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Golden State Warriors forward David West Is not only one of the oldest players in the NBA, he’s also typically seen as one of the toughest. The 36-year-old big man is in his 14th season, and most recently won the 2017 NBA championship with the warriors.
Speaking to on the Open Run podcast, West was Said he didn’t think that the NBA these days was soft, and in fact some of the tougher, strong big men who weren’t particularly skilled from generations past would not be able to cut it in today’s NBA.
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06-30-2017, 09:18 AM #1
West: David West says he doesn’t think unskilled guys from past generations could pla
"He's a little bit ball-dominant, he needs to have the ball in his hands, and he's not a good shooter." Ball-dominant … isn't that a nice way of calling someone a ball hog? Where is my Jay Bilas Thesaurus?
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06-30-2017, 09:31 AM #2
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For him to say that the NBA isn't soft is a bit ridiculous. It's extremely soft compared to the game in the 80s and 90s. I don't mean to be the ole "get off my lawn" curmudgeon, well maybe I do, but the NBA is barely watchable to me anymore. I watched the finals this year, and that's it. Players whine about every single call, the flopping is atrocious, and there is no such thing as a post game anymore. It is either shoot a three, or drive the lane for a layup or dunk. He is probably right in that the non-skilled players would be unable to play in the game today, but conversely some of these skilled players of today, would not be able to play well in the game of the 80s or 90s.
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06-30-2017, 09:35 AM #3
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06-30-2017, 10:20 AM #4
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06-30-2017, 10:30 AM #5
That's fine but you're not disagreeing with me, you're disagreeing with numbers. Isolation post ups are one of the least efficient offensive plays by points per shot.
My point doesn't really need to be bogged down in numbers -- the basic idea is that a lack of post ups isn't because the NBA is soft or whatever the narrative of the day is, it's because teams realize it's not a smart way to play.
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06-30-2017, 11:06 AM #6
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Not arguing that lack of post ups means the nba is soft, its soft because its soft. There isn't much physical play if any because the rules have changed. A team can't walk down the floor without there being a whistle anymore, and if one isn't blown, someone bitches to the ref. I just don't enjoy the gameplay as it is right now...im not so sure the players are more skilled, they may be more athletic but not necessarily more skilled.
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06-30-2017, 11:56 AM #7
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I will take any current champion team at the pro, Olympic, or college level over any team from greater than 35 years ago. Athletes are bigger, faster, and strong now then ever before. It is simply a product of advancements in technology and training.
If you want the most objective demonstration of this, just look at Olympic records. 1972 Mark Spitz would lose the 100m freestyle by about 4-5 seconds today."If our season was based on A-10 awards, there’d be a lot of empty space up in the rafters of the Cintas Center." - Chris Mack
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06-30-2017, 06:06 PM #8
I believe another key reason why today's version of the NBA appears to be softer that in eras gone bye is because the NBA now allows zone defenses which were banned in earlier years of the league. 48 minutes of strictly mano a mano Defense versus Offense is a far cry from how the game plays out today. But I do believe, for the most part, that the overall physical talent and athleticism is better now than in earlier years of the NBA. Some old-time players such as Oscar Robertson, Bob Petit, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dr. J., John Havlicek, Bill Russel, Earl The Pearl, Wes Unseld, Jerry West, Walt Frazier, Karl and Moses Malone, Elvin Hayes, Elgin Baylor, Lenny Wilkens, Bill Sharman, Jerry Lucas, etc., etc., etc. could have been great in today's NBA just like they were "back in the day"! (Dash and Paul will probably get a kick out of seeing those names in print again!)
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06-30-2017, 07:21 PM #9
OOOOH, Dash and Paul just got called OLD!
But (slightly more) seriously, I saw some video of Oscar recently. The carry rule has changed so much he looked like a third grader in terms of ball handling skills. It is so VERY difficult to even guess how guys would translate from different generations. That clip actually shocked me.
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06-30-2017, 07:44 PM #10
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He makes a good point though. A LOT of the bigs in the older days were not very athletic. I'm not necessarily talking the all stars here, but rather the big, bruising defenders. There are not many bigs in the NBA today that aren't also pretty athletic. While there are some, the ratio is far smaller than back in the day.
Though, it's a far different NBA today than years past.
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