How convenient of a bias LeBron fan to just throw Kerr in there and pretend Kukoc didn't exist. You mention Longley twice now as if Phil can't adjust and just do their "Hampton five" small lineup and run C: Rodman PF:Kukoc SF-Pippen SG: Jordan PG:Harper At that point, both teams are equally thin and bad on the bench. I merely mentioned Longley is more serviceable a big than 2018s McGee or ZaZa or West. If it's 90s ball, he's definitely playing. If it's todays rules, probably only in there when there's foul trouble. MDA can adjust from a 7 seconds or less offense into this slow half court iso offense but arguably the greatest coach of all time and THE greatest scorer of all time won't be able to make a single adjustment and just keep trying to feed the post in todays rules. THE greatest scorer of all time and one of the most relentless rim attackers ever playing in todays league where no one is even allowed to defend and "interior defense" is some small ball 3 or 4 under the basket...would be forced to settle for open 3s....ok. Even If that worked, I love how people think MJ is so awful from 3. When he took enough, his % was above average just as anyone else who's considered a good 3 point shooter today. But, you're right. Jordan made a career of free turnaround jumpers and where Curry just strolls to the basket for a free layup and LeBron just bulldozes his way to a free layup, MJ would be forced to settle for 3s he can't make. Doubt this Warriors team can even beat the 92 Knicks. They would get bullied into submission. The Warriors couldn't even beat the Rockets at a slow it down, grind it out 90s style game.
not to mention the Worriers wouldn't even have Kerr as their head coach.........because he'd be the back up PG for the Bulls
They can have Luke Walton or Mike Brown and not miss a beat. Steve Kerr took a 2nd round at best team and turned them into an all time great for this era type of team all because David lee got hurt and he had no choice but to start Green and they never looked back. Draymonds versatility is so crucial to this team. Draymonds nothing more than Anthony Mason playing in todays stat padded, small ball, pace and space era.
Realistically, teams wouldn't play the same way. In those days teams didn't focus on 3s. Guys didn't work on them that much. Even the great shooters like Bird didn't shoot the volume that they do today. The one thing that we've seen is that players can work on their shot and become good 3 point shooters. We've seen lots of cases of guys becoming good 3 point shooters. If the Bulls were playing today's game, they'd shoot more 3's. With the likes of Kerr, Hodges and Paxon, they would have done fine. The difference is that GS wouldn't get as many open looks either. If the Warriors had to face the league's two best on ball defenders, it would look a lot more like last night's 4th quarter. Today's math is about efficiency. Shaq in the post was incredibly efficient. Can you imagine Jordan's efficiency with today's rules. He was shooting almost 10 ft per game back when they were allowed to put their hands on him and bump him. With today's rules, he'd live at the ft line. Similarly, the Warriors would have no answer for Shaq. Do you know what he would have done to Draymont Green?
I think the Warriors would have a great chance of winning, but I agree that they have shown to be affected by physical play. Obviously also depends on what rules are used etc. etc. Game has changed a lot since those years. But from a pure talent standpoint I think the Warriors would have an advantage. I'm not saying they're by far the best of all time or anything.
None of those teams had the outside firepower that the Rockets or Warriors have. Their defense was based on defending drives and two point shots.
I don´t understand why people hates calling them greatest of all time? Is this because it would imply we can´t beat them? On my book these guys have the best regular season ever, a top2 postseason all time (last year) and the performance on court is amazing. They commit to excellence on offense and defense, both on and off the court. They refused to believe that home/road makes any difference, they refused to believe they had to lose back to back games. They commit to excellence while traveling. And in the process of becoming that all time team, they crossed their paths with ours, and they inspired Morey and Harden and Paul and DAntoni. And make no mistake, just by coming to this point, we have matched most of the things that make them excellent. That´s why I´m most hyped about this series and our behaviour on it. If/when we beat them, and if we can follow that with a ring, we would have had the right to call ourselves an all time great team.
I guarantee you if we beat the Warriors and go on to win the title this year, the media will look at us as Buster Douglas getting lucky against Mike Tyson. Hell, forget the media -- half the CFers in this thread would look at it that way. Note to Warriors-are-the-best-ever believers: Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas were boxers back in the '80s and '90s.
Speaking of Longley and how he wouldn't even see the floor. Broken down, injury prone Andrew Bogut started for the 1st title and the 73 win Warriors and was out during their Finals loss.
You may be right, I believe this is the most likely coverage we will get. This year. Championships, and in a more large aspect "all time greatness" can only be judged with an historic view, I´ll wait patiently. I don´t hesitate to call them great, and not because of what media or fellow Cfers say. Because I´ve seen our numbers, and our commitment and our growth and because we are 2-2 with these team, after claiming back homecourt. Greatness is not always recognized timely. Most of the people dont study the game/teams consistently, and more important, don´t know what is the difference between winning and living. I don´t know if we win the series or not, hell of a team across ours. But last night something happened, our guys understood they belonged. And you could see GSW eyes last night, they did not know what happened
The 2018 Rockets are no doubt a great team. I think minus KD, the Rockets could take the 73 win Warriors in 6. KD on the Warriors is what minimizes our greatness and over shadows this team. The media still wouldn't see it even if KD was still in OKC because they love to hang onto the past and all of Harden, CP3 and MDA's low moments would define them in 2018. With the same incredible health all season like the 73 win Warriors had, we could have easily been a 73 win team ourselves this season.
It's just funny that in every single other sport, as the number of participants around the globe has risen, along with the financial rewards and access to training opportunities, the bar for performance is continually raised over time, which is reflected in things that are objectively measurable, such as speed of 100M runners or accuracy of NBA shooters But yet, with respect to basketball, there's a coterie of folks like yourself who dogmatically believe that the sport reached its performative peak 30-40 years ago.
WE are a great team with everyone healthy. In fact, our Rockets are going to beat these guys, while we're short handed.
I never said anything about that. I have and will always build a team around bigs. Any era that allows bigs to dominate is just a more difficult era to me. Today, the rules all but eliminate bigs to be allowed to use their size advantage. Watching Curry stroll to the basket for some super slow scoop layup is not equivalent to a player in another era meeting Shaq or Hakeem or Wilt or Russel or Kareem etc at the basket. Watching Westbrook get 10 rebounds a game in open lanes is not the same as a good rebounding PG of a past era getting rebounds amongst the trees. Position-less basketball is not more fun and it sure as hell isn't more skilled. All you're seeing is more perimeter players on the floor at once and "bigs" posted up on the outside shooting 3s. Obviously teams were built in a different way, but I can take tons and tons of players from a 90s draft lottery that would fit perfectly in this style of play and build teams with more guards and forwards and 6'8-6'11 players that can push the ball and pass because most importantly-they'd be allowed to. The non 3 pt shooters would just train to focus on that aspect. As far as this evolution thing. I don't believe the best players are more athletic than the best players in any era. Elite athletes that are also star players are rare in todays era just as any other. There are also more things than vertical or bulging muscles that makes a player athletic. I've said many times before that the average players and end of bench players might be more athletic because it is more of a focus in drafts purely for potential, but majority of them are bums and never pan out due to lack of basketball skill so what do they even matter? I don't sit here and try and pretend like every NBA player today is LeBron James and Russell Westbrook or John Wall like people who make that "evolved human" argument try and say. "Bigger stronger better faster" argument doesn't apply when you have 6 MVPS in the last decade that are not at all these super athletes you speak of and where the old and slow Mavs and Spurs beat this eras GOAT and their superior athletic team. I also don't pretend like players of past eras can't just train to be better 3 point shooters just like todays players could train to be decent mid range and post up players with a proper focus on it, though I do think footwork and banging bodies while maintaining finesse is more difficult than training to shoot 3s. You even see players today go from poor shooting seasons to above average with the proper focus on that skill, but apparently stars of the past just can't do it right? I also don't ignore all of the rules changes the NBA made to make the game easier for perimeter players and easier to score with open lanes. I also don't pretend some fancy dribbling skills only to barely get by your man after 10 seconds= more skilled than someone who makes quick and decisive moves without any fancy ball handling to go no where fast. I also don't pretend the evolution of varying dunks = more athletic. Just because it hadn't been created yet, doesn't mean there weren't tons of players who could do crazy dunks with enough practice at it. I sure as hell don't cherry pick some white players from past eras to prove it's not athletic as if there are no white guys playing today(again as if everyone today from star to end of bench is some super athlete). Chery picking white guys is always a favorite of guys like you who say everything is bigger and better and stronger and faster. I also don't pretend athleticism is the only thing that matters in basketball as if this isn't a game of skill, but a 100 meter sprint where the fastest and best trained person always wins. I also don't pretend the 90s were so far away that this eras GOAT was playing and losing against many who played and getting schooled against old MJ and LBJ came in 1 season after MJ retired. People like you try and make it look like todays basketball compared to the 90s is the same thing as the 90s to the 50s and 60s. I don't even want to mention the pathetic crop of shooting guards in 2018 that Michael Jordan would absolutely destroy today. Like Lebron or KD, Michael is bigger, stronger, faster than nearly everyone at his position in any era and that's not even counting his skill. Unless you of course think guys like Harden, Klay, CJ, Booker etc are more athletic than MJ and bigger, strong and faster...yeah..you probably do think that. Human beings don't physically evolve in 30 or 50 or 60 years. The training, supplements(many probable cases of PEDS) and diet and life around them evolves. That doesn't mean the average player in the 90s was some super slow, super skinny, unskilled nobody and everyone today is superhuman. That's just not true and you know it. Using this whole modern track and field, and American football argument to prove athletes are better as if it's the same sport as basketball or baseball or soccer is tired and old. Strictly basketball, there's a reason you have to say "under these rules" when you talk about the Warriors in comparison to the other 60 years of NBA basketball.
The media sees us more as an Evander Holyfield. The whole point of this thread is to get the complainers to shut up for a second and understand how hard what the Rockets are trying to do actually is.
Warriors are the best team in NBA history. And the Rockets just put on the greatest gut check defensive performance in NBA history to beat the best team in history.
