Wallace was defensive player of the year how many times?
Every heard something about defense winning championships?
Lakers blew it, because of Kobe. If Kobe had simply gone to managment and said, "If you don't make Shaq happy, I am not resigning with the Lakers" it would have gotten done.
Kobe wanted to be the man, well, now he is...and look where he is. Whining and crying about everyone else on the team.
I really believe that if Nash replaced Kobe on that team, they would at least make a better showing than with Kobe.
The Lakers are a completely screwed up organization. They are betting the farm on Bynum by not trading him and trying to win right now.
They made a horrible trade when they traded Shaq.
They brought back a tired old Phil and overpaid him (10 million a year) because his girlfriend (Jeanne Buss) wanted it that way. Jim Buss who has input is a dope.
Mitch Kuptcheck is a loser.
Lakers let go of Jerry West, biggest mistake since Sox traded away Babe ruth.
MJ would score more in his prime than Kobe, because of the rules changes:
"
One reason is the changes in the NBA rules designed to increase scoring.
The changes, which went into effect last season, eliminated hand checking and opened the lane by making it illegal for any defender to be in the lane for longer than three seconds. The changes shifted the advantage to the slick ballhandlers, players who can get their own shots off the dribble and are athletic enough to make three-pointers and drive all the way to the basket. These players also are tough enough to get fouled a lot, then make their free throws."
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2006-01-23-100-points_x.htm
and because very few teams play solid defense. At the time of MJ, the tough teams were in the East, where he played, and dominated on both ends of the court.
If anyone gets the NBA channel, sometimes they play classic games of the past.
People ought to watch MJ's performance in Boston in the playoffs when he went for 63. His play on both offense and defense was mind boggling. And that was playing against one of the great teams of all time (though in decline) with Bird, Parrish, and McHale in the middle.
Oh, and Wilt was so dominant as an individual, that they had to change the rules of the game because of his play.
Apart from the "Jordan" rules, which were unofficial, the rule change because of Wilt's prowess are unmatched by the efforts of any other single player as relates to the game (not rules of fighting, leaving the bench, etc.)
NBA: 1964-65
⢠Lane widened from 12 to 16 feet
Change primarily attributed to the dominance of Wilt Chamberlain.
When Wilt Chamberlain was in high school, he had a unique way of shooting free-throws. He would stand at the top of the key, throw the ball up toward the basket, take two steps, jump toward the rim and jam the ball through the net. Doing this resulted in basketball rules to state that a player cannot cross the plane of the free-throw line when shooting a free-throw.
I am not discounting Russell at all, or his greatness.
Russell was asked if he could have defended Shaq. He responded, "Under today's rules, no. Under the rules I played under, yes."
Quote from fhl:
Hey, you do know a little bit about hoops. I only have a few minor points to quibble about.
I still have to point to Wilt, who was an mvp four times, and couldn't in even one of those years be considered to be a player who made others better on the caliber of Russell. Not even close.
You say that a person would be hard pressed to find a gm that would build a team around Kobe. That's exactly what the Lakers gm did. And, was willing to give up Shaq, to boot.
You say teams without dominant centers don't win titles, except MJ's? Pistons. I don't think Wallace qualified as a dominant center.
MJ scoring more now than then? Don't think so. Athleticism in the league gets better every year, and that translates into more d, much more so than more o. Scoring has gone down in general, not up. It was not a tougher league back then in general, just a few tough teams.
