Today's NBA

[CashRules]

Not a single active player, had he been born 30 years earlier, would have had a snowball's chance in Hell of making the starting lineup of the Lakers or Celtics during the 80s. It would be impossible to put together a team of today's players that could have come within 30 points of Kareem-Green-Worthy-Scott-Magic with Rambis and Cooper off the bench or Parish-McHale-Bird-Ainge-Johnson with Walton and Lewis off the bench, and I have always hated the Celtics.

[Boomer]

Why not?

[CashRules]

Because the two lineups I mentioned are the two best lineups in history. It's not even close.

[Boomer]

You don't think LeBron would have been an upgrade over AC Green?

[CashRules]

LeBron would have never wanted to share the spotlight with Kareem, Worthy and Magic. Even though he's improved, he's still not a total team player although he has Kobe beat by a mile in that regard. Plus, LeBron is a better small forward than power forward and if there's one small forward in history who rarely gets the recognition he deserves, it's James Worthy. He would have been the unquestioned leader of any team in the league during his prime except for the one he played for.

[Boomer]

Okay, what about Tim Duncan at that spot then?

[CashRules]

That's a possibility, but I still think Green as the Laker's power forward was the perfect fit for that era. Fifteen straight seasons without missing a game, and only three games missed in seventeen seasons, is unheard of today. The guy just couldn't get injured and the chemistry with him on the court was "magic". The fact that he was able to average double figures in scoring as a Laker is an accomplishment in itself considering he was almost always on a team of guys who could score. He was a great rebounder as well. I believe he had the right combination of ability and humility for the job he needed to do. The only drawback is he was a bit of a religious freak.

[Boomer]

Just admit that Tim Duncan would start over Green thus showing you are wrong and I am right.

[CashRules]

No, Duncan would be the primary backup for the front court ahead of Rambis, maybe.

[Cassius Clay]

Three words...Steph Curry

[Cassius Clay]

The kid is ridiculous

[ultron-2]

Basketball aint really a sport I watch a lot of, but Im gonna disagree on basic principle.

Athletes in general have come so far in the past 30 years in regards to workout routine, nutrition, and knowledge of the sport they play that I'd wager the best of today against the best of yesterday in most any sport that pits itself on the human body.

[Monk]

LeBron would have never wanted to share the spotlight with Kareem, Worthy and Magic. Even though he's improved, he's still not a total team player although he has Kobe beat by a mile in that regard. Plus, LeBron is a better small forward than power forward and if there's one small forward in history who rarely gets the recognition he deserves, it's James Worthy. He would have been the unquestioned leader of any team in the league during his prime except for the one he played for.

I don't necessarily agree with that. LeBron often seems willing to allow others to step up, and you can see his frustration when it's evident that the entire team is just relying on him. This was most recently evident in the 2014 playoffs, particularly against the Spurs, where he constantly tried to get other players to step up.

[Cassius Clay]

Yeah...Lebron is actually considered one of the most unselfish superstars of all time. And has been criticized for not being selfish enough.

[sikax]

I'm just starting to read this article in which current stars are sent back in time to see if they'd survive. Pretty interesting so far.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2471 ... cross-eras

[CashRules]

That's pretty interesting but they are selective about which era they want to put a player in. My point is that the Lakers and Celtics of the early to mid 80s would be difficult for any team of today's players to match up against. But at least they agree that Kobe would get outplayed. The way Lakers fans took to Kobe Bryant has pretty much turned me away from even caring about the NBA.

[sikax]

The writers make good points concerning the creation of the three-pointer and the doing away with defensive hand-checking and the general physicality of how defenses used to play. Curry is a magician with the basketball, but his frailty becomes an issue when he's put into any other decade. He would have to be that much quicker to avoid that Payton/Rodman-esque defense. LeBron James is a solidly built guy, but he would have to adjust his game from flashy fast break dunks to a more fundamental base. So, reiterating your point, it's tough to come up with anyone apart from Duncan and MAYBE Kobe that would survive in any other era. I do think Duncan would be just fine anywhere.

[Gendo]

I saw some article recently about how LeBron James is better than Michael Jordon. Here it is: http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/p ... /28056173/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sikax]

There are so many layers of stupidity....

James would not score a single point in a game of one-on-one against Jordan.

The writer's recurring point is that James is better because James has faced tougher opponents than Jordan did. He says the physical defenders in the 80s and 90s were forced to hand-check and be physically demanding because they weren't quick enough, so if someone (Jordan) were to develop any speed, he would easily get by all the cavemen. And he did. But then defenses adapted and got faster. And Jordan still dominated. Admittedly, Phil Jackson is the main reason for the Bulls' success, and Jordan had great teammates, but the team was built around him. The whole fucking league was built around him. James couldn't do anything until he surrounded himself with two other All-Stars. And he did that deliberately. He had to fucking search for the right materials. Did Jordan ask Pippen to join him so they could win? No. They were just that good and grew together. And now James is doing the same thing again in Cleveland. Fuck all this "returning home" bullshit. He had to bring in Kevin Love and if Kyrie Irving weren't already on the Cavs, James never would have done that. He has to win, and that's a good quality, but his methods are horrible. James manipulates the organization of the entire league so far as where bodies are placed. Jordan was a Bull, loyal to Phil Jackson, and they made it work together. They dominated, together. Fuck LeBron James.

I'm not at all surprised that the writer is from Detroit. Explains a lot.

[BruceSmith78]

I saw some article recently about how LeBron James is better than Michael Jordon. Here it is: http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/p ... /28056173/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lolololololol

[Cassius Clay]

Lebron left because management sucked. He gave them plenty of time to build a solid team around him and they failed. And he still carried a squad of bums to the finals on his back before he finally gave up on Cleveland. And I'm not particularly a Lebron fan. I'll be rooting for my boy Curry and the Warriors(and look at the beautiful team they eventually built around Curry. Part of the reason the could afford to do that is because Curry is grossly underpaid...which they got away witg because of his ankle issues early in his career). But I think Lebron gets unfair criticism.

[sikax]

James is a great player, I'll give him that. And he did what he felt he had to do to win, I guess. The article saying he's better than Jordan just pissed me off. Not because I'm a huge Jordan fanboy (I am), but because its reasoning is flawed. At least come up with a better argument if you're going to say something so stupid.

[Cassius Clay]

Fair enough.

[Boomer]

James would not score a single point in a game of one-on-one against Jordan.

You're probably being hyperbolic, but James would destroy Jordan. He's got two inches and 30+ pounds on Jordan and is every bit as fast; Jordan has no advantage over Lebron.

Yes, Lebron left to join up with some all-stars to win titles. So what? Jordan didn't do shit until he got all-stars on his team.

Further, you said it yourself that Phil Jackson accounted for much of the Bulls' success. How did you write that sentence without realizing that Lebron has never had a Phil Jackson, and as a result he's not only lead his teams to finals appearances via his play but he's coached them there as well?

Your arguments against Lebron in regards to him building his own teams and making personnel decisions do not show he's a worse player than Jordan, it proves he's a better coach and executive.

[BruceSmith78]

You're probably being hyperbolic, but James would destroy Jordan. He's got two inches and 30+ pounds on Jordan and is every bit as fast; Jordan has no advantage over Lebron.

Because size and speed are all it takes to win a basketball game. Skill is irrelevant.

[BruceSmith78]

I kinda think Phil Jackson is overrated. He won 6 titles while coaching a team that just so happened to have the greatest basketball player of all time (with the possible exception of Magic Johnson), and then he won what, 4 more titles while coaching a team with the two best players in the league playing together.

[Boomer]

You're probably being hyperbolic, but James would destroy Jordan. He's got two inches and 30+ pounds on Jordan and is every bit as fast; Jordan has no advantage over Lebron.

Because size and speed are all it takes to win a basketball game. Skill is irrelevant.

I'm sure there's a sex joke somewhere in there.

Regardless, they're both extremely skilled, and we can spend pages using any number of metrics to try and show one is more skilled than the other.

When the difference in skill between two players is minimal, size and speed usually do win out.

[BruceSmith78]

Well I think both you and Sikax are being hyperbolic. Jordan wouldn't shut out James, and James wouldn't destroy Jordan. I think Jordan in his prime was considerably better than James, but in one on one it would be a close match and James might win because of his size advantage. That's not very important, since basketball is a team sport.

When James first came into the league I was one of his biggest supporters, partly cuz I hated Kobe and wanted someone else to be the definitive best player in the game, and I desperately wanted to see James succeed Jordan as an explosive player that could take over a game and will his team to victory, and while there's been flashes of that, he hasn't been able to do it consistently like Jordan.

[CashRules]

I kinda think Phil Jackson is overrated. He won 6 titles while coaching a team that just so happened to have the greatest basketball player of all time (with the possible exception of Magic Johnson), and then he won what, 4 more titles while coaching a team with the two best players in the league playing together.

Jordan is the best player of all time simply because nobody ever dominated his position the way Jordan did. Magic isn't even the best point guard, that goes to a guy named Stockton. Magic is the best all-around player of all time and the only player capable of playing all five positions and doing a credible job. I have spoken.

[Cassius Clay]

Don't forget the white mamba...Brian Scalabrine.

[sikax]

I kinda think Phil Jackson is overrated. He won 6 titles while coaching a team that just so happened to have the greatest basketball player of all time (with the possible exception of Magic Johnson), and then he won what, 4 more titles while coaching a team with the two best players in the league playing together.

It was Jackson's and Winter's Triangle Offense that allowed those several best players ever to really showcase their talent. Jordan/Pippen never won without Phil. Kobe/Shaq-Gasol (assuming you mean Gasol) never won without Phil. Coincidence? (Granted, Shaq won another ring in Miami, but he was hardly a main factor on that team.)

Jordan was the greatest, Kobe and Shaq were the best at the time; those are both largely true statements because of Phil's presence.

[CashRules]

The best player named Gasol plays for Memphis.

[BruceSmith78]

Yeah, it was three titles with the two best players in the league playing together. I was questioning myself when I typed it, which is why I prefaced that section with "what". Gasol wasn't the second best player in the league at the time.

[sikax]

Yeah that threw me. Phil and Kobe together got five rings total, three with Shaq.