Soundwave said:
Lets be real, a young Jordan would average 50+ ppg against the small guards and no rim protection of the 60s. Dunks for days and days. David Robinson in the 60s would basically be Wilt. Like seriously watch this ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L78v25cinYI Anyone seriously think this is the best basketball ever? Give me a break, dudes are blowing point blank lay ups, half the players can't dribble with both hands, there's enough bricks of simple weakly contested mid-range jumpers here to build a new arena, Bill "greatest player ever" Russell not even trying to play offence, etc. etc. etc. Any player who could shoot 50% from mid-range would be like the best player on the court, lol. A modern player like Westbrook or Kobe would eat these guys alive. |
Ok let me dismantle this little post for you.
1) This is the second half of the seventh game of a hard fought 7 game series. Did you even watch your own video? This would be like using the stat line from the second half of game 7 from the 2016 finals to discredit the era we are currently in.
2) Despite that, there's some great plays going on here and some really excellent passing. The gameplay is nowhere near as bad as you made it sound.
3) this is 62, very early in the era. 64 through 69 is far more representative, perhaps even start at 65. That was the time when the game rapidly changed into more of what the modern game is like minus the 3 point line.
4) the reason they don't switch hands much and cross up is due to rules and calling tendencies of the time. You had to have your hand more or less on top of the ball. If you wanna know why they didn't bust a move like Curry or Irving, that's why. They would get called for a carry on every possession. Times were different, as you point out, but in many cases it downplays rather than inflates the capabilities of the players.
5) if you did more research than a YouTube video, you would know that in this game alone Russell grabbed 40 rebounds and scored 30 points with a high shooting percentage from the field and the free throw line. So your argument concerning his impact on the court is demonstrably false.
Oh and saying Wilt was the only player back then who could compete today is laughable, there are several greats from that day who could hang in this era and be greats. Shoot, Jerry West would be better now than he is then, what with defense being far more restrained due to call tendencies, a 3 point line to take advantage of, and looser carrying calls allowing him to make better use of his agility.
Oh and David Robinson over Wilt or equal to Wilt is a bad joke. You clearly have done no research regarding Wilt's game or physical abilities.
As for Jordan, yes I could see him being the Wilt Chamberlain of guards back then and much like Wilt slowing down as the game's pace slowed and defense improved. Jordan would be great then, though he would have to overcome some habits, and Wilt would be great now.
