In your (weak) opinion, which doesn't mean much, considering your history on here.
Oh, and by the way, anyone who knows a scintilla about NBA history knows that Bird and Magic together are credited with
totally revitalizing the league in the 1980's, a league which was in total disarray, on the verge of bankruptcy.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...rry-bird-the-rivalry-that-transformed-the-nba
The NBA didn't even have a TV contract in the late 70s:
During the 1970s, after the retirement of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, the league fell into the doldrums, failing to land a good television contract and playing to half-full arenas.
Many of the NBA’s travails were attributed to racial factors: It was thought that white fans would not support a “black” league, and the black game was said to be “selfish” and not team-oriented. At the same time, stories spread about widespread cocaine use in the league.
I disagree. Back in the 80's you come down the lane against the Pistons are you're going to get floored. McHale could clothes-line Rambis and it wasn't even a technical, it
was just a hard foul. Hell, first they took away the hand-check (1994) and then they took away the fore-arm check (1998). And then
they added the defensive three second rule (2002).
If anything defenses were better in the 80's, because they were allowed to do a lot more.
After Jordan there is a fairly large collection of talent that is very close. It is reasonable to say Bird was better than Robertson or Russell or whomever. It would also be reasonable to say Abdul-Jabbar or O'Neal belong in that group ahead of Bird. Duncan is close, Bryant is behind mostly because of longevity. Having Bird outside of the top five doesn't make for a weak position. Yet: Having Nowitzki anywhere near the top 20 is completely silly. If Dallas wins, perhaps top 30. Interesting that for now, players from both teams have their place in history hinge so heavily on the next five games. If James still doesn't win a title, it will be that much longer of a road to eventually reaching top 10 all-time
But in some ways that takes away from Bird, because as a defensive player, he was allowed to take advantage of all those things, yet easily one of the weakest defenders among the true all-time greats. Consider that without using a forearm or handcheck, nor the threat of a clothesline, LeBron James is still able to shut down the MVP
Bird and not close. Dirk is one of my favorite players in the NBA today and he is an excellent player but he simply could not hold Bird's jock. Bird saw the court 10x better, was a better ball handler, could shoot with both hands from anywhere, was a better passer, better rebounder...welll, there you have it. This author is clueless.
This is pretty much fluff, no offense.
People always remember those isolated hard fouls but they forget that most of those games were way higher scoring than now. Just look at the league averages. Avg scoring in 87 was like 112ppg, avg offense now is around 100.
Defensive schemes, coaching and just the overall athleticism/defensive ability of roleplayers is way better now. Hell, where do you think all the white guys went?
I know Pat Riley or anybody who coached in both eras doesn't post on this board, but if they did trust me they would 100% disagree with you.
When Bird and Magic entered the league a 6'10" player who could pass and shoot a 22 footer was almost unheard of, now it's commonplace. There's a reason that NBA playoff scores were around 117-113 back then and around 100-95 now and it's not because everybody was a great shooter then and everyone's a poor shooter now. Some of you idiots remind me of people who think all major league pitchers were studs in the 60's because they went the distance and all pitchers are wimps now because they never go the distance; in both sports, the game has changed and the talent level has gone way up. Bird and Magic are the 80's versions of Wilt and Russell; dominant in their era but would be nowhere near as good 20 years later.
You really think it's near certain Gibson and Koufax would be below average middle relievers if they were born in the 80s instead of the 30s? Bird was one of the top two best players of his generation. Nowitzki falls short of that
For a lot of reasons the trend in virtually every sport is for talent to increase from generation to generation. But once the sport is well established, often slows tremendously. Also, a lot of that comes from each generation building off what the previous one had. Video and medical technologies weren't the same. To average 25 points per game without those sort of things should be seen as a credit to Bird
Further, the skill set of Bird would hold still hold up well. It isn't like the NFL in the 70s with 200-pound linemen. Being 6'9 with Bird's shooting and passing would still be true even after 25 years have passed
just because the games were higher scoring doesn't mean they didn't play defense. the heat literally dribble the ball for 20 seconds behind the 3 pt line and then take an off balance 25 footer and miss. its bad offense, not 'great' defense. at times watching these teams now, its like they dont try to score. plus the 'art of the mid-range jumper' is GONE.
