
You’re not slick Jalen. We know you want folks to forget about that 81
He could probably do it if he didn't just launch 3's and slash to get to the line. If he hit 10 3's and 20 ft's...he would be at 50. Now let's throw in about 7 layups/floaters. That's 64. Let's throw in 3 mid-range jumpers which we know he hates....that's 70. Still 11 shy from 81....19 away from 81. If he turned down some of those inefficient contested 3's for more efficient midrange jumpers he could probably knock down about 5-6 more jumpers and beat 81. But my point is, his style of play isnt conducive to an 80 point game imo. The volume of 3's and ft's allow him to get 30-50 points on a regular basis. But on a night where he is say 8-19 from 3...some of those attempts could be converted in the midrange. Dude would have been done scored atleast 70 if he took more mid-range jumpers.
Outisde of harden, the only other 2 players in the league I could see getting 70 are KD and AD. Ad especially given how easy it is for him to generate buckets from the post. He gets hot from 3 and it's easily imaginable. Ive seen stretches where teams were literally fouling him every possession. KD is a no-brainer cause he is one of the few scorer in recent memory that uses all 3-levels of scoring.
Obviously Booker has scored 70 but I give that an asterisk due to Bush league tactics. Guys like dame, steph, kyrie, etc wouldnt be able to generate enough ft's or open looks. Klay got close, but that's because he was just spot up shooting, those other guys dont have that luxury.
Embiid could in theory (for the same reason as AS) but not on that team. Too many cooks.
Giannis doesnt have the jumper. Even if he converted 25 ft's and made 15 or so close-range shots he'd still have to knock down a minimum of 5 3's or 7 mid-range
For reference..Kobe scoring breakdown that game was:
7 3's
18 ft's
10 mid range jumper
11 shots in the paint