hey i dont disagree with a word you just said about schemes and coaching. to me that is the biggest change i've seen. change meaning things have changed for the better. there are much better SCHEMES now offensively and defensively(with the help of the zone rules of course). i already admitted in numerous threads part of the reason for guys scoring more (little guys on the perimeter) is due to the newer schemes, where every single team is running heavy screens on the ball. the only teams doing this back in the 80's, 90's. were the utah jazz, old school 80's lakers a bit, and GP/Kemp sonics. other teams were not running heavy screens all the time. so that meant an offensive player had to dismantle his defender with his own moves. no help from the refs(or rules). no help from a screener. just you and me. But that was a game within a game at times. now that no longer exists. its 100% coaching schemes and rules. well of course i'm exaggerating. obviously the players have a lot to do with it too.Also I realize MJ may not be the best Iso example because the bulls did play the triangle a lot, but look at this way, the triangle was incredibly innovative in a lot of ways in the 90s NBA (even though I realize it's been around since the 50s at least)
But after poppovich took a bunch of action of the triangle and made slight changes to alter it for the modern game, most of the NBA followed with their own versions and at this point it's basically an archaic system. Shows you how much Xs and Os have progressed
WAY TO make a post not speaking on actual basketball. just talking about those who make these type of threads. again if you cant reply with something of substance why reply at all?It's a battle you can't win with 90's stans. They use hyperbole, nostalgia, rhetoric, and love of the mid range jumper as their argument. I loved the decade too. I grew up in it, but some things need to stay in the past. People don't carry boom boxes or vhs tapes anymore. We don't look for a pay phone to call the house anymore, we don't write letters to each other. Times change. Basketball is no different.

I really don't understand the conversation taking place here. Doesn't matter who is or isn't old if they're still highly productive players in the game today and your statement was this game has no back to basket talent. If those guys are good in the post then they count. And an era spans more than a single season so your terminology is off here. Dirk is not done in the post he's still exceptional in that area, I have no idea why you're so biased against older players here. If you don't think Blake or LMA have b2b talent I don't know what to tell you, watch them more often? You don't see them backing fools down on the block & in blake's case bullying his way to the paint using his forearm to create separation compensating for a lack of wingspan and throwing up an effective hook over the top? Its not pretty but it sure as hell is effective. And he does a great job sealing his man into the paint so he can catch the ball in prime position to score. What about LMA hitting his defender with an up & under, an accurate turnaround fade which is his signature move or a running hook shot. What about the Rockets Lithuanian PF that took a huge leap this year Donatas Motiejunas, that man is extremely skilled on the block
yeah..now this. i said it.Breh, you are fukking killing me here.
First with the Penny vs LeBron shyt and now THIS?
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Hold on, you said low post big men don't exist at all in this era but now you've acknowledged Boogie. Pretty sure footwork, counters and touch age well in basketball so Al Jefferson is still an outstanding post player, old man still gets it done. Dirk is not done he's clearly still effective with his back to the basket as one of the most skilled post players to ever play this game. Zbo is still very good down low doesn't matter if he's old wasn't aware there was an age restriction to being able to play through the post. Griffin and Aldridge are good back to basket players not entirely sure why you think they aren't. Brook Lopez is not ok at best he's incredibly skilled. Not saying these guys are better than Pat/Shaq/Hakeem, they aren't, but that saying this era has no good b2b big men is pretty insane.
And thats why I hate era debates. Because there never fails to be one side that exaggerates out of their ass to make the era they want to shine look better with some outrageous statement that grossly misrepresents an era
You talking about Blake? He has a struggle post game.I wouldn't call it good.
Aldridge has a good back to the basket game....but he settles for the turn around J 90% of the time.He's not really beasting in the paint like that.His post game consist of backing you down from 20 ft out & creating enough leverage to get off a rhythmic 12-13ft turnaround J
You are a basketball fan, but you don't really know the game with some of this absurd shyt you have been saying latelyyeah..now this. i said it.

its not that simple bruh.
i know..analytics. blah blah blah.
a giant in the paint with footwork racking up fouls on the opponent has never been analysed ,, if so please point me to it.
That alone does more damage then chucking 50 3's praying you make 20 eventually.
But you wouldnt know anything about that because you believe what you're told by the new era statisticians. which i dont have an issue with. its just that this idea of "men lie, women lie, but numbers dont" is only half true. Numbers can lie because people control the numbers. I can make the very same stat say something completely different than what you just said.
but again most of yall dont understand that concept so you take these "professionals" comments as if its the gospel truth.
is their truth in shooting long twos is dumb when you can take a half a step back and chuck the 3. of course. that makes logical sense. is it true a team without size can stay in a game by chucking more shots at the basket, speeding the game up and making some 3's. YUP. true statement.
But the only reason it looks like it works so well in today's nba, is because of the rule changes and the lack of skilled younger current era low post guys. again, they dont tell you that. because the wave is now perimeter based and 3's chucking. we are not trying to bring back those giants. giants that have serious post moves along with a top tier guard(pg or sg) = domination. The only time someone dominated that didnt have a big. was jordan, pip, and ho grant. but guess what. Jordan had post game like a big man too. pip had post game, and so did ho grant.
when i get you with my back to the basket and you have no idea how to stop me. you will call for help. the moment you do that you compromise your defense. if i can pass out of a double team well. its going to be a long night for any team.
The reason why the grizz cant win it all is because their bigs with good post game dont LIVE in the post all day and night. because they are not that good down low. gasol is a great passing big. but he's great at passing when he faces up(when he can see the entire floor from the high post.) same with blake griffin(great passing big. but only when facing up). do you understand how far a defender has to travel to sink down to help on the post player. and if that ball is swung back out. he has to go chase it. and if its swung around or even a ball fake. if nothing else. it makes the defender fatigued if this keeps happening all game long, let alone all series long in a playoff situation. see these things have not yet been measures statistically. notice i'm not juts making up some talking points about bigs are better than smalls blah blah. i'm giving you specifics to why a certain skilled big can cause havoc on a defense.
the nba truthfully does not want that kind of domination from any one guy or any one team. they dont. as great as LBJ is/was. he still didnt win 3 times in a row with a stacked team in a weaker era where he had a chance to play children in one(kd and russ) and another to play old men(spurs).
the nba likes it how it is now. the heat win one or two. spurs wins 1 here, 1 there. hopefully gstate or the cavs win. doenst matter if its bron again. its a different team. they want it to be spread around like that. it brings more fans out like the NFL. but basketball played in its purest form would most likely produce some juggernaut team(s) with a great skilled big in the post and a highly skilled guard up top. that combo cant lose until it ages out.
the reason the spurs have never won back to back titles is because as good as Tparker and gino are. They are not as good as prime kobe, prime lebro, prime wade, prime tmac, etc. or prime magic.
the combination of a legendary guard and a legendary post playing big = 3 peat. in any era. the nba really doesnt want that.
i mean think about it. prime pau gasol aint no prime shaq and he got a back 2 back out of the deal. hakeem didnt have any jordan, kobe like level guard play. and he got a back 2 back too.
that post play is devastating.
Blake doesn't struggle in the post by any stretch of the imagination. The way that he scores may be highly unconventional but hes mastered the art of making his defender lose leverage whether through shoulder fakes, powerful back downs, spins or even burrowing his head into the chest of his man in order to get a hook or floater over the top. Hes been one of the leagues most efficient post post players in each of the past two seasons. In that stretch where Paul was out last year and he averaged like 30 over the course of a month I thought that was the moment when the talk of him having no post skill would die. He is a problem on the block
Aldridge does settle a lot for that turnaround fade from the left block but his up & under move is arguably the best in the league. He catches people with it almost every single time. Also has a good hook shot and plenty of counters. Hes not dominant no but pretty good. Can build a elite offense through him in the post
Oh and Love is a good post player too. AD is the one who really needs to work on polishing his post reportoire but Im confident that'll come with time
Blake has the same exact game as Amare Stoudemire.They're relentless, tenacious at getting to the rim, by any means necessary.....but they're not skilled post players.
They're both(Amare before the injuries) bulldogs with crazy athleticism/above average ballhandling for their size.When I watch them in the post, yeah, they're able to outmuscle defenders from time to time, but it's not textbook, or pretty....that's why I call it struggle post.It looks like they're having a stroke down there
the rules made it so you had to MAN the Eff UP on defense. you couldnt run and hide behind a zone defense. i still remember so many superstar euro guys that were supposed to come to the nba and ball out. but they got here and went back home. because they found out quick"these boys are way to athletic, too many moves and i cant guard them without that fiba zone."



Not even mentioning Zo and David Robinson. Bron would make it close but if the physicality was allowed then 4 game sweep. It would be like these new black nikkas going to a public school in the hood. Culture shock. By the time they adjust the series is over.