Quote:
Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis
Robertson did average a triple double in a season and Magic came within 0.5 assists and 0.5 rebounds from doing it too. LeBron hasn't come within 2 assists or rebounds of doing it. They are more complete players. Bird is the most lethal shooter ever, and I seriously, seriously doubt that in game 7 of the Finals a coach would dare Bird to beat them with his jump shot unless they wanted Larry to drop 75 points on them. That just happened to LeBron.
LeBron's physicality is also a bit overstated because LeBron also plays in the least physical era of NBA basketball by a mile. Would he be as great in the 90's or 80's? I don't think so. Imagine LeBron going up against the Bad Boys Pistons. He'd have to flop even harder than normal to get calls. LeBron is great and will probably end up in the top 10, but thats it. Top 5 is pretty much uncrackable.
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LOL
Can you seriously imagine that? Bill Laimbeer, my favorite NBA player of all time, laid out his team's best player Isiah Thomas so hard Thomas missed a couple weeks with bruised ribs because Thomas was dragging his butt
in practice. Thomas himself was hard as nails.
Lebron - or even better fake tough guy Chris Bosh - trying a flop against the Pistons in that era would have been a blood bath. Laimbeer would have put an elbow in Lebron's teeth within the first 2 minutes of a playoff series, but I think they would have toyed with Bosh, the way a group of killer whales toys with a young seal. They had every intention of targeting the opposing teams best players.
To put it in perspective for those who don't recall or were too young, the Pistons' heyday was in the early 90s and transitioned the league from the Celtics/Lakers era to the Bulls era. Chuck Daly was their coach. He ended up coaching the first dream team. I recall a survey during their heyday of the dirtiest players in the league. The Pistons had three in the top ten (Laimbeer, Thomas, Mahorn) and then #8 was the answer "The entire Detroit Piston Team". The Pistons group of players were so skilled and miserable that some gravely young scrub named Rodman was an afterthought when you considered rough and tumble play. Basketball was legitimately physical then and these guys ruled the roost.
Check out their treatment of Scottie Pippen, at about the 3:50 mark. Rodman is learning his lessons well: