LeBron James

[highnote]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Does this in any way excuse the sorry exhibition of so-called "basketball" that we witnessed last night?

I have seen many poor basketball performances caused by the chemistry of the matchup. Sometimes players are sloppy and other times they are tired.

But sometimes they look bad because of the matchup.

My son's high school team was very good last year -- most wins in 59 years. But they lost a few games that I felt they should have won. Then it dawned on me that it was the matchup that caused them to lose. Maybe the coach can be blamed for not making the proper adjustments?

Or maybe when a skilled team with less gifted athletes than the opponent is able to take away what the opponent does best it makes the opponent look bad, even though the opponent is a superior team against any other team.

[cj]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Does this in any way excuse the sorry exhibition of so-called "basketball" that we witnessed last night?

I saw some bad shooting, which can happen, and I also saw some really good defense. This tends to happen when teams are playing each other for the fifth time in a short span. The same thing is happening in the East series.

[cj]

Originally Posted by highnote

European pro basketball may not be near the level of the NBA, but some European players are on level footing with American born players.

Of course they are, and it isn't just Europe. We have Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Europe, Canada, and even New Zealand now.

I'm just saying if people think we are seeing bad basketball here, there is no way it is better anywhere else.

[cj]

Originally Posted by highnote

I have seen many poor basketball performances caused by the chemistry of the matchup. Sometimes players are sloppy and other times they are tired.

But sometimes they look bad because of the matchup.

My son's high school team was very good last year -- most wins in 59 years. But they lost a few games that I felt they should have won. Then it dawned on me that it was the matchup that caused them to lose. Maybe the coach can be blamed for not making the proper adjustments?

Or maybe when a skilled team with less gifted athletes than the opponent is able to take away what the opponent does best it makes the opponent look bad, even though the opponent is a superior team against any other team.

This is exactly right. And it isn't just the match up in the playoffs, it is repeatedly playing the same team if they are pretty evenly matched. They get to the point where the players on one team are calling out the others team's plays before they run them.

[highnote]

Originally Posted by cj

Of course they are, and it isn't just Europe. We have Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Europe, Canada, and even New Zealand now.

I'm just saying if people think we are seeing bad basketball here, there is no way it is better anywhere else.

Agreed.

[highnote]

Originally Posted by cj

This is exactly right. And it isn't just the match up in the playoffs, it is repeatedly playing the same team if they are pretty evenly matched. They get to the point where the players on one team are calling out the others team's plays before they run them.

Agreed.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by cj

I saw some bad shooting, which can happen, and I also saw some really good defense. This tends to happen when teams are playing each other for the fifth time in a short span. The same thing is happening in the East series.

I must have been watching a different game on another channel...because what I saw was an embarrassing spectacle of endless turnovers caused by idiotic passes and needless dribbling...along with a continuous supply of off-balanced threes when there was no real reason to rush such a shot.

[Lemon Drop Husker]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

I must have been watching a different game on another channel...because what I saw was an embarrassing spectacle of endless turnovers caused by idiotic passes and needless dribbling...along with a continuous supply of off-balanced threes when there was no real reason to rush such a shot.

Fair enough. It was ugly, but it wasn't THAT ugly.


Here is a clip from the 1984 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers. The two premier teams in the league with massive followings and in the absolute heyday of the NBA with the likes of Bird, Magic, Jabbar, Worthy, McHale, Parish, Ainge, etc.

YouTube

Nobody played defense. Nobody. 15 feet from the hoop, and you were getting room to play. Passes into the post were a joke as they simply weren't even defended. And forget about getting back on defense to stop any kind of 'fast break'.



The 4 teams still alive in the NBA Playoffs today would run a train on the Celtics and Lakers of '84.

[ronsmac]

Originally Posted by Lemon Drop Husker

Fair enough. It was ugly, but it wasn't THAT ugly.


Here is a clip from the 1984 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers. The two premier teams in the league with massive followings and in the absolute heyday of the NBA with the likes of Bird, Magic, Jabbar, Worthy, McHale, Parish, Ainge, etc.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li7VNiS-Jgk


Nobody played defense. Nobody. 15 feet from the hoop, and you were getting room to play. Passes into the post were a joke as they simply weren't even defended. And forget about getting back on defense to stop any kind of 'fast break'.



The 4 teams still alive in the NBA Playoffs today would run a train on the Celtics and Lakers of '84.

The worst team in the NBA today would beat the best team of the 80s.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Lemon Drop Husker

Fair enough. It was ugly, but it wasn't THAT ugly.


Here is a clip from the 1984 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers. The two premier teams in the league with massive followings and in the absolute heyday of the NBA with the likes of Bird, Magic, Jabbar, Worthy, McHale, Parish, Ainge, etc.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li7VNiS-Jgk


Nobody played defense. Nobody. 15 feet from the hoop, and you were getting room to play. Passes into the post were a joke as they simply weren't even defended. And forget about getting back on defense to stop any kind of 'fast break'.



The 4 teams still alive in the NBA Playoffs today would run a train on the Celtics and Lakers of '84.

I don't know that I agree with you. In your above video...neither of the two teams ever missed a shot.

[Inner Dirt]

Originally Posted by ronsmac

The worst team in the NBA today would beat the best team of the 80s.

The Pistons of that era would have trouble having 5 eligible players a game if they played by today's rules and officiating. Most players would be constantly serving suspensions for committing flagrant 2's.

[highnote]

Originally Posted by Lemon Drop Husker

Fair enough. It was ugly, but it wasn't THAT ugly.


Here is a clip from the 1984 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers. The two premier teams in the league with massive followings and in the absolute heyday of the NBA with the likes of Bird, Magic, Jabbar, Worthy, McHale, Parish, Ainge, etc.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li7VNiS-Jgk


Nobody played defense. Nobody. 15 feet from the hoop, and you were getting room to play. Passes into the post were a joke as they simply weren't even defended. And forget about getting back on defense to stop any kind of 'fast break'.



The 4 teams still alive in the NBA Playoffs today would run a train on the Celtics and Lakers of '84.

No one would stop Jabbar today.

[Robert Fischer]

Guessing Hakeem 'The Dream' Olajuwan could only average about 8pts / 8rebounds in today's NBA.


Still not bad for a 55 year old man.

[cj]

Originally Posted by highnote

No one would stop Jabbar today.

His hook shot would be considered a bad shot now as a non-paint 2!!!

[Robert Fischer]

LeBron better bring it tonight. Down 8 after the 1st quarter...


Kareem would be shooting 3-pointer-skyhooks while carrying 25 more pounds of muscle, laser-correct 20/20 vision, hair plugs and a jet-black beard