Last Dance thoughts?

[Msubulldogfan1]

Barkley would get destroyed by Lebron.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

Only halfway joking. There Is legitimate debate between who is better of the two, but there is no debate about who is tougher.

 

[Drebin]

That comparison is at age 30, each in their prime. If you think that believing Bird was better than Lebron is insanity, you disqualify yourself from having this debate. Lebron was a better athlete and he's proven to be more durable than Bird, who really broke down with a bad back, but Bird was a better player in a tougher era. Hell, Bird and Magic saved the NBA.

 

[Seinfeld]

Just signed on to say, I don’t agree with a lot of what’s been posted in this thread, but damn it’s nice to be talking about sports

 

[jethreauxdawg]

One more random point. My son is 7. I’ve never watched an NBA game with him or discussed who any players are. Earlier this year, he wrote something at school about his favorite athlete. His was Michael Jordan because “he is the greatest basketball player ever”. No clue where that came from. I just thought it was really interesting that kids are talking about players at school who retired way before they were even born.

 

[OneParticularHarbor]

I saw the Bulls play at the United Center in one of the early games of the 97-98 season. I was in town for a conference and somehow figured out a way to get a couple of tickets. It was before Pippen came back. As I remember it the attendance was somewhere near 24,000. The place was packed. When the lights went down and the introductions started, the place came apart. The PA guy's voice was almost drowned out with cheers. It was a tremendous atmosphere for an early-season game.

 

[Msubulldogfan1]

That comparison is at age 30, each in their prime. If you think that believing Bird was better than Lebron is insanity, you disqualify yourself from having this debate. Lebron was a better athlete and he's proven to be more durable than Bird, who really broke down with a bad back, but Bird was a better player in a tougher era. Hell, Bird and Magic saved the NBA.

Bird is a top ten player of all time. You’re the one who said Lebron doesn’t make your top ten and he’s the most overrated player in NBA history, which is absurd.

Durability is part of the equation as well. What Lebron has done the past two years at his age is unprecedented.

 

[Tin Cup Cowboy]

Best thing I've read today...

Buddy, I’ve made 10 grand off the stock market the past two weeks

 

[Msubulldogfan1]

Best thing I've read today...

im sure that’s a small fraction to most portfolios here.

 

[Rayburn8]

So maybe we're hung up on terminology. I think the greats transcend the era. It's my opinion that Jordan, Magic, Bird would have been among the greatest of all time whenever they played. If any of those three played in today's game, we wouldn't be talking about Lebron as much. I think Lebron is great and would play well in that era as well, but a lot of the stuff he gets away with now, he wouldn't be able to in that era. Your disagreement on that only leads me to believe you haven't seen a lot of basketball from that era. I suggest you watch this Jordan series more closely, particularly if they get into the great battles with the Knicks and the Pistons in the early and mid 90s. Those games were street fights.

That’s so incredibly false. Jordan and LeBron are a clear cut one and two. The first point I want to make is LeBron and Jordan were both great with a terrible supporting cast. Bird had 3 other HOF guys his career and Magic entered with Kareem.

Bird would not be as great in today’s game at all. He isn’t athletic enough, he’d be a power forward not a small forward because of a lack of speed and agility and would be relegated to a stretch four and three point shooting than overall scoring. He’d be great at that, probably own the three point record, but wouldn’t be the great all around player he was then.

Magic would work in any era, but magic is literally LeBron who can’t score as well or defend as well.

Jordan would be dominant but not as dominant as he was in the 80s and 90s because he struggled with three point shooting and would get double teamed to all hell. He’d be great, a top 2 player all time, but he wouldn’t be as dominant as he was where the gap is as large as he left it.

I’ve watched plenty of old basketball, across the eras. Just because something is older doesn’t make it better. Today’s NBA is the most talented and top to bottom deepest the NBA has ever been. This idea nothing today can be as good in the past is where 90% of this crap stems from. Your disagreement leads me to believe you don’t watch basketball today much and if you do you don’t do so with an honest lense, but only thru a lense of things being better in the past and holding onto nostalgia and childhood memories. Imma ask you to actually watch early Cavs LeBron and rewatch his great games, like the ECF series against Boston and watch the way he takes over games. Watch him close out the Pistons with 20+ straight points to end the game. Watch him systematically dissect teams.

The reason LeBron could play in any era has everything to do with the fact he is probably one of, if not the, highest basketball IQ players ever. He systematically dissects and picks teams apart by out thinking them. His greatness is his athleticism combined with his brain. Just listen to Doc Rivers and other coaches talk about his intelligence on the court.

 

[Rayburn8]

Just signed on to say, I don’t agree with a lot of what’s been posted in this thread, but damn it’s nice to be talking about sports

I second this, I will riot if the NBA season is cancelled. I do think the Lakers win it all this year.

 

[Dawgg]

So maybe we're hung up on terminology. I think the greats transcend the era. It's my opinion that Jordan, Magic, Bird would have been among the greatest of all time whenever they played. If any of those three played in today's game, we wouldn't be talking about Lebron as much. I think Lebron is great and would play well in that era as well, but a lot of the stuff he gets away with now, he wouldn't be able to in that era. Your disagreement on that only leads me to believe you haven't seen a lot of basketball from that era. I suggest you watch this Jordan series more closely, particularly if they get into the great battles with the Knicks and the Pistons in the early and mid 90s. Those games were street fights.

I think Rodman and Jame Harden are good measuring sticks for this. Dennis Rodman was one of the most dominant players in his era, but I think he would have a lot of problems in today's game. He doesn't get to go in and punish people like he did 25 years ago. Between the way the restricted area is enforced and the reliance on outside shooters now, he wouldn't be nearly as effective today as he was in the 90's.

The flipside of this is James Harden. That flopping, throw my head back with every 7 step drive to the basket, wouldn't have gotten him to the line in the 90's. For that matter, he wouldn't have been able to carry the ball for 7 steps without dribbling... 3 steps maybe, but nothing like the crap they get away with today. You stop having to respect Harden driving, his threat as an outside shooter drops considerably.

 

[Bobby Ricigliano]

I’m not sure you understand what the Jordan Rules were.