re: Well...Inside the NBA was GOAT.

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Lol, Charles Barkley would hay-maker his arse right out of the paint. SOME guys could handle it.

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Because it's true.

What the hell man. You don't know how to post

It's just : rotflmao :

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Lol, Charles Barkley would hay-maker his arse right out of the paint. SOME guys could handle it.

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The rule changes have changed the type of players and play style teams value.

So yeah I tend to agree generally speaking when the old timers say many couldn't hang back then. But there are plenty that could translate and some guys who are fringe players now that probably would thrive.

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Muchless those bone crushing moving picks they never whistled back in the day, guys like Oakley, Mason, Lambier were there for a reason. It is totally a different game especially away from the ball...muggings went on at the flanks, Stockton was notorious for thumb jabbing ribs.

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lmao at y'all acting like it was American Gladiators back then.

It's become so exaggerated over time.

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Steph would be fine in any era. But its almost impossible to project his game into the late 80s-early 90s, because of how much he uses the 3. Its just a totally different game.

Most of those guys grew up playing an inside-out game, trying to get as close to rim as possible. There was no point in taking a 25ft 2-point shot. Its 2016 and teams are just now beginning to fully exploit the 3 point shot.

If Curry's playing in that era AND playing that era's style he'd be driving to the rim, shooting mid range jumpers when he's cut off, and taking the occasional 3. It would definitely change him.

Its almost immaterial though, because, I believe era and rule changes have had a way better impact on big men, than they've had on guards.

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This is why projecting players to different eras is so difficult. People always want to cherry pick what logic they will operate under when projecting based on what conclusion they want to make.

On the one hand, Curry taking the knowledge of todays game and spamming threes in a league where one on one defense is strictly enforced would be pretty successful you would think.

BUT the game wasn't played that way and other issues wouldn't translate as well. For his small size in a league where you can push people around off the ball and direct them, Curry's screen game would likely not be very effective. His drive game would get him killed with the trees that man the paint and hard foul all game and don't have to worry about three second violations.

Eras value different skillsets and player types and the greats tend to be guys that happen to be the right combination to be the best in that era.

The guys from the mid-80s and earlier are FOS when they talk about how physical the game was. Yes, there were absolutely more hard fouls. When guys wanted to get rough they could HAMMER guys. But play in, play out, the game was not nearly as physical as they make it out to be.

Watch point guards like Magic back their way down court almost all the way to the FT line before even getting touched. Big men would could basically post under the rim without much resistance. Guys sagged 5ft off of shooters. Guys with any kind of jumper these days get picked up at almost half court.

Defensive became MUCH more off an emphasis in the late 80s, through the 90s. Detroit, then later Riley's Knicks/Heat basically made the game unwatchable. Every bucket was a chore. NBA Finals games struggling to get to 80 points.

Todays game looks much closer to 80s with the addition of the 3 point shot. Still not as fast though

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What do you mean "don't have to worry about 3 second violations"? They had to actively guard a man back then so they couldn't just hang out in the paint...

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Big men didn't guard him...so yeah theyd hang in the paint.

If he was playing in that era, he'd a have a big on his team planted in the paint, with that big's defender waiting to hammer Curry if he drove past his man.

Glad people got to see Dwight explain where he's coming from.

Earlier this year I said I wanted Houston to keep Dwight, not Harden. That will never happen but I'll always side with Dwight over Harden. You could see Harden pouting in the series against Portland when he was just dumping the ball to the post, but Dwight was dominating. Last year, I said at the beginning of the year that the offense needed to run through Dwight. He was hurt, Harden exploded and from then on Dwight was nothing more than a rebounding defender.

I'll back Harden as long as he's a Rocket, but he's the one riding separately from the team, he's the one giving poor defensive effort, he is the one going to the club after losses, not Dwight.

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The guys from the mid-80s and earlier are FOS when they talk about how physical the game was. Yes, there were absolutely more hard fouls. When guys wanted to get rough they could HAMMER guys. But play in, play out, the game was not nearly as physical as they make it out to be.

Watch point guards like Magic back their way down court almost all the way to the FT line before even getting touched. Big men would could basically post under the rim without much resistance. Guys sagged 5ft off of shooters. Guys with any kind of jumper these days get picked up at almost half court.

Defensive became MUCH more off an emphasis in the late 80s, through the 90s. Detroit, then later Riley's Knicks/Heat basically made the game unwatchable. Every bucket was a chore. NBA Finals games struggling to get to 80 points.

Todays game looks much closer to 80s with the addition of the 3 point shot. Still not as fast though

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I agree with the timeline.

The game emphasized different skillsets. Big strong guys that maybe had slow foot speed could make a long career in the league because of the ability to hand check, use forearms and direct players off the ball.

As Doc Rivers said it jokingly:

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"The first year, they took my hand check away," Rivers recalled. "The next year, they took our forearm away. And then, I retired. I was done. I was like, 'I've got to move my feet? I quit. This is no fun anymore.'"

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He made a living hand checking, clipping guys off the ball to disrupt their routes, and basically being a bully. It was the kinda getting to the point of the optimization of the rule sets of that day being maximized. Guys before weren't quite there in understanding how to bend the rules to their advantage but it was still physical.

Personally I like the game today more. There is more strategy and it is more exciting. I wouldn't mind a bit of tinkering back away from being so guard friendly but I can manage.