agency since I think they've got one 2nd round pick and that's it.

I think Curry goes elsewhere for his next contract - maybe Charlotte.

 

[Bayside44]

Everyone brings the old teams to the present. What about placing the new teams into the past. The physicality of the past would hurt the warriors as today's game has been sissified in a watered down league. Comparing eras is tough to do so let's see what can be done over more time. While a great team, I will reserve judgement until they win more titles. Two puts you in a special place..five or more puts you in the GOAT discussion on Mt Rushmore. They're not there yet.

Durant took a knee to the thigh and was out for weeks. Much different era against the Pistons, later the Knicks, the Celtics, etc where the lane wasn't a free pass like it is today.

 

[Knicks411]

Thing with the 3 point shooting is...do we really think that if someone like Larry Bird played today he wouldn't be making hundreds of 3's per year and among the league leaders every year? He was as good of a shooter as any of these current guys, they just didn't attempt as many 3's back then. Doesn't mean they couldn't make them.

Byron Scott, Ainge, Cooper...these guys would be filling it up. Heck, look at Magic. The 3 was becoming a bigger part of the game towards the end of his career, and suddenly he's shooting and making a good amount of them. Do we really think he couldn't have done that in 1982, too? The game changed. The shot selection changed. The style of play changed. That doesn't mean guys couldn't shoot with any range back then.

Yeah I definitely agree with this. We see guys now, usually big guys, who go from shooting no threes to becoming pretty good at them. Off the top, you got Brook Lopez, Al Horford, both Gasol brothers.

 

[Eric15]

And because the Celts didn't shoot as many 3's as the Warriors do now, that doesn't mean they couldn't have. The game was played differently then.

Dash, if the mid-80s Celtics could have made more threes, then why wouldn't they have? What was stopping them? I mean it was common knowledge in 1986 that the number 3 was greater than the number 2, so why wouldn't they easily figure out that they had the capability to put more points on the board? That could have resulted in more titles.

 

[Knicks411]

Dash, if the mid-80s Celtics could have made more threes, then why wouldn't they have? What was stopping them? I mean it was common knowledge in 1986 that the number 3 was greater than the number 2, so why wouldn't they easily figure out that they had the capability to put more points on the board? That could have resulted in more titles.

Honestly, the game just hadn't evolved there yet. The 3 pointer was like 5 years old; guys had grown up their entire life with the idea of getting the ball inside, playing inside-out, etc.

The average team took 31.8% of their shots from 3 this year. If you go back just 5 years, the average team took about 22% of their shots from 30. Threes have increased by nearly 40% in just 5 years! And you would have thought everyone knew 3 was more than 2 in 2012.