re: Was there a better All-NBA team than 87-88?

A few things:

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Because that mismatch is much greater than the reverse. You’re already going to have enough trouble hiding Paul, a small but good defender, on that end. Where are you also going to hide curry, a small and bad defende?

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You concede the 15 foot jump shot to Magic all day. That's the single thing that rewatching games on NBA Classic from the 80s super series, that most jumps out on viewing.

Other guys could shoot with range, they just didn't do it as often. Magic had virtually no range. You can rewatch those games and count shots-- if he hit one in three from beyond 15 feet, the Lakers would win a series. If he couldn't, they didn't.

If you really want to appreciate how the game has changed in a visceral form, watch Magic's jumper. An all time great who would really struggle in many aspects of a modern game that he helped previously redefine, as passing lanes disappear and zones swallow up driving lanes.

that's footwork not athleticism. it's so obvious when someone posts who has never played the game

I exaggerated a real issue they’d have.

And it’s NOWHERE near people saying new players wouldn’t be able to handle Barkley’s trash talk.

Jordan would be moving through and dissecting defenses with defenders in areas that he has never seen before. Their entire team would have to change the way they play basketball. They played some basic arse basketball.

Jordan and Bird are the greatest ever so you won’t be able to find a better team.

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I exaggerated a real issue they’d have.

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Exaggerated is puttingbit lightly. When in his career did Olajuwon ever camp out behind the 3pt line?

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Jordan would be moving through and dissecting defenses with defenders in areas that he has never seen before. Their entire team would have to change the way they play basketball. They played some basic arse basketball.

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Basic arse basketball stil works when you have significant size mismatches.

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When in his career did Olajuwon ever camp out behind the 3pt line?

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He did drain a three pointer in Shaq’s face to clinch the 1995 NBA Finals. LINK

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I assume if Jordan wants him to camp out behind the 3 point line, that’s exactly what he’s going to do.

These guys are going to have a pretty tough time getting to their favorite spots against completely different defenses than they’re used to.

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I don't understand the people who believe that shooting threes would be some super difficult skill for big men of the past to pick up. We've seen random big men like Boogie Cousins and Marc Gasol go from hardly shooting any threes to being proficient three point shooters in no time. Do people really believe that arguably the most offensively diverse center to ever play the game in Hakeem Olajuwon would have problems adjusting to that style?

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Sorry, I don’t see any way curry is keeping magic from getting to a favorable post position, with or without the ball, then doing whatever he wants from there.

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Superior lateral mobility, even on terrible ankles and a number of physical factors.

People forget also that Magic dominated physically small guards-- the league average starting PG was almost 2 inches shorter and 15 pounds lighter throughout the 80s. Even today's 'smaller guards' are physically are at or above average for Magic's day.

Curry's got more wingspan than height, which has not been the rule for lead guards over time, though specific wingspan measurements aren't nearly as available for 80s players now.

Likewise, the amount of help available and defensive complexity are night-and-day greater now. I still think that competing teams from the two eras try to force the game to be played through the Magic match up, but it is not to the favor of the 80s squad over the long run.

Its a shame, but Magic's game is among the least translatable to other eras of any of the All-Timers.

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LeBron at the point and he's similar to Magic

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LeBron isn't in the same vicinity to Magic as a point guard.

Magic is the best point guard in the history of the sport and there's no argument.

Never seen LeBron do stuff like this: