:-)
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LeBron is same size as Karl Malone, who was the beast. Just let that sink in your brain for a minute.
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Oakley, Ewing, Larry Johnson, Mourning, Lambier, and on and on etc were the types of PF's and C's that played back then. Big bruisers.

It wasn't position-less basketball like it is today. It wasn't about speed, it was about size. And they let you play defense too.

Way different teams back then.
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:-)

What are you, 12? He would have whined to the refs.
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Lots of guys were his size back then. The NBA was a size league, not a speed league. It was a grind. And you didn't take games off for rest. Or have the league extending the length of the season to accommodate more rest.

You went in the lane you got hammered. Every time.

Completely different game. Much like what the NHL has done, and to a certain extent the NFL when it comes to making defense almost impossible.
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This.

Can you imagine the The Bad Boys (88-90 Pistons) playing in today’s NBA? Half of their roster would have been fouled out by the 3rd quarter. Much different game back then. You could really play some defense. And some teams were particularly nasty about it.

I fully believe those Pistons helped make Jordan into the competitor he ultimately was and led to his dominance in the playoffs and particularly, the NBA Finals. They were either gonna break his will or he was going to rise to a new level. Once he figured out how to get by them, there was no stopping him. He never looked back after that . . . .
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What those Pistons played was not really what any sane person should call defense. The Celtics, Bulls and a bunch of other teams played tough, hard-nosed defense, but even they were pushing the line pretty aggressively. The Pistons ignored the line altogether with some (Laimbeer especially) just playing dirty. He was, as Larry Bird said, literally out to hurt you.

Go to 18:20 mark:




If you think an NBA with everyone playing THAT style of defense would be good for anyone -- players or fans -- I really don't know what to tell you. That's an ugly, uninteresting, version of the sport.
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Don’t believe I made any sort of comment about that defense being good for anyone. Just pointing out that type of play (along with his obvious talent) helped make Jordan into the ultimate competitor that he was. Those Pistons (after the 80’s Celtics) were the final box he had to check off to become the elite player he was and for the Bulls to become the dominant team in the East, and ultimately, the league.

Without them, I don’t think Jordan goes 6 for 6 on titles from 91-98. Especially when you take into account some of their epic series’ with the New York Knicks on their way to the Finals.

Jordan and the Bulls had to learn the ‘hard’ way. Lebron never had to deal with any of that on his way to becoming NBA Elite. Lebron ‘grew up’ in a relatively weak East while Jordan was growing up playing the 80’s Celtics and the Bad Boys. Much different mountains to climb to reach the Finals. And when he finally got there, he NEVER lost! Lebron has had it easy, by comparison. It wasn’t till just a few years ago that he had to face his first real challenge in an All Time GSW team that he has since lost to 2 out of 3 series in the Finals.

Lebron is a beast of a player and an all-time great, but he’s no Jordan.
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I think I keyed in on, and read too much into, your one sentence that "You could really play some defense."

Sorry if so.

As for Jordan vs. LeBron -- meh. The argument doesn't much interest me so I'll let you guys battle it out.
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Nobody liked that "defense", even while it was happening. It made the games nearly unwatchable. The hand-checking and grabbing didn't make anything more entertaining. The 90s Knicks and Heat certainly didn't help the popularity of the league.
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They actually had to change the game because of teams like that much like the NFL had to go away from physical play. While not a lot of points were scored at times it did make for some heated battles. Today's game lacks that for sure.
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You are saying the nba in the 90s was “nearly unwatchable”? Is that your position?
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laimbeer weighed the same as lebron, oakley was smaller, larry johnson was much shorter and the same weight, mourning was 2 inches taller and the same weight, ewing was 7 foot but 250 lbs also.


whats your point again?
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you said WAY bigger, not his size...
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