Comparing eras is always a bad idea but I take 2024 because of the complexity of the schemes, and the skill+athleticism combo of the second tier guys (most agree superstars are transcendent). They would have to adjust to the physicality but they would eventually thrive.
by summersundays
8 Comments
I don’t think he realizes 20 years ago was 04. I make that mistake a lot lmao.
I think it’s in rebuke of Anthony Edward’s saying no one was skilled in Jordan’s era.
It was a lot more nuanced point he was trying to make and was more about the AAUification of the league and how a lot of the attitude/shot selection guys have now would have you out of the league back then.
He specifically gives the example of a triple step back shot and how if you tried that in a game and missed you would be on the bench and your teammates would be on your ass about it too.
He was cooking actually. Obviously it was hyperbole but he made some points.
I. LOVE. WALTAH!!!!
if this is true i think KG has a point.
I get his point, that it was a different league, but do yourself a favor and go watch the first 2 minutes of regulation of the 2007-08 Celtics season opener against the Wizards. It is some of the ugliest basketball with the worst shot selection and that team went on to win 66 games and the championship.
This is an extreme cherry pick since every team plays CTE basketball at some point during the season, but to say that the guys today, who are clearly more athletic and play smarter basketball from the eye test, wouldn’t be able to hang just feels ridiculous.
The 2000’s was running floppy sets, posting up the center on the block because PG’s were allergic to attacking from the perimeter, and tween tween hesi pull up in the midrange.
The style of basketball that was played got optimized over time and stretching the floor didn’t require bigs to bang down low, but be able to roam the paint and cover more ground. When the floor opened up, it became harder to play defense with 3P shooting and larger passing lanes and so guys stopped exerting energy on defense for 82 games and the game “softened up” as it focused on offensive production.
Teams still need to be able to play physical defense in the playoffs at some level, but offensive production is more conducive to winning. The talent is way too high right now where everyone in the league can make 3P shots that if you aren’t hitting 3P’s in volume, you’re not playing winning basketball. The other team is just going to outshoot you, and it’s just really hard to defend 3P shots with so much space to work with
Did people not watch the NBA 20 years ago? I see comments saying it’s more iso heavy today or you’d get benched for taking a step back. That’s how so many possessions played out back then. They averaged ~25% fewer assist 20 years ago. And complaining about AAU? Sounds like the 80s heads complaining about the baggy short straight out of highschool players of the 90s and early 2000s.
Yes it was more physical in 2004, but it was just as iso heavy as the modern game. Two of the biggest differences were there was actually less passing and they took way more shots in the midrange.
But above all the game was plodding in comparison, the fastest team by pace in the league (The Jim O’Brien Celtics!) would be dead last in today’s NBA. Modern players could run teams back then out of the gym.
For every player in the modern game who you say couldn’t cut it in 2004 (and I’d probably disagree), I can find 5 players from 20 years ago who couldn’t keep up today. Good luck playing 2x bigs from 2004 and having them defend a pick and roll 30 feet from the basket. And before you say good luck to modern players defending in the post, keep in mind you could double in 2004, and many post players we think fondly of weren’t even that efficient from those spots.
I understand there’s a romanticism in the turn around midrange or the post hook, believe me I wish players today utilized more of the floor. But KG’s is an archaic opinion, players today would adjust and be fine.